Post by mysticsnowangel on May 22, 2006 20:14:56 GMT -5
A robbery and shooting suspect who killed himself following a high-speed chase in Utah is now a person of interest in the Brooke Wilberger kidnapping case in Corvallis.
Richard Wilson, 39, killed himself Wednesday night after allegedly shooting two women in Utah. He was a suspect in a string of violent crimes in the Pacific Northwest, including a recent burglary, a rape, and possibly the murder of a 17-year-old girl.
Lt. Ron Noble of the Corvallis Police Department said today that while Wilson's was a name police were aware of, he wasn't a "person of interest" until after the shootings.
"We still have nothing to associate him to Corvallis or Brooke, but because of the activities he's been engaging in, we need to take a look," Noble said.
Wilberger, 19, disappeared from a Corvallis parking lot on May 24. Police believe she was abducted.
Noble said police think Wilson had been in Medford. "That tells us he had probably been on I-5, but we still have nothing that puts him in Corvallis," he said.
Wilson was reportedly driving a maroon Ford LTD Crown Victoria when he went on a shooting spree in Utah - a car similar to the description of a car involved in a possible attempted abduction in Corvallis the week before Wilberger disappeared. The victim had described the suspect's car as a boxy, dark-colored sedan.
Noble said that he hadn't seen a picture of the car yet, but police are continuing to gather information.
"We don't want to attach him to this unless he is," Noble said. "If we make a mistake, that means there's someone else out there who has Brooke."
Wilson had been released from a Washington prison only months ago after serving a sentence for raping a woman at gunpoint a decade ago. He had a felony criminal history dating back to 1989 involving rape, drug crimes and assaults.
"I figured we would have problems with him," Walla Walla County sheriff's detective Mike Skeeters told the Deseret Morning News. "He told someone his plans were never to go back to prison."
Since then, police believe he took off and committed a number of crimes in Oregon, Washington and Idaho.
"He's had every law enforcement agency in the Columbia River Gorge looking for him," said Frank Rivera, a detective in Sherman County, Ore.
Wilson was released from prison in February and moved in with his parents in Walla Walla.
Police believe Wilson burglarized a residence on May 17, pawned the loot the next day and took off, Walla Walla police Sgt. Matt Wood said.
The Oregonian reported today that Wilson was accused in the beating and sexual assault of a 54-year-old woman at gunpoint last week at a motel in Biggs, on the Columbia River in Sherman County.
In Idaho, Elmore County Sheriff Rick Layher says his investigators left for Utah to see if there's a connection between Wilson and the slaying of 17-year-old Teresa Garcia at a rural home at Mountain Home on Tuesday.
"They're going down there to check it out. Right now, it's hard to say if there is or isn't." Layher said.
The Klickitat County, Wash., sheriff's office said Wilson was a suspect in several daytime residential burglaries, and The Dalles police were seeking Wilson on suspicion of selling stolen guns.
Wilson killed himself after a police chase and two shootings Wednesday night in the Grantsville area of western Utah.
The first shooting occurred at Grantsville Laundry. Kimberli Lingard, 17, who worked at the laundry, was found by patrons about 7:30 p.m. and was flown to University Hospital in Salt Lake City, Police Chief Danny Johnson said. Less than $50 was taken from the business. Lingard is recovering after brain surgery, according to a statement from her family.
The second shooting, which also involved a robbery, occurred about 9:30 p.m. at a gas station/restaurant in Delle, 70 miles east of the Nevada line, Tooele County spokesman Wade Mathews said. A clerk, 59-year-old Dee Jensen, was shot in the neck. She was flown to LDS hospital, where she is listed in serious condition.
After she was shot, Jensen managed to call 911 and describe the man and his vehicle, a maroon Ford LTD Crown Victoria that Wilson allegedly bought with a bounced check.
A car matching the description of the gunman was spotted on Interstate 80 and a chase toward Wendover ensued at speeds of over 100 miles per hour.
The car's tires were deflated with spikes about five or 10 miles east of the Nevada border, and the vehicle slowed and crashed.
