UPDATE FROM THE VINTON POLICE DEPARTMENT: On March 31, 2016, at 5:08 PM the Vinton Police Department was notified that a wanted person was located at a residence in the 1200 block of Ruddell Road. Two Vinton officers responded to the residence and encountered a female occupant and an armed male subject inside the residence. The female occupant was safely removed from the home by the officers. The armed suspect, James Robert Vermillion, age 37, who was wanted on outstanding warrants, approached the officers with a gun to his head while moving to his vehicle parked adjacent to the residence.
The subject then fled the residence in his vehicle at which point Vinton officers engaged in a pursuit into Bedford County on Hardy Road. The pursuit was terminated in the area of Timberline Road when officers lost sight of the suspect vehicle. Officers were notified a short time later the vehicle was at the intersection of Rt. 24 and Beagle Club Rd where the vehicle had crashed. The suspect, still armed, carjacked a citizen’s vehicle and again fled in the stolen vehicle. A Vinton officer observed the stolen vehicle on Rt. 24 traveling toward Vinton and reinitiated the pursuit. Contact with the suspect was then lost due to traffic; however, the vehicle in question was later located abandoned near the intersection of Jefferson Ave. and Chestnut St. in Vinton. Officers from Vinton, Roanoke City, Roanoke County, Virginia State Police, and members of the United States Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force determined the suspect was located in a private residence on Pine Street. A perimeter was formed by responding officers, and the Roanoke County Tactical Team activated.
The Roanoke County Police Department’s Tactical Team and hostage negotiators began their attempts to contact the suspect at approximately 9:10PM. Also assisting were special agents of the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation. The situation continued throughout the night as negotiators worked to convince Vermillion to surrender. At 8:51AM on April 1, 2016 Mr. Vermillion was taken into custody by members of the Roanoke City Tactical Team which relieved Roanoke County SWAT.
• The Vinton Police Department will be investigating charges related to felony attempt to elude law enforcement, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, brandishing a firearm, and other related offenses.
• The carjacking is being investigated the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office.
• The vehicle crash a Beagle Club road is being investigated by the Virginia State Police.
Participating and assisting agencies included (listed alphabetically)
• Roanoke County Police Department
• Roanoke County Sheriff’s Office
• Roanoke City Police Department
• United States Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force
• Vinton Police Department
• Virginia State Police
Chief Foster states the successful resolution to this the matter illustrates the exceptional level of interagency cooperation that exists in the Roanoke Valley.
