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Valdosta Police Department officers at the scene of the shooting in Branch Point Subdivision Monday. The suspect was apprehended by authorities Tuesday. Paul Leavy
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Shooting suspect captured
Husband, father awaiting extradition to Valdosta
VALDOSTA — The manhunt for a man accused of shooting his estranged wife and daughter ended in Virginia early Tuesday morning.
Valdosta Police Cmdr. Brian Childress confirmed that Roy Mandell Smith, 38, was apprehended by authorities at approximately 4 a.m. and is now in custody in Richmond, Va.
Childress said that local authorities believed that the suspect might possibly return to the Richmond area, where he lives, following Monday’s shooting, so they alerted law enforcement in there.
“The Chesterfield County Police Department and Richmond Division of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force set up at the suspect’s residence and helped us catch the guy,” Childress said. “We appreciate their assistance in helping us with this case. I also want to commend the work of our (Valdosta Police Department) officers and crime scene detectives.”
Smith will remain in custody in Virginia until he is extradited to Valdosta, where he faces two counts of aggravated assault, Childress said.
Police are considering additional charges as well.
Authorities are also looking into the possibility of a female accomplice, but they do not have anyone identified at this time, Childress added.
Valdosta police officers were dispatched to the 5300 block of Branch Point Drive, assisted by the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office and emergency-medical services, at about 6:45 a.m. Monday.
Officers arrived on the scene to find a 37-year-old woman, as well as her 16-year-old daughter, injured from gunshot wounds. The victims were transported to South Georgia Medical Center for treatment.
The daughter has since been treated and released from the hospital.
“Her injuries were not as serious as her mother’s (injuries),” Childress said.
At press time, Childress said that the mother was still hospitalized and listed in stable condition.
“We are praying for her and hope her condition improves,” he added.
The shooting suspect has prior convictions in Georgia for possession of cocaine, sale and distribution of cocaine and altering identification, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) Web site. He most recently served about nine years in prison at Coffee Correctional Facility and was released early from a 30-year sentence in 2006. He is on parole, according to the GDC.
Childress said that police will contact the parole office and make officials aware of the two alleged offenses. He said the parole board will then decide whether to revoke Smith’s parole.
Mike Le, a neighbor, said that he awoke to loud banging at his back door Monday morning.
“I heard someone scream and yell, ‘Help me,’ as they knocked on the door,” he said.
He opened his door to find a woman lying on the grass drenched in blood.
“I believe she was shot in her face and her chest,” Le said. “She said that her ex-husband from Virginia shot her. Blood was everywhere ...”
A nearby neighbor called 911.
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