Thread: Ex-Con Charged With Killing 4 in North Carolina Town

MOUNT AIRY, N.C. — Police arrested a convicted kidnapper early Monday in the fatal shooting of four men in the town that inspired the idyllic community of Mayberry on the 1960s TV series "The Andy Griffith Show."

Marcos Chavez Gonzalez was charged with four counts of murder in the slayings late Sunday outside Woods TV in Mount Airy, about 100 miles north of Charlotte, police said.

The town, population 8,700, is the hometown of Andy Griffith and has built a tourist trade on nostalgia for the show that continues to thrive in syndication.

The four were shot in the shadow of a water tower that says "Welcome to Mount Airy" and has a picture of Griffith and Opie, his son on the show.

"This is Mayberry ... Andy Griffith's house is in spitting distance here," said Michael Wood, one of the owners of Woods TV.

Police do not believe the shootings were random, but Mount Airy Police Chief Dale Watson said they did not plan to release a motive.

Jose Armando Hernandez, 46, said through a translator that three of the victims were his nephews. He said his family is "destroyed" over the deaths, which he said stemmed from a problem with a woman. Police would not confirm that or identify the victims.

Gonzalez, 29, was arrested without incident at a motel about 50 miles northeast of the town, Henry County, Va., Sheriff Lane Perry said Monday. Gonzalez was unarmed when he surrendered just before 4 a.m. to officers who had surrounded the motel.

He was being held in the Henry County jail on charges that included being a fugitive from justice from North Carolina. He indicated he would not fight extradition, Perry said. Jail workers said it was not clear whether he had an attorney.

State prison records show Gonzalez was released more than two years ago after serving more than two years on a 2002 conviction for kidnapping a minor and a probation violation.

State records show the felony kidnapping charge required Gonzalez to register as a sex offender. North Carolina's post-release supervision of Gonzalez ended last November, Correction Department spokesman Keith Acree said.

Nursing supervisor Sue Coe at Northern Hospital of Surry County confirmed that two people died at the store around 2:30 p.m. Sunday. She said two who were wounded died at the hospital, just across the street from the store. Woods TV sells televisions and satellite systems.

By Monday, someone had set up a makeshift memorial with flowers. Mourners gathered there and some women lay on the ground crying. Someone christened the memorial with a bottle of Corona beer, which sat half empty next to brightly colored candles with photos of saints on them.

Gary Chilton, an owner of Chilton Insurance Group, which shares the building with Woods TV, said the crime is not indicative of the usually quiet town.

"I'm not sure it's totally sunk in because it's so unusual. On any given Sunday there is nothing here in this parking lot. There's nothing here at all," he said. "My biggest question is why in this parking lot at all. Why Woods TV parking lot?"

Additional coverage from MyFox8.com


MOUNT AIRY, N.C. — Police arrested a convicted kidnapper early Monday in the fatal shooting of four men in the town that inspired the idyllic community of Mayberry on the 1960s TV series "The Andy Griffith Show."

Marcos Chavez Gonzalez was charged with four counts of murder in the slayings late Sunday outside Woods TV in Mount Airy, about 100 miles north of Charlotte, police said.

The town, population 8,700, is the hometown of Andy Griffith and has built a tourist trade on nostalgia for the show that continues to thrive in syndication.

The four were shot in the shadow of a water tower that says "Welcome to Mount Airy" and has a picture of Griffith and Opie, his son on the show.

"This is Mayberry ... Andy Griffith's house is in spitting distance here," said Michael Wood, one of the owners of Woods TV.

Police do not believe the shootings were random, but Mount Airy Police Chief Dale Watson said they did not plan to release a motive.

Jose Armando Hernandez, 46, said through a translator that three of the victims were his nephews. He said his family is "destroyed" over the deaths, which he said stemmed from a problem with a woman. Police would not confirm that or identify the victims.

Gonzalez, 29, was arrested without incident at a motel about 50 miles northeast of the town, Henry County, Va., Sheriff Lane Perry said Monday. Gonzalez was unarmed when he surrendered just before 4 a.m. to officers who had surrounded the motel.

He was being held in the Henry County jail on charges that included being a fugitive from justice from North Carolina. He indicated he would not fight extradition, Perry said. Jail workers said it was not clear whether he had an attorney.

State prison records show Gonzalez was released more than two years ago after serving more than two years on a 2002 conviction for kidnapping a minor and a probation violation.

State records show the felony kidnapping charge required Gonzalez to register as a sex offender. North Carolina's post-release supervision of Gonzalez ended last November, Correction Department spokesman Keith Acree said.

Nursing supervisor Sue Coe at Northern Hospital of Surry County confirmed that two people died at the store around 2:30 p.m. Sunday. She said two who were wounded died at the hospital, just across the street from the store. Woods TV sells televisions and satellite systems.

By Monday, someone had set up a makeshift memorial with flowers. Mourners gathered there and some women lay on the ground crying. Someone christened the memorial with a bottle of Corona beer, which sat half empty next to brightly colored candles with photos of saints on them.

Gary Chilton, an owner of Chilton Insurance Group, which shares the building with Woods TV, said the crime is not indicative of the usually quiet town.

"I'm not sure it's totally sunk in because it's so unusual. On any given Sunday there is nothing here in this parking lot. There's nothing here at all," he said. "My biggest question is why in this parking lot at all. Why Woods TV parking lot?"

Additional coverage from MyFox8.com

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,570 ... latestnews

No wonder DHS has ordered police not to reveal immigration status. If this guy turns out to be an illegal they released from prison without deportation, all hell is going to break lose!

W

im willing to bet that he is an illegal.

http://www.wxii12.com/video/21502078/index.html

Videos from Winston-Salem TV

the chief DID NOT KNOW how long Gonzalez has been in the Mt Airy area.

Police Chief says there were at least 16 shots and that they came from a High power assault weapon

a question from someone said they heard a family member ORDERED a killing of one of those dead.

Police explore cause of fatal shooting
by Tom Joyce

An alleged mass murderer is back in Surry County after his capture early Monday in Virginia, with authorities still trying to pin down the circumstances of the shooting that left four men dead and shocked the community.

“We’re still in the initial phases,â€

I knew that this guy was illegal!!!

[quote]“I know this was a misunderstanding,â€