Police close portion of I-81 to reconstruct chase of killer
SALEM – Virginia State Police closed a 10-mile stretch of I-81 Wednesday between Montgomery County and Salem to reconstruct events related to the Memorial Day shooting of an officer and an off-duty deputy charged with murdering his ex-wife.
Northbound lanes between Exits 118 and 128 were closed for about four-and-a-half hours, until 2 p.m. They were going over chase procedures and a shoot-out between VSP and suspect Jonathan Ashley Agee, 32, who was reported in critical condition in a Roanoke hospital.
Virginia State Police Sgt. Matt Brannock, whom Agee shot twice in the leg, is recuperating at home after being released from the hospital on May 31.
The shootings and police chase started shortly after 11:30 a.m. on Memorial Day when Roanoke Police say Agee shot to death ex-wife Jennifer Agee, 30, of Salem at Sheetz convenience store at Williamson Road and Orange Avenue in Roanoke.
Agee, who is a Franklin County Sheriff’s Deputy, fled in the sheriff’s car he was driving. He traveled west through Salem on Main Street, where he was spotted by Brannock, who was eastbound.
Braddock turned around, put on his lights and pursued Agee’s vehicle on Rt. 11-460 and onto I-81. Both vehicles stopped and the drivers exchanged fire. Agee shot Brannock in the upper leg, Virginia State Police Sgt. Robert Carpentieri said.
He said two more unmarked state police cruisers picked up the chase and followed Agee’s vehicle northbound onto the ramp at Exit 128, wounding Agee several times.
Brannock, who is 35, has been with the state police for 12 years and before that in the Air Force.
Both lanes of north-bound Interstate 81 were closed for several hours and Memorial Day Weekend holiday traffic came to almost a complete stop at the Christiansburg-Riner exit. The backup could be seen as far back as the Radford University exit or about 22 miles away from the scene of the shooting.
Traffic was rerouted at the Christiansburg-Riner Exit to Route 11 (Roanoke Street) until late afternoon on Monday. North-bound traffic had returned to I-81 by 7 p.m. on Memorial Day.
Franklin County Sheriff Ewell Hunt said Agee has been suspended without pay and also was charged with unauthorized use of a Franklin County vehicle.
Jennifer Agee, 30, worked part-time as a server and trainer at Mac and Bob’s Restaurant in Salem and as a receptionist at Elizabeth Arden in Roanoke.
Mac and Bob’s General Manager Keith Griswold said she handled customers professionally and did a good job. “We will miss her terribly,” he said.
Roanoke Police said Jennifer Agee’s 12-year-old daughter, who was in the vehicle with her, was unharmed.
I still believe that back in the 70 a cop had to meet a certain monumentality, height,and fitness, until some jerk off went and sued to get a job as a police man now anyone can be a cop,people have lost a lot of respect for the law endorsement since this abolishment has taking place.