Truck stolen from Floyd County possibly found in North Carolina
Police in Iredell County, North Carolina are investigating to see if a truck found near Interstate 77 in Statesville, NC is the same truck that was taken from a Floyd County, Virginia tree farm on Wednesday.
Published: April 4, 2008
Updated: June 12, 2008
Police in Iredell County, North Carolina are investigating to see if a truck found near Interstate 77 in Statesville, NC is the same truck that was taken from a Floyd County, Virginia tree farm on Wednesday.
Virginia State Police have not officially linked the truck to Steven Branscome, the man investigators believe shot a Giles County State Trooper a week ago today, but have not ruled it out either.
A license plate on the truck matches the tag number police say they are looking for. The tree farm’s name has been painted over.
10 On Your Side’s Scott Leamon is working on this story. More information as it becomes available on http://www.wsls.com, and tonight on WSLS at 6:00 p.m.
Reader Reactions
I think Col Flarherty of the VA State Police summed it up well for us when he stated “this is the safe resolution that we were hoping for.” “By increasing police presence in the Floyd County area, we were able to force Branscome out into the open and away from the support network that enabled him to elude investigators for the past week.”
I know there are people out there that care about Steven, but the fact of the matter is that he shot someone. And it happened to be an officer just trying to do his job. It seems silly to me to think that if he had tried to kill a cilvilian the police wouldn’t have done everything in their power to apprehend him just the same. There are countless murder trials in our country each year to prove that.
I’m thankful that no one else was hurt, including my husband and every other person, police or civilian, that helped bring him to justice. This is not about judging his family, his community or any of the people who love him. It’s about paying the consequences for the choices you make. Branscome is not above the law.
just cant believe there are so many people out there who dont know god.(vatrpswife) you may be able to and ask to leave god out of this, but he should be in every breath you take , he is in mine. you know as well as i do you and i both would be begging for our childs life, unless you are heartless like his dad,and i cant believe the bashing you are giving me which boils down to your husbands job. i can tell you for sure i didnot choose that job for him so that means he chose it and that is his job.maybe you need to re-read my comment because i dont get how bitter you are because i ask for prayers.i re-read it and i dont know where all your bitterness is coming from. i never once bashed the police in my comment and i hate it that he hasnt been home enough to please you but that is in a days work. i didnt put my statement up just to have godless people call me names and make injust remarks. i just ask for your prayers. and it is real sad that god isnt in your life since your husband is in law . he should be #1. my nephew is in law in floyd and i prayed for him and the others as well as i did branscome. so why are you so bitter against me for praying for all involved and wanting a good out come. find god and may he help you with your bitterness, i will keep you in my prayers and god bless you and your husband.p.s. from what i hear today he has been caught in texas, and no one got hurt. GOD BLESS US EVERYONE!!!
I have a question to all concerning Branscome. How can any of us really judge what someone else does? Consider what must have happened to him as a child to make him what he is today. I’m not agreeing with what he has done, but I think we should all be careful how we are so quick to judge others. The reason there are different accounts of the kind of person he is, is because he is both. He can be a very nice guy, to those who are willing to give him a chance. And to those who judge him a bad apple to start with,get what they asked for. He should have to pay for his crimes. But as far as the manhunt that disrupted all of Floyd and the troopers families, let me ask you this, if he would have grazed me with a bullet noone would have heard his name.But because he had a badge there was a massive manhunt. Not that his life isn’t important but would mine be worth all that trouble and man power? I doubt it. When we are all so quick to throw stones I agree we really should be asking what would jesus do?
If this was anyone else that was shot at other than a state trooper there would not be all this law enforcement or tactile team ransacking through Floyd County looking for Steve. To the troopers wife’s Im sorry your husbands have to stay in Floyd and not at home, I say “Hi” to them 10 times a day when Im stopped at the end of my raod or while they are sitting in my driveway or just walking around my land snooping. I think I will buy them a bag of doughnuts on my way home this afternoon after work. And as far as it goes with Steve—Run boy Run-just get the heck away from my house so the cops will sit somewhere else!
I have known Steven and his family for the better part of 30 years. I grew up with him and went to school with him. He IS a good person inside. He got into drugs and that has affected his ability to use sensible judgement. Granted it was not even close to being right for him to shoot anyone let alone a state trooper who was just doing his job. As far as talking about his family you can not sit back and judge a family based on how their child turned out. Stevens mother is a wonderful church going woman who did her best raising her kids. His father on the other hand is not a noce person. He believed in using unnessecery force in disipline. Steven does need to turn himself in and face what he has done but had he intended to murder anyone I am quite sure he would have. I am sure he is scared and knows that the cops will kill him at first sight because typically cops stick together and will shoot to kill on sight. I hope Steven does turn himself in but I wouldn’t bet on it. If I had to take a wild guess on it he is no longer in Floyd County. By now he could be out of the country if he was the one who took the truck to N.C. Maybe ya’ll should sit back and see how you would feel if nobody’s were sitting back judging you based soley upon what drugs has led your child to do. Steven’s mom is a great person and so is his grandmother. Remember march, vatrprswife,FC buff,gmc, and trprskid judge not lest ye be judged.
