Law enforcement officers from six different agencies and two states worked through the night and into the next day searching for the man who shot a Virgilina shopkeeper during a robbery Wednesday night.
William R. Powell, 44, owner of Powell's Virginia-Carolina Grill and Lottery in Virgilina, was admitted to Halifax Regional Hospital Wednesday night with a shotgun wound to his stomach. No additional information regarding his condition was available, a hospital spokesperson said Thursday afternoon.
According to reports from the Halifax County Sheriff's Office, Wednesday night at 10:39 p.m., Powell called the Sheriff's Department to report that he had been robbed and shot.
Upon arrival, deputies found Powell suffering from a shotgun wound to his abdomen.
Investigation revealed that Powell was confronted by a black male in the parking lot in front of his business on Red Bank Road in the center of town. The suspect reportedly pulled a shotgun on Powell and demanded money.
Powell ran into the store, but the suspect kicked in the door. After Powell gave the man his wallet, the suspect reportedly shot him in the abdomen at close range, beat him with the shotgun, and ran outside.
Deputies scoured the area in search of the gunman, but even with the assistance of a tracking dog from the Department of Corrections Camp 23, the suspect was not found.
Officers from the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office, Virginia State Police, Granville County and Person County (North Carolina) sheriff's offices, and the Virginia Department of Corrections assisted Halifax County authorities in the investigation.
Halifax County Sheriff D.J. "Jeff" Oakes stated that the Sheriff's Office is investigating leads and would appreciate that anyone who may have information or saw anything suspicious call (804) 476-3334 or Crime Stoppers at (804) 476-8477 (TIPS).
While neighboring businesses were open for business Thursday following the attack on Powell, local residents were uneasy at the thought of the suspect remaining at large.
"It makes everybody feel a little uneasy. I know I'll feel a lot better once they catch the guy," said Frances Winckler, manager of the Virgilina Grocery, which is located across the street from Powell's Grill.

A would-be robber who targeted a local business Wednesday ran away empty handed, according to reports from the South Boston Police Department.
Sgt. Rick Loftis with the South Boston Police Department said a lone black male armed with a handgun entered Ratliff Farm Machinery on Seymour Drive shortly before noon Wednesday and demanded money.
Co-owner Mrs. M. Ratliff, who was at the front desk when the man entered the otherwise empty store, refused to give him any money and the suspect reportedly ran from the store heading north on Paradise Lane.
Loftis described the suspect, whose facial features were concealed by a bandana, as being light-to-medium complexioned, about five-foot, eight-inches tall, and wearing tan pants.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to please call the South Boston Police Department at 575-3945, or Crime Stoppers at 575-TIPS OR 476-TIPS.
In other reports, local officers recovered a stolen car Wednesday evening after members of the First Presbyterian Church reported a suspicious character who had come to the church earlier in the evening seeking assistance.
Loftis said a man came to the church on Main Street around 10 p.m. and told individuals there that he had been to a doctor and received some medication for his migraine headaches that he claimed made him unable to drive.
One of the church members reportedly offered the man a place to stay for the night.
In the meantime, other church members began to make some inquiries regarding the stranger, and found some discrepancies in his story.
They called the police and told them where the man's car was parked, and after running a license check on the vehicle, found it had been reported stolen in Charlottesville.
"Apparently the man had taken the vehicle, a 1999 Lincoln Town Car valued at $41,000, for a test drive at Colonial Auto Center in Charlottesville Tuesday and never came back," Loftis said.
The car was recovered without damage.
Further investigation revealed that the suspect, who was calling himself Foster V. Stevenson, was really named Stephen Virgil Driskill, 49, of no known address, who was wanted in Loudoun County for alleged parole violations, Loftis said.
Officers T.E. VanAernem and Russell Nicholson arrested Driskill at the church member's residence without incident.