Police said there was a brief standoff that ended with the driver shooting himself.
Richard Wilson, 39, killed himself Wednesday night after allegedly shooting two women in Utah. He was a suspect in a string of violent crimes in the Pacific Northwest, including a recent burglary, a rape, and possibly the murder of a 17-year-old girl.
Lt. Ron Noble of the Corvallis Police Department said today that while Wilson's was a name police were aware of, he wasn't a "person of interest" until after the shootings.
"We still have nothing to associate him to Corvallis or Brooke, but because of the activities he's been engaging in, we need to take a look," Noble said.
Wilberger, 19, disappeared from a Corvallis parking lot on May 24. Police believe she was abducted.
Noble said police think Wilson had been in Medford. "That tells us he had probably been on I-5, but we still have nothing that puts him in Corvallis," he said.
Wilson was reportedly driving a maroon Ford LTD Crown Victoria when he went on a shooting spree in Utah - a car similar to the description of a car involved in a possible attempted abduction in Corvallis the week before Wilberger disappeared. The victim had described the suspect's car as a boxy, dark-colored sedan.
Noble said that he hadn't seen a picture of the car yet, but police are continuing to gather information.
"We don't want to attach him to this unless he is," Noble said. "If we make a mistake, that means there's someone else out there who has Brooke."
Wilson had been released from a Washington prison only months ago after serving a sentence for raping a woman at gunpoint a decade ago. He had a felony criminal history dating back to 1989 involving rape, drug crimes and assaults.
"I figured we would have problems with him," Walla Walla County sheriff's detective Mike Skeeters told the Deseret Morning News. "He told someone his plans were never to go back to prison."
Since then, police believe he took off and committed a number of crimes in Oregon, Washington and Idaho.
"He's had every law enforcement agency in the Columbia River Gorge looking for him," said Frank Rivera, a detective in Sherman County, Ore.
Wilson was released from prison in February and moved in with his parents in Walla Walla.
Police believe Wilson burglarized a residence on May 17, pawned the loot the next day and took off, Walla Walla police Sgt. Matt Wood said.
The Oregonian reported today that Wilson was accused in the beating and sexual assault of a 54-year-old woman at gunpoint last week at a motel in Biggs, on the Columbia River in Sherman County.
In Idaho, Elmore County Sheriff Rick Layher says his investigators left for Utah to see if there's a connection between Wilson and the slaying of 17-year-old Teresa Garcia at a rural home at Mountain Home on Tuesday.
"They're going down there to check it out. Right now, it's hard to say if there is or isn't." Layher said.
The Klickitat County, Wash., sheriff's office said Wilson was a suspect in several daytime residential burglaries, and The Dalles police were seeking Wilson on suspicion of selling stolen guns.
Wilson killed himself after a police chase and two shootings Wednesday night in the Grantsville area of western Utah.
The first shooting occurred at Grantsville Laundry. Kimberli Lingard, 17, who worked at the laundry, was found by patrons about 7:30 p.m. and was flown to University Hospital in Salt Lake City, Police Chief Danny Johnson said. Less than $50 was taken from the business. Lingard is recovering after brain surgery, according to a statement from her family.
The second shooting, which also involved a robbery, occurred about 9:30 p.m. at a gas station/restaurant in Delle, 70 miles east of the Nevada line, Tooele County spokesman Wade Mathews said. A clerk, 59-year-old Dee Jensen, was shot in the neck. She was flown to LDS hospital, where she is listed in serious condition.
After she was shot, Jensen managed to call 911 and describe the man and his vehicle, a maroon Ford LTD Crown Victoria that Wilson allegedly bought with a bounced check.
A car matching the description of the gunman was spotted on Interstate 80 and a chase toward Wendover ensued at speeds of over 100 miles per hour.
The car's tires were deflated with spikes about five or 10 miles east of the Nevada border, and the vehicle slowed and crashed.
Police said there was a brief standoff that ended with the driver shooting himself.