Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

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March 28, 2007

Patrolman shot, injured during routine traffic stop

Police tracking suspects after they flee into woods

By GREG JORDAN

BRAMWELL — Troopers, deputies, a K-9 tracking unit and a National Guard helicopter were dispatched to a site off U.S. Route 52 early Wednesday morning after a gunshot struck and injured a Bramwell police officer.

Patrolman Robert Stevenson was shot and injured during a traffic stop on Route 52 in Bramwell, said Sgt. M.D. Clemons of the West Virginia State Police, Princeton detachment. He was later treated and released at Bluefield Regional Medical Center.

The incident began when Stevenson and Bramwell Police Chief Edwin Vanover were driving on Route 52’s southbound lane 11:40 p.m. Tuesday when they stopped a pickup truck with equipment problems, Clemons said.

“It was a black 1991 Ford Ranger truck with defective exhaust, a defective registration light and Tennessee tags,” Clemons said.

When Vanover and Stevenson approached the truck, they learned that the driver was Matoaka area resident Sherri Matney, 40, Clemons said. The male passenger did not have any identification and initially provided a false name, but a check with MCIC records for possible warrants indicated the subject was Matney’s cousin, Eric Matney.

Record indicated Eric Matney had a distinctive tattoo, a vulgar phrase, on his chest, Clemons said. More information concerning Sherri Matney was forthcoming.

“Nine one one got a hit,” Clemons said. “She [Sherri Matney] had warrants out of Tazewell County for a probation violation, and had warrants with the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department and the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Taskforce.”

The Bramwell officers did not have a chance to check Eric Matney’s records, Clemons said. They returned to the truck and Matney became nervous when they asked to see his chest.

Stevenson approached the driver’s side and asked Sherri Matney to step out of the vehicle. She refused, then locked the door and partially rolled up the window, Clemons said.

“It was five-speed truck. She initially had been asked to turn it off. She had complied. At this point she turns the ignition and Eric puts the car into gear for her,” Clemons said.

Stevenson stepped back into the highway, but he was grazed by the truck and knocked down as Sherri Matney pulled out, Clemons said.

“She’s cutting a hard left. It was at this point he hears a gun shot fired. He feels something strike the right side of his abdomen and feels a burning sensation,” Clemons said. “He was wearing a bullet proof vest, but it appears he was actually grazed.”

Chief Vanover returned fire and hit the truck’s right rear tire. The truck came to rest and the Matneys fled on foot into the woods, Clemons said.

It was not known who actually fired the shot, or what type of weapon was used, Clemons said. During a debriefing at BRMC, Stevenson said that he saw Sherri Matney reach under her seat, but did not see a weapon.

Officers with the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department, WV State Police detachments from Princeton and Welch, and a National Guard helicopter were dispatched. A K-9 unit attempted to track the couple.

Anyone with information about the case should contact the West Virginia State Police at 304-425-2102 or the Mercer County 911 non-emergency number, 304-425-8911.

— Contact Greg Jordan at

gjordan@bdtonline.com

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