During the American Revolution patriots taking a stand for their ideals could lose family, home and fortune.
Some two hundred years later veteran tobacco auctioneer Bob Cage took a public stand on commercial confined hog farming in Halifax County and it cost him a job he loves.
It is, he says, the fallout from the hotly contested "hog factory" controversy in the county.
He sees "fear" as the driving force on both sides of the issue.
The bottom line is that the man who has opened the South Boston Tobacco Market - as well as markets around the world in his 43-year career - will not be working the South Boston market this year.
Lemuel Powell at Victory Warehouse and George Tribble, co-owner at Planters, were reluctant to be drawn into the issue yesterday, but both agreed they had received calls from tobacco growers about Cage.
Tribble described farmers as wanting Cage "to be more neutral or to back off" the hog issue.
Growers contacting Victory said they felt the auctioneer should be supporting farming, according to Powell. Farmers on both sides of the issue sell at Victory, according to the manager.
"They got the impression he (Cage) was against agriculture," explained Tribble. "We are sorry to lose him."
This season Cage held a contract with both warehouses, one that Tribble and Powell said they agreed to honor.
In a situation Tribble called "damned if you do and damned if you don't" and Powell called "a no- win situation" for the warehousemen, Cage said he walked away.
"They wanted me back," said Cage when asked about his position with the warehouses. But the auctioneer feared they were concerned about the contract.
"I do not want to sue because I care about this market," Cage said of his decision to walk away.
"I became damaged goods," he continued. "I understand."
Caged said the overriding issue was how his public stand on the Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) issue would impact tobacco growers' decision to sell with warehouses he worked.
Even knowing the consequences, Cage said he will continue to stand up for "what he thinks is right for the county" and plans to speak at the supervisors' public hearing on the hog setback issue.
"It is important to make a contribution. I live here and love this county," added the auctioneer.
Cage also called on supervisors to come to a decision on the hog setback issue, an issue that already has turned family member against family member.
The auctioneer also described "the fear" he sees as the driving force on both sides of the CAFO issue.
"Southside Concerned Citizens is afraid the hog farms will come in and ruin the county," said Cage, compromising "air and water quality" in the county.
"The farmer is afraid of tobacco cuts, Depression-like wheat and corn prices, their future," added the Halifax County native.
"If tobacco goes out, this (hog production) may have been an ace in the hole for them, and I can relate to that," said Cage. "I understand where they are coming from."
But in Cage's eyes, the "air and water legacy to future farmers and residents" is paramount.
"It has been proved really noxious fumes can be unhealthy," he added.
"It seems we should learn from other people's mistakes, what has happened in North Carolina and not let it happen here," said Cage. "I hate the idea of giving up power to the corporate world," he said of farmers' traditional independent stance.
"I appreciate the support I've had here," said Cage. "I feel no animosity whatsoever for the warehousemen. I am very indebted to the tobacco farmer, admire him greatly and have much respect for him. I am saddened and hurt because of the turn of events, but I wish the South Boston Tobacco Market well. I am heavily vested in it emotionally."

A Long Island man charged in the large drug round-up last November was cleared of charges in Halifax County Circuit Court Tuesday.
On a motion by Commonwealth Attorney John Greenbacker Jr., charges of distribution and conspiracy to distribute cocaine against Terrance Jermaine Stone, 22, of Buffalo Road, Long Island, were dismissed and the court issued an apology to Stone.
The charges stemmed from the two-year undercover drug investigation "Operation Snake Eyes."
According to Sgt. Richard S.B. Pulliam, Narcotics Task Force Coordinator, Stone's arrest was a case of mistaken identity of sorts.
Pulliam explained Thursday that the man who was taped and recorded making an alleged drug transaction with undercover informants April 13, 1998, was correctly identified as T.J. Stone, however, it became clear that there was more than one T.J. Stone matching the suspect's description.
Pulliam explained further that following Stone's arrest in November, he provided information regarding another T.J. Stone.
"The informants were introduced to the suspect as T.J. Stone, and the T.J. Stone who was arrested matched the description, location, and associates of the suspect caught on tape making the (alleged) drug transaction," Pulliam said. "However, after his arrest, Stone provided information (about) another T.J. Stone, and several witnesses came forward since with additional information."
After meeting with Stone approximately a month ago, Pulliam said he provided additional information, and that a third T.J. Stone has been identified, as well.
"Charges are forthcoming, and an additional suspect will probably be charged in the case, as well," Pulliam said. "We want to do the right thing and make sure the right person is charged and convicted."

