'America's Most Wanted' on the case

The fourth anniversary of Bill Powell's murder passed quietly last Sunday; however, North Augusta Department of Public Safety Director John Thomas is not letting the case languish.

Four years after a masked gunman went on a predawn shooting spree in North Augusta, killing one man and injuring two others, local investigators are hoping a national spotlight might help bring a murderer to justice and closure to the community he terrorized.

When Thomas took over as police chief last April, the veteran law enforcement officer began reviewing cold cases and looking for answers where so far there have been few. What stood out then and continues to plague the Public Safety director is the Nov. 22, 2005, shooting that unfolded on Highway 25 near the I-20 interchange.

Hoping to bring added exposure to the case, the department reached out to "America's Most Wanted" for help.

A correspondent for the national program, Angeline Hartmann, said "America's Most Wanted" producers are committed to covering the case and solving what she described as a "horrific crime" that unfolded only days before the Thanksgiving holiday that year.

Before sunrise that November morning, a gunman, known only by his description as a white man in his early 20s with sandy blond hair and a thin build, went on a shooting spree with an assault-style weapon.

The gunman first shot Constance Davidson during an attempted carjacking in the Burger King drive-through where the interstate meets Highway 25. When the carjacking failed, the man shot her in the back. Then, he moved on to the Huddle House, where he shot and killed 61-year-old William Levon Powell Jr. and wounded Powell's friend, the Rev. Earl Carter. From there, the gunman ran to the neighboring Circle K Bojangles' and wrested control of a 1991 four-door Oldsmobile from Ida Mae Heath.

Her car was later found at the nearby Sleep Inn, and the murderer was gone.

From time to time, the lead investigator on the case, Tim Thornton, receives tips about the case or the SKS weapon the suspect used, but so far those tips haven't added up, and the big break hasn't occurred.

Investigators have tracked leads up and down the Eastern Seaboard and followed clues as far west as Colorado, but now investigators and "America's Most Wanted" crews hope the expanded media coverage may bring the break they are seeking.

The partnership between North Augusta Public Safety and "America's Most Wanted" has already begun, Hartmann said.

"North Augusta Department of Public Safety has been very, very helpful," she said. "We've offered to team up with them and are committed to solving this case, whatever it takes."

Thornton agreed, noting the department has made reports available, and the show has done several telephone interviews with witnesses already.

Hartmann said she had lived in Atlanta at one time, and friends from Augusta originally told her about the case. She said she researched it and found the case was still open.

She has talked to Powell's widow, Mary Alice, several times.

"You can hear the pain in her voice," she reflected.

The correspondent said "America's Most Wanted" should be in North Augusta in the next two to three weeks to do more face-to-face interviews. Thornton is hopeful that the witnesses will cooperate in an effort to find the killer.

Thomas said the local media have done a good job of keeping the case alive through the years. With the addition of "America's Most Wanted," he said it's possible to reach someone like a trucker who passed through and may have seen something or picked up a hitchhiker. "There may be someone, even somewhere like Arizona, who saw something ... Maybe the national exposure will trigger something," he said.

Hartmann said the millions of viewers who tune in to the television show pay close attention to the clues.

"We've helped solve cases before," she said.

And with the right information, Thornton and Public Safety's Lt. Tim Pearson both said there is evidence available from the 2005 crime that would be useful in prosecuting the gunman.

Meanwhile, Chief Thomas said he knows that there is no closure for Powell's widow or the community until there is justice.

"They need answers ... the family needs closure," he said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the North Augusta Department of Public Safety at 279-2121.