The chief of the Buchanan Volunteer Fire Department could face criminal charges after taking reports of a shooting Wednesday night into his own hands, authorities said.
Botetourt County Sheriff Ronnie Sprinkle on Friday said Volunteer Fire Chief Billy Joe Carter complicated a sheriff's office response to gunshots at a house in the 400 block of Fourth Street when he went to the scene without approval.
Deputies had been dispatched to the house about 10:30 p.m. after a fight between a man and his wife escalated, prompting a neighbor to dial 911.
Authorities later charged former Buchanan volunteer firefighter and Iraq War veteran Steven Patrick Prease, 33, with two counts of capital attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and one count of capital attempted murder of other persons.
Prease's arrest came after an exchange of gunfire with deputies and an hours-long effort to coax the man out of the woods near his home.
No one was injured in the incident.
On Friday, Carter said Prease had recently stopped working as a firefighter and had been struggling following his time overseas. He said he was trying to help Prease.
"I wasn't working with the sheriff's office because the sheriff's office didn't want my help," Carter said. "I was doing it as a friend. But more I was doing it as a brother. You don't forget who you ride with."
The neighbor who dialed 911 initially, Tammy Hyden, said she watched as Prease's wife fled from the house to meet deputies. Sprinkle said Prease shot at his wife, but missed.
Hyden said Prease emerged from the home, seemingly unarmed, and walked onto Fourth Street.
"He comes out and he's just pacing," she said. "Even from my house, you could tell he was just emotionless. He was blank."
She guessed that more than 30 minutes passed. No deputies came to the house, though she could hear them a distance away.
Suddenly, something caught the corner of her eye.
"Two shadows come out of the woods, and when he [Prease] saw those two men, it was like a kid that had just won the biggest Hershey bar in his life," Hyden said.
"Whoa, Jimbo! We've got us a war tonight!" Hyden recalled Prease yelling.
She said the two shadows froze. One of them had a flashlight; she recognized him as the fire chief. The identity of the other remained a mystery.
Prease went to his house and grabbed a gun, Hyden said. After interacting with Carter, he ran into the woods, the fire chief a few steps behind. She said Carter was shining the flashlight ahead of them.
About 1 a.m., Hyden estimated she heard up to 20 gunshots ring across the neighborhood.
"It was, like, off of television," she said. "And that's when it went quiet."
Sprinkle said he could not confirm the number of shots fired.
Once in the woods, Carter said he tried to defuse the situation. He described himself as one of the few people Prease trusted. He said Prease was a veteran wounded by war who couldn't get the help he deserves.
Sprinkle said his deputies, with assistance from the Botetourt County Emergency Response Team and the Virginia State Police tactical team, had set up a command post in Buchanan.
Authorities asked Carter to come out of the woods, which he eventually did. Prease followed some time later.
The sheriff criticized the actions of the fire chief, describing them as an interference.
"I don't know how to put out fires and he don't know how to investigate a crime," Sprinkle said. "You're skirting the issue of obstructing justice. He needed to back off, I don't care how good a friend he is."
Sprinkle said he asked the state police Bureau of Criminal Investigations to conduct an investigation of the situation. State police Sgt. Rob Carpentieri confirmed the bureau was looking into the matter, which includes determining whether deputies had reason to shoot at Prease.
Once the investigation is complete, Sprinkle said the decision would be made whether to charge the volunteer fire chief.
An attempt to reach Prease's attorney, Ronnie Clay, was unsuccessful.
Prease remained in the Botetourt County Jail in Fincastle Friday, held without bond.
Copyright 2012 - The Roanoke Times, Va.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
