Name: Grand jury delivers indictments in South River Market explosion
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Grand jury delivers indictments in South River Market explosion

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Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email.Please subscribe to keep reading. You can cancel at any time.Loading&amp;hellp;{{title}}{{description}}{{banner}}(renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax){{tagline}}{{special_title}}{{html}}You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.© 2022 Lee EnterprisesShare ThisGrand jury delivers indictments in South River Market explosionShare thisA 2019 explosion at the South River in Rockbridge County killed four people and injured three others. A Rockbridge County grand jury has handed down indictments in the case.Days after an explosion killed four people at the South River Market in Rockbridge County, hundreds of people gathered for a candlelight vigil.The May 2019 explosion at the South River Market killed owner Roger Lee Roberts; his son, Kevin Roberts; his granddaughter, Samantha Roberts Lewis; and Paul Ruley, a regular customer.Rockbridge County authorities have arrested a man in the 2019 Buena Vista gas station explosion and fire that killed four people and injured three others.A news release from the county commonwealth’s attorney says that Phillip Ray Westmoreland is jailed without bail on four counts of involuntary manslaughter.The May 10, 2019, explosion at the South River Market killed the store’s owner, Roger Lee Roberts, 69; his son, Kevin Tate Roberts, 44; his granddaughter, Samantha Gail Lewis, 27; and a longtime patron, Paul Dewayne Ruley, 54. Kevin Roberts and Lewis were working at the store that day.According to the Rockbridge Regional Jail’s online records, Westmoreland is 51. The news release provided no other information about Westmoreland, and Commonwealth’s Attorney Jared Moon declined to give any details beyond what was in the news release.However, according to a search warrant that state police filed with Roanoke County in 2019, a person named Phillip Ray Westmoreland delivered a gasoline order from Webb’s Oil Corp. to the South River Market on the day of the explosion. According to the warrant, an investigator sought information related to the driver’s training in such deliveries from the business, which is located off U.S. 11 in the Hollins area of Roanoke County.Other warrants filed in the case sought access to a “2017 Mack Tractor-Truck” located at the distributor’s headquarters, along with equipment used in deliveries; business records between the market and its fuel distributor; and the truck driver’s cellphone records from the day of the explosion.According to the request for phone records, filed May 28, 2019, the driver used his phone before and after the delivery, and the records “will aid agents in establishing exact route to and from the delivery site and will assist in establishing a time line of events.” A delivery was made about 8:45 a.m. and the explosion happened at 9:23 a.m., according to the documents.An employee answering the phone at Webb’s Oil on Monday routed a reporter’s call to the company’s president, David Webb. He did not immediately return a voice message.According to the news release, the Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office requested that Virginia State Police conduct the investigation. The agency’s Salem Field Office gave its files on the case to Moon’s office in December 2019. Moon petitioned the county’s circuit court to empanel a special grand jury, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed its proceedings, the release states.The grand jury met for three days last week, then handed up the indictments.Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email.A 2019 explosion at the South River in Rockbridge County killed four people and injured three others. A Rockbridge County grand jury has handed down indictments in the case.Days after an explosion killed four people at the South River Market in Rockbridge County, hundreds of people gathered for a candlelight vigil.The May 2019 explosion at the South River Market killed owner Roger Lee Roberts; his son, Kevin Roberts; his granddaughter, Samantha Roberts Lewis; and Paul Ruley, a regular customer.Westmoreland{{title}}{{summary}}You don't have any notifications.Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.Topics

Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email.Please subscribe to keep reading. You can cancel at any time.Loading&amp;hellp;{{title}}{{description}}{{banner}}(renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax){{tagline}}{{special_title}}{{html}}You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.© 2022 Lee EnterprisesShare ThisGrand jury delivers indictments in South River Market explosionShare thisA 2019 explosion at the South River in Rockbridge County killed four people and injured three others. A Rockbridge County grand...

Grand jury delivers indictments in South River Market explosion

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