Suspect in Talbot Co. manhunt located in Virginia
TALBOT CO., Md. – Police have captured a man wanted in connection to a shooting incident that took place Sunday night.
At around 9 p.m., deputies with the Talbot County Sheriff’s Office responded to the University of Maryland Shore Regional Health at Easton for a reported shooting victim. It was learned that the victim, identified as 39-year-old Jahari Cooper, was driving a vehicle near the Unionville community when the suspect, 36-year-old Stewart Orlando Ray, passed the victim’s vehicle on Unionville Road and pulled off. As Cooper passed Ray’s vehicle, Ray allegedly shot at Cooper’s vehicle multiple times, hitting Cooper and his vehicle.
Ray then fled the area, failing to stop for a stop sign at the intersection of Unionville Road and Bruffs Island Road, before veering off the roadway and hitting several parked vehicles. His vehicle was disabled as a result, and he fled on foot into a large wooded area in rural Talbot County.
A 24-hour manhunt ensued in Talbot County that covered several thousand acres of woods and marsh. The search for Ray continued all night during the severe storms of August 7th and 8th.
It was determined that Ray specifically targeted the victim over a dispute with a common girlfriend. An arrest warrant was obtained for Ray, charging him with attempted murder, first degree assault, reckless endangerment, and use of a firearm in a violent crime.
During the very early morning hours of August 8th, investigators learned that Ray may have slipped through the area during the severe thunderstorms and made his way back to the Washington D.C. metro area. Information was relayed to law enforcement in that area. At around 12:45 p.m., the Alexandria Police Department responded to a reported shooting in the 3600 block of Richmond Highway, learning that a wanted fugitive was located in the Potomac Yard shopping center. That fugitive was identified as Ray, and as police tried to take him into custody, he was shot. He was then taken to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Ray is hospitalized at this time. He is currently on probation for a 2009 conviction of attempted second degree murder.
Our original story can be found here.
