Police are still looking for the Huddle House shooting suspect 11/19/2008 12:27 AM
By PHYLLIS BRITT North Augusta bureau
Three years later, there are still no concrete leads as to who killed one man, wounded two others and made off in a stolen car during the predawn hours of Nov. 22, 2005.
Local police are still working the case as best they can, but the leads grow fewer and further apart as time goes on, according to Det. Tim Thornton, lead investigator on the case for the North Augusta Department of Public Safety.
Of late, said Thornton, "There have been a couple of cases in other parts of the country similar to our crime ... but nothing has panned out."
On the Monday before Thanksgiving in 2005, a masked gunman attempted to take the vehicle of Constance Davidson as she attempted to move through the drive-through at the Burger King on Highway 25 near I-20 in North Augusta. When the assailant did not gain access to her car, he shot her as she sped away and then moved on to the parking lot of the Huddle House across the street. There he shot and killed William Powell and wounded his friend, the Rev. Earl Carter. The two men met with a group regularly for coffee at the restaurant. From there, the gunman ran to the Circle K Bojangles' next door and was successful in wresting control of a 1991 four-door Oldsmobile from Ida Mae Heath.
The car was later found at the nearby Sleep Inn, but the gunman was gone.
A composite drawing was circulated, but as the third anniversary of the tragedy draws nigh, the gunman is still in the wind.
The group at the Huddle House that included Powell no longer meets there.
Det. Thornton said he still gets tips from time to time ... "and we still run those down," he said, but he admits that the more time passes, the harder it gets. "One year after it happened, we could continue to ask potential suspects where they were last Thanksgiving," he said, noting that because it was so close to a special holiday, it was easy for people to remember what they were doing at the time - when it's only last year.
"But three years later ... it becomes more difficult to say where you were," he said, adding that likewise as more time passes, it becomes less likely that law enforcement can focus in on a suspect simply because he can't remember where he was at the time. "It's a little more difficult to establish an alibi or even to combat a suspect's alibi now," he said.
Thornton also admitted he works hard at taking every lead seriously.
He said a couple of national crime shows have expressed interest in the case, but that, too, hasn't led anywhere - yet. And if one of those shows does decide to focus on the case, Thornton wonders how many people may "recognize" the composite drawing and think they've found the perpetrator.
"I feel like I've been chasing ghosts for three years," said the detective, who admitted it's easy to fall into the attitude that the next call will be just as useless as the previous one. "I have to remind myself that this could be the one," he said.
And Thornton's supervisor agrees. Capt. Randy Mosley called it a "baffling" case.
"But I think one day we're going to get a break," he said optimistically.
For now, Thornton admitted that in a city the size of North Augusta, the reality is he is reminded of the case on a regular basis; he attends the same church as the Powell family and sees them frequently, but he said he's reluctant to contact them.
"When I see them, I feel like I've somehow failed as a detective ... I'm sure when they see me they go back to said times," he said, explaining he doesn't want to do that. "I would like to be able to go to them with news that would give them some closure," he said.
So Thornton and other members of the investigation team at North Augusta Department of Public Safety continue to work on the case, continue to follow the leads, continue to chat with whomever will listen.
"And I'm confident the Powells know that when we find something, they'll be the first to know," he said.
Anyone who may have information about the shooting can call North Augusta Public Safety at (803) 279-2121.
The gunman was described as a white male 20 to 25 years old, 5-foot-4 to 5-foot-8 inches tall and about 180 pounds. He had brown eyes, dark eyebrows and sandy brown hair. During the shooting, he was wearing a heavy multi-colored jacket, black or blue ski mask and heavy brogans.
Investigators say they think the gun was an SKS assault rifle, which looks like a short-barrelled pistol with a fold-down stock.
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