Attempted Murder Suspect Captured in Lee County

Abingdon, VA - A Lee County native accused of attempted murder in Indiana was apprehended by a U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force in Pennington Gap, Virginia last night. David L. Stapleton, 45, originally of Lee County, has been charged with attempted murder by authorities in Ft. Wayne, Indiana following a bar fight in which Stapleton is alleged to have stabbed Charles Minnix with a broken beer bottle multiple times. Minnix was admitted to a hospital in Allen Co., Indiana in fair condition with a punctured lung and cuts to his arm, neck and head. Stapleton was originally arrested on an aggravated battery charge outside his home in Fort Wayne and later released on bond. Stapleton failed to appear in court as directed and prosecutors upgraded the charges to attempted murder and issued a warrant for his arrest.

The U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Fugitive Task Force adopted the case to assist Ft. Wayne authorities with the apprehension of Stapleton. Based on leads developed in Indiana, the Blue Ridge Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (BRFAST) task force of the U.S. Marshals, Western District of Virginia began investigating the whereabouts of Stapleton. Based on information developed, a cadre of task force officers from the U.S. Marshals, Virginia State Police, Washington Co. Sheriff’s Office, Wise Co. Sheriff’s Office and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office apprehended Stapleton without incident on Belgium Hollow Road in Pennington Gap around 11:30 pm Sunday night.

Stapleton was charged with being a fugitive from justice in Indiana and was incarcerated in the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail at Duffield to await extradition proceedings back to Indiana. If convicted, Stapleton faces a prison sentence of 20 to 50 years.

The Blue Ridge Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (BRFAST) task force was formed by the Marshals Service in 2004 as a joint federal, state and local law enforcement endeavor to pursue and arrest dangerous fugitives wanted at the international, national and state level thereby making our communities safer for our citizens and our children. To date, the BRFAST has cleared more than 200 federal arrest warrants and over 500 state arrest warrants.

The Marshals Service is our nation’s oldest federal law enforcement agency founded in 1789. U.S. Marshals and their deputies are responsible for providing protection to the federal judiciary, transporting federal prisoners, protecting endangered federal witnesses and managing assets seized from criminal enterprises. In fiscal year 2006, the Marshals Service apprehended more than 35,500 federal fugitives, more than all other federal law enforcement agencies combined.

In addition, while working with authorities at the state and local levels, Marshals Service led fugitive task forces arrested an additional 44,000 state and local fugitives. More on the U.S. Marshals and the historic Western District of Virginia can be found at www.usmarshals.gov by clicking on Local District Offices.