A suspect arrested during the fall drug round-up "Operation Snake Eyes" remains free on bond following his conviction in Halifax County Circuit Court Wednesday.
Thomas Jerome Davis, a.k.a. Jerome Barksdale, a.k.a. Mustard, 25, of Leda Road, Nathalie, entered an Alford plea of guilty to three charges of distribution of cocaine and one charge of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and was found guilty by Judge Charles L. McCormick III.
Barksdale, who was one of nearly 30 people arrested as part of the two-year undercover drug investigation, will remain free on bond pending the outcome of his sentencing hearing in September.
In other cases heard Tuesday:
· Ronald Stuart Bowes, 34, of Harmony Road, Alton, who was arrested May 12 on charges of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of marijuana, pleaded not guilty to both charges.
Upon reviewing physical evidence and testimony, McCormick found Bowes guilty and ordered a presentence report be prepared for the September court term.
Bowes remains free on bond.
· Cathy Bowman Clark, 43, of Riverdale Drive, South Boston, entered an Alford plea of guilty to eight counts of forgery and uttering.
A capias charge and show cause for failure to appear were continued until Clark's sentencing date in September.
Clark was remanded to the Blue Ridge Regional Adult Detention Center but will be released on bond, according to court documents.
· Ralph Edward Davis, 35, of Wilmouth Avenue, South Boston, pleaded guilty and was found guilty of possession of cocaine, breaking into a convenience station owned by Thomas J. Barry and taking cigarettes, beer and more than $200, November 1.
On a motion of the Commonwealth Attorney, charges of breaking into the Amoco Station on Halifax Road and committing petit larceny that same day were dismissed.
Davis was remanded and will be sentenced August 3.
· Jon Graham Hammond, 34, of Hamilton Boulevard, South Boston, pleaded guilty to eluding a police officer December 25, 1998, and was found guilty. He was ordered to pay a $200 fine.
Greenbacker was granted a motion to nol pross additional charges of cocaine possession and operating a motor vehicle after being declared an habitual offender.
· Murray Grant Hill Jr., 23, of Charlie Lawson Road, Virgilina, pleaded guilty and was found guilty of shooting into an occupied building at 1027 Riverdale Drive, South Boston, February 13.
A charge of reckless handling of a firearm was nol prossed.
Hill remains free on bond until he is sentenced in September.
· Patrick Elliott Scarborough, 18, of Parker Avenue, South Boston, pleaded guilty and was found guilty of possessing crack cocaine.
McCormick ordered a presentence report be prepared for the September court term, and that in the meantime Scarborough be evaluated for boot camp.

A full-scale emergency training response to a mock tornado touchdown gets underway here Saturday morning in the Centerville area.
Dispatchers and emergency personnel should began reacting to the mock disaster about 7:30 a.m., according to Assistant Halifax County Administrator Julia Moss.
A tent in the Lowe's area will serve as command center for the emergency services training drill which is expected to end about 10:30 a.m., according to Moss.
The tornado "training path" will include Love Shop Trailer Park, continue across the Lowe's building and into the back of Tri-Rivers Plaza Shopping Center, and across Jiffy Lube before lifting off the ground in the mock tornado exercise, according to Emergency Services Coordinator William D. Sleeper.
This scenario will provide the necessary training and will meet the requirements for a full-scale exercise for participating units, explained Sleeper.
In addition, individual training for departments, agencies and individuals will be beneficial and will assist in providing improved service to the localities, according to officials.
The exercise will include emergency service units and emergency dispatch from the county and towns of South Boston and Halifax.

