Steven Dale Branscome

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• Police expand search for shooting suspect (April 2, 2008)

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• Sunday's search for Branscome
• Community donates food to help Floyd Co. manhunt

Steven Dale Branscome, who faces numerous charges in connection with the March 28 wounding of a Virginia state trooper, was arrested this early morning at a Texas motel, according to information released at a news conference at the Floyd County Courthouse, which ended a short time ago.

Authorities had been tracking Branscome for days, in part due to a number of stolen vehicles in Floyd County as well as in Statesville and Ashe County, N.C. It was a stolen church van that investigators located at the motel, the Bostonian Inn, in New Boston, Texas – not far from Texarkana in the northeast part of the state. This morning around 12:40, a U.S. Marshal’s Service SWAT team moved in on Branscome’s believed location, authories said.

Branscome did briefly resist, but then gave himself up and was arrested without major incident.

“This is the safe solution we were hoping for,” said Col. Steven Flaherty, the Virginia state police superintendent. “By increasing presence in the Floyd County area, we were able to force Branscome out into the open and way from the support network that enabled him to elude investigators for the past week.”

Authorities believe Branscome was likely heading for Mexico, and they have no reason at this point to believe he knew anyone in Texas.

Branscome was alone in the motel when he was arrested this morning.

The search for Branscome began on March 28 when he became the suspect in the shooting of state trooper Richard Hughes, who was shot in the neck.

Hughes, who reported he was pursuing Branscome on foot following a vehicle pursuit near Glen Lyn in Giles County,  was treated and released from the hospital and has already returned to work.

Branscome, 32,  faces numerous federal charges as well as charges in Virginia, North Carolina, and West Virginia, which is where the shooting of Hughes took place, just over the Virginia line outside of Giles County. In West Virginia, Branscome already faces charges of malicious wounding and wanton endangerment in relation to the shooting.