Birds descend upon the ‘burg
COLLEGIATE TIMES www.collegiatetimes.com
TUESDAY
August 22, 2006
CAUGHT
Beautiful birds grace campus, downtown but patrons fear vandalism. Features pg. 10 >
QBs shine, D shines brighter
Quarterbacking trio shows gains, while defense steals the spotlight. Sports pg. 13 >
News Notes TUAN PHAM/SPPS
www.collegiatetimes.com Go to collegiatetimes.com for exclusive web only content. Picture galleries, video and constant updates from the Morva manhunt. The website will be the number one spot for fast information pertaining to the still developing details about Morva’s escape and arrest. There is a special section across pages 8 and 9 in this edition that also highlights the efforts by local police forces to apprehend Morva and personal stories from those that knew the man behind the suspected murderer. The inside special section also includes a photo spread from
Two players undergo surgery Redshirt freshmen safety Cam Martin and cornerback Jahre Cheeseman both underwent surgery last week. Martin will miss three weeks after a procedure for a hernia. Cheeseman might miss up to 6 weeks of action after surgery to scope a lateral meniscus tear. Both injuries come in the wake of redshirt junior corner-
Free classes at McComas When students return to campus, there is a sharp increase in the number of pizza deliveries and longer lines at Five Guys. It can be easy to pack on the pounds and lose the summer bodies that many worked so hard to achieve. McComas gym is joining the fight against weight gain by offering free group exercise classes this week. The classes give students a chance to sample what’s offered at McComas and allows them to decide if they’d like to sign up for classes. Classes range from relaxing yoga to cardio and water aerobics. There are classes everyday this week and a schedule is offered online at http: //www.recsports.vt.edu If students enjoy the classes this week, they have the option to sign up for fitness packages which range from a $15 mind and body pass for one semester
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An independant, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 > 104thYear, No. 1 > Blacksburg, Va. > August 22, 2006
Police officers stake out the Squires Student center in reaction to a panicked false alarm. While the police relied on community support to be their eyes and ears in the apprehension of William Charles Morva, rumors only delayed the investigation.
Alleged killer eludes police, then goes quietly DAVID GRANT CT Managing Editor For all of the drama that surrounded William Charles Morva’s alleged exploits over the last two days, his capture was decidedly uneventful. The fugitive wanted in the shootings of three law enforcement personnel was Morva seen in a briar patch 150 yards from the site where he allegedly shot and killed a police officer at 7:15 yesterday morning and was taken into police custody without comment or resistance, police said. Captured at approximately 3:30 p.m., Morva, 24 was charged with capital murder, use of a firearm in commission of a felony, escape and felony assault on a police officer and is currently being held in the Montgomery County Jail. Law enforcement officials said Morva may be transferred to another facility in the New River Valley or Abingdon. Morva’s saga is a complicated one. Arrested August 16, 2005 for attempted armed robbery, Morva was to be tried this Wednesday on charges stemming from he and an accomplices’ botched attempt to hold up the Deli Mart located in the 800 block of Glade Road. He was being held at Montgomery County Jail. That was until the early morning Sunday. Morva, complaining of a sprained leg and wrist, was taken to Montgomery Regional Hospital where he allegedly overpowered a deputy sheriff, shot and killed Derrick McFarland, 26, a security guard at the facility, wounded the deputy with a blunt object and escaped. The deputy remains in stable condition. The suspect then fled the hospital, prompting an earlymorning alert from Blacksburg Police warning the university community of the alleged incident. The e-mail states that the suspect had procured a fire arm from his felled captor. Morva went unheard from until approximately 7:15 this morning, when a member of the Virginia Tech grounds crew heard two shots fired behind the grounds building near the entrance to Huckleberry Trail. Those shots killed Corporal Eric. E. Sutphin, 47, a thirteen year veteran of the law enforcement and 2003 Governor’s Medal of Valor recipient with the Montgomery County Police Department. Morva is the prime suspect in that killing. Less than an hour later, Virginia Tech authorities sent an e-mail to the university community alerting them to the morning’s shooting and saying that Morva had been spotted at the scene. Police from several local jurisdictions collapsed on campus, blocking entrances and forbidding all travel to points West of Lane Stadium. Virginia Governor Tim Kaine said in a statement that he was coordinating with law enforcement and university officials to “provide whatever resources might be needed.” Blacksburg Police Department Lieutenant Joe Davis said that “several hundred” officers from a wide swath of local areas had been deployed. Law enforcement officers - all strapped with body armor and many carrying automatic weapons - ringed Washington Street shortly after Sutphin was shot. Patrols of police cars brimming with armed officers raced up and down Spring Road, Southgate Drive and Tech Center Drive for much of the morning.
Manhunt For Morva
Morva Sightings 1) 2:30 a.m. Sunday William Morva overpowers deputy sheriff. Shoots and kills hospital security guard, Derrick McFarland and flees on foot. 2) 7:15 a.m. Monday Deputy Eric Sutphin is shot and killed on the Huckleberry Trail near Blacksburg Public Library. 3) 3:35 p.m. Monday Morva is found and captured in a briar patch 3/4 of a mile from the entrance of the Huckleberry Trail.
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False Sightings 4) 10:00 a.m. Monday Reports of Morva being sighted in Squires Student Center. 5) Reports of Morva spotted around Cranwell International Center. 6) 12:39 p.m. Monday A witness saw a man who appeared to be the suspect running through East Cambell Hall.
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ALLISON JARNAGIN/COLLEGIATE TIMES Work on the grounds of Lane Stadium was brought to a halt, with groups of contractors serving as makeshift security guards (a backhoe served as a gate on Spring Road) or simply sat and smoked, growing silent at the bark of a supervisors walkie-talkie. When news broke that Morva was holed up in Squires Student Center - and had potentially taken a hostage - the morning’s latent panic burst. “I was a little freaked out seeing everybody outside of Squires after they asked us to evacuate,” said Mary Williams, a first-year graduate student with a concentration in human development. Squires management closed the building at approximately 9:30 a.m., locking doors and sending students scurrying from their classes. An immense police presence descended on the building almost immediately. But police soon pulled out of the scene, which turned out to be one of a string of false alarms. Cranwell International Center and East Campbell Hall were also rumored to be locations where the elusive Morva had been sighted. At the tail end of a 3:30 press conference that boasted Tech
president Charles Steger, Blacksburg Mayor Ron Rordam and Lieutenant Davis, the suspect was announced to have been taken into custody. Collegiate Times reporters witnessed the use of one helicopter, scores of officers and vehicles and heard several barking dogs in or near the woods near where Morva was eventually apprehended. Morva, who was passed over in law enforcements first search of the area, was found on a return trip wearing only a pair of shorts and bearing some scratches. According to one law enforcement official, “a weapon was located.” An area resident, Morva was something of an enigma to the local community. A student at Blacksburg High, one of his former classmates described him as “one of those trench coat kids.” Another spoke of his bizarre habit of going barefoot on his many trysts downtown. Several spoke of his keen intellect and off-tack interests such as paramilitary tactics and Native American traditions. James Wimmer, 21, who met Morva while both were jailed, said that Morva was in no trouble while Wimmer knew him and, while he took significant ribbing from other jail inmates,