Water quality monitoring stations will be in place along the Staunton and Dan Rivers and Kerr Reservoir, a direct result of the recent Joint Legislative Audit Review Commission (JLARC) investigation of the state's Department of Environmental Quality.
Del. W.W. 'Ted' Bennett, who requested the initial inquiry said, "The stations, by their sheer numbers, will produce significant data for base line water quality determination, enhancement and protection, as well as helping to locate contamination sources."
The placement of the water quality monitoring stations comes as a "direct result" of the Department of Environmental Quality's efforts to become "a more objective and proactive agency and less susceptible to ideological and political partisanship," the delegate said this week in a letter to members of the Staunton River Advisory Committee.
In his letter, accompanied by a full copy of the 54-page JLARC staff report on DEQ, Bennett describes the investigation as "thorough and objective."
"The light of the day is now shining in on a very internally politicized agency...I believe DEQ will be a different agency henceforth," Bennett said.
In addition to monitoring stations, the toxic database is being revived and will be made more accessible to the general public and environmentally sensitive advocacy groups.
In addition, Bennett said DEQ now has more staff people actively searching for contamination sources.
In asking for the inquiry, Bennett described the goals as "several fold" including:
·To establish a public record of DEQ's inaction and response to the discovery of PCBs in the Staunton River over the past decade;
·To validate the Advisory Committee's concerns that DEQ's deficiencies were institutional, systemic and negatively affected all the state's rivers and streams, not just the Staunton River.
·To bring statewide attention and influence to bear on DEQ so that it might be a more effective enforcement agency and put a focused effort on locating the source of contamination and work towards remediation in the Staunton and other state rivers;
·To make DEQ's investigative, research and enforcement arm on water issues more proactive and effective over the long haul;
·To educate the general public and to create a stronger constituency for Virginia's rivers and streams; and
·To determine if legislative or statutory changes are necessary so DEQ will more likely fill its mission of protecting the public health.

Funeral services for Master Sgt. Loyd Columbus Spires, USAF Retired, will be held Saturday, July 24, 1999 at 11 a.m. in Bethesda Presbyterian Church, Camden, SC with burial to be held Monday, July 26, 1999 at 11 a.m. in Halifax Memorial Gardens, South Boston.
Master Sgt. Spires, age 68, died Wednesday, July 21. Born in Nashville, GA, he was the son of Lorena Hemmings Spires and the late Odell Spires. Master Sgt. Spires was a Korean veteran and also retired as a system analyst with the Department of Defense. He was a member of Bethesda Presbyterian Church where he was active with the Honduras Mission and Habitat for Humanity.
Surviving besides his mother of Camden, are his wife, Mary Lester Spires; two daughters, Diane S. Dade of Colonial Beach and Patricia S. Jordan of Kennesaw, GA; two grandsons, Kenneth Murphy and John Murphy; a great-granddaughter, Kendall Murphy; one sister, Betty Smyrl of Camden; two brothers, Earl Spires of Warner Robins, GA and Ray Spires of Powder Springs, GA.
The family will receive friends Sunday, July 25 from 7 until 8:30 p.m. in Powell Funeral Home. Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Patrick Henry Boys and Girls Home, South Boston.

Joseph Emmett 'Junie' Weston of Red Oak died Tuesday, July 20, 1999 at Halifax Regional Hospital at the age of 71.
Mr. Weston was born in Charlotte County the son of Roy and Laura Crowe Weston and was married to Juanita Champion Weston. He was a rural mail carrier in Red Oak from 1954 through 1986, was a retired farmer and merchant and a member of Antioch Baptist Church.
Graveside services will be held today, July 23 at 11 a.m. at Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery in Red Oak with Rev. Bill McEntire officiating.

Survivors of Mr. Weston are his wife; three sons, Jerry Lee Weston of South Hill, Kent Hamlett Weston of Richmond and Warren Weston of Red Oak; two daughters, Sue W. Sizemore of Skipwith and Julia W. Clark of Clarksville; two brothers, Marshall Weston of Red Oak and Lloyd Weston of Boydton; six grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. He was preceded in death by four brothers, Doc, Percy, Willie and Raymond Weston.

Frances Vaden Compton of 329 Chalmers Street, South Boston died Wednesday, July 21, 1999 at her home. She was 79 years of age.
Mrs. Compton was born May 3, 1920 in Halifax County the daughter of Clarence T. Vaden and Vivian Wilborn Vaden and was married to Rev. George Lee Compton. She was a member of Centerville Baptist Church.
A funeral will be held at Brooks Funeral Home Chapel Saturday, July 24 at 11 a.m. with Rev. Bill Wingard officiating. Burial will follow in Oak Ridge Cemetery.
Mrs. Compton is survived by her husband; and one brother, Henry Irvin Vaden of Baltimore, MD.
The family will receive friends this evening from 7 until 8:30 at Brooks Funeral Home and other times at the home.

Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Halifax County Cancer Association, PO Box 875, South Boston.