ok folks, let’s get one thing straight. if and when we see Branscome, we will not be trigger happy. that’s why we “train” all the time. if he poses a threat then it might be different, but we (all law enforcement) are not trigger happy cops like most people seem to think. as for Branscome, he chose the path he is walking right now. nobody else but him. nobody put a gun to his head and told him to do meth, or to be a criminal, or to shoot a fellow brother of mine. he made his choices and now he will face the consequences. as for the people saying that law enforcement are scaring you, well consider not having us around for 48 hours and see what happens to your community. i can almost guarantee you wouldn’t sleep at night for fear someone might break in your residence or commit some other type of crime. better yet, come do our job for 12 hours and see what we see and do what we do and then criticize us! only then can you say negative things about law enforcement. but until you put that vest on, or that 20-25lb duty belt around your waist,or have to tell your loved ones bye for the day or night and know there’s a possibility of not walking back through that door, then you can say you’ve walked thru our shoes and know what we do for a living. yes we chose this career, because we care about EVERYONE and their SAFETY.
To the person asking the WWJD? Dont bring god into this now when it comes to Branscome. I’ll tell you WWJD, he would NOT HAVE SHOT A TROOPER!!!! You go ahead and feel sorry for him, maybe he will come knocking on your door and you can take him in and love him because all he is and has ever been is a stray. No wonder his dad didnt come forward, would you come forward if that was your son. Maybe his dad washed his hands of him a long time ago because he is what he is. I do not feel sorry for Branscome, he knew what he was doing and still does as he continues to elude the police. The police are not the bad guys. I agree with the other troopers wife, you dont want the law around until something goes wrong. My husband has had to stay in Floyd County since last week and he has not been able to come home. He has to work 12 hr shifts to deal with the dope heads and has been told that until he is caught that the members on his Tactical Team aren’t coming home. Thanks Steve Branscome, even though you are a nobody and you dont have family that cares about you….well the law enforcement that is out looking for you do. So back to “March”, thanks a lot for feeling sorry for the wrong person. I hope you have a nice day, and maybe if we are lucky that sticks and stones thing you talked about… well maybe somebody will beat you with it and knock some sense in to you. HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!
I would like to say that all of you guys that say he isnt doing anything wrong are idiots. To me if someone trys to shoot someone that means that they are seriously messed up. I had to go through not seeing my daddy for three days! He couldnt come to my softball practices, i couldnt talk to him when i needed him, and worst of all he wasnt there to make fun of comercials with me and my sister! I was calling him at 11:00 at night asking him if was was alive and okay. Once he didnt answer…because nature was calling :), and I flipped out! I was totally uspet. He called me back shortly but it was still usetting to think that he might not be there. So to all of you people that say you support him, you should be supporting ppl like my dad and his friends are not only risking their lives but also taking time away from their home lives to find this freak. So next time you even consider taking the lunatics side…DON’T.
Maybe Steve Branscome will turn himself in to Loving since they are such good buds, at least I hope so. My husband is a state police officer and I haven’t seen him for 14 hours a day since last Sunday. Am I complaining? No, because I love him and it goes along with the job. Ted Bundy was also called a kind and sweet guy. Trooper Hughes was correct when he said God was with him when he was shot. Police aren’t allowed to shoot suspects in the back but I bet Mr. Branscome would have done that to Trooper Hughes if he had the chance. Maybe the police shouldn’t be over in Barren Springs protecting them or SCARING them. That’s the craziest statement I’ve heard. People always wonder where the police are when they need them. They are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. Best THANG for Loving to do is to pray for God’s Will.
OMG!!! Can you believe the nerve of loving. Yes Steven Branscome should hold the key to the county of Floyd because he is such a remarkable citizen….you dear are an idiot. You apparently haven’t been “knowen” him long enough to realize that this man tried to MURDER a man that protects you and your family everyday. My husband is a trooper in VA and I haven’t been able to see him really since last Friday when all of this happened. My husband has not been able to see his little girl since that happened either. I agree with the other troopers wife, when you see our husband’s out in Floyd County, tell them thank you and hello for us since “ya’ll” have got to see them more than their families have. I just love how some piece of trash does something like Branscome has done and people come out of the woodworks to make it look like he did nothing wrong. Oh, I cant wait until they catch him. A real man would turn him self in. I guess he is too tweeked out on meth though, or is he not a drug user either. This man is a piece of trash who needs to come forward and do his time before somebody gets hurt and we all know you shoot at a thug they walk away you shoot at a man doing his job and that man might not be so lucky. These people in Floyd need to get their heads out of the @$$ and wake up. We know that you all have contact with him, rat him out…..he would do it to you. On that note, I am going to end this comment and sit by the phone and wait for my husband to call and pray to god that they catch this trash so our troopers can come home to us.
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