STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A Stafford County man was arrested in Hanover County and charged with second degree murder after a shooting at a motel and subsequent negotiation with police over FaceTime.
According to the Stafford County Sheriff’s Department, officers responded to a shooting at a Red Roof Inn at 386 Warrenton Road at around 8:15 a.m. on Sunday, June 19. When they arrived, they found a man who had suffered a gunshot wound to his chest. The man was taken to a local hospital where he later died.
The suspect, still armed, had left the scene in a silver Toyota Tacoma. After identifying the suspect, officers contacted him on FaceTime and he answered. A member of the Crisis Negotiation Team joined the conversation and tried to arrange a peaceful surrender, but the man, who said he “would not be taken alive,” refused.
Later, at around 11:30 a.m., the suspect, still on FaceTime with police, stopped on Interstate 95 in Hanover County and agreed to surrender to authorities. Hanover County Sheriff’s Deputies and Virginia State Police responded and arrested him without incident. A gun was taken from his truck as evidence.
The suspect, identified as 44-year-old George Pearson III of Stafford, was charged with second degree murder, use of a firearm while committing a felony and possession of a firearm as a convicted felon. Pearson was taken back to Stafford and is being held at Rappahannock Regional Jail without Bond.
