Woodson indicted by W’boro grand jury

A Waynesboro grand jury Monday indicted Interstate 64 shooting suspect Slade Woodson on six felony charges in a pair of incidents in the city.
Bypassing a scheduled preliminary hearing, prosecutors obtained the indictments – including two new charges of maliciously firing from a vehicle – directly from the grand jury, Commonwealth’s Attorney Charles P. Ajemian said.
Woodson, 19, of Afton was indicted on two counts of firing into an occupied building, three counts of maliciously shooting from a vehicle and one count of destruction of property for allegedly firing on the Dupont Community Credit Union on Lucy Lane and an occupied home on North Commerce Avenue.
Police say those shootings were a continuation of early-morning attacks and vandalism along an 11-mile stretch of I-64 that left two people slightly injured and sparked a 29-hour manhunt in Albemarle County, where Woodson is facing 15 felony charges.
Brandon Dawson, 16, of Crozet, who allegedly accompanied Woodson during the shooting spree and pleaded guilty to related charges in an Albemarle County court Wednesday, was charged in the two Waynesboro incidents earlier this week. Dawson’s case has been referred to Waynesboro Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
Bullets struck a window and brick wall of the credit union building and a repossessed van in the parking lot, police said. Two shots were fired at the North Commerce Avenue home, where two people were asleep.
Woodson was originally charged in Waynesboro with one count of destruction of property and one count of firing into an occupied building. Police filed two new charges April 21 – a second felony charge of firing into an occupied building and a felony charge of maliciously shooting from a vehicle – after finding an additional bullet hole in the North Commerce Avenue residence and gathering new details about the credit union shooting, Waynesboro Detective Robert Luzader said.
The charge of maliciously shooting from a vehicle was filed in part because the bullet that struck the repossessed van in the credit union parking lot was fired in the general direction of a nearby subdivision, Luzader said.
Prosecutors declined to comment on why the grand jury handed down indictments Monday for two more charges of maliciously shooting from a vehicle.
Woodson is scheduled to appear June 24 in Waynesboro Circuit Court to either enter a plea agreement or request a trial date, Ajemian said.