One man is dead, and his wife is recovering at an area hospital, after a confrontation with three men in rural Lee County Va. on Friday.
Sheriff Gary Parsons said dispatchers received the call at 2:30 p.m., from 33-year-old Tracie Waynette Rutledge. She had a piece of shrapnel in her head, and her husband, 22-year-old Steven Rutledge Jr., was bleeding to death. He had a bullet hole in his femoral artery and died before deputies arrived.
"We know that there was a meeting of some type, that was taking place for some reason,” Parsons said. “We still haven't determined exactly what went on."
"We didn't recover any illegal drugs from the crime scene,” Parsons said. “That doesn't mean there weren't any."
Investigators released the following narrative: Steven and Tracie Rutledge had parked their pickup truck near the intersection of state route 640 and state route 643 (near the Long Hollow section of Lee County).
They met a second car there. Johnny Roberts, Larry Smith, and James Osborne were inside the second car. A fight erupted, Smith left his car, fired at least five shots at the Rutledges' truck with a .44-caliber pistol, and drove away.
Investigators tracked the suspects to a location in the county and arrested them without incident Friday evening.
Parsons charged Smith with first-degree murder, Roberts and Osborne with aiding and abetting a murder.
"[Roberts and Osborne] travelled away with [Smith],” Parsons said. “No attempt was made to render assistance [to the Rutledges]. It appears [Roberts and Osborne] were a part of the killing."
All three suspects are in Duffield Regional Jail. Their arraignment is scheduled for Monday morning.
"[Tracie Rutledge] came out of surgery,” Parsons said. “She is going to be able to speak to us Saturday night or Sunday morning. Hopefully, we'll know some more once we speak to her."
Family members remebered Steven Rutledge as a good person who loved life.
“He was a big cut-up,” first cousin Wayne Rutledge said.
He spent his free time hunting, fishing, and playing with his two-year-old daughter, first cousin Brittany Rutledge said.
Click the play icon above for a video version of this report.
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