CHRISTIANSBURG -- While being led past a bank of television cameras the day after his brother was captured, Michael Morva called out "Why I am here?"

Authorities have been tight-lipped on that subject, but court records indicate Morva has tried before to distance himself from his younger brother.

Five hours after William Morva escaped police custody early Sunday morning at Montgomery Regional Hospital, allegedly killing a security guard in the process, his older brother was arrested. Michael Morva was charged with marijuana possession and conspiring with a prisoner to escape police custody.

Court papers allege the conspiracy took place between Jan. 4 and 15 -- more than eight months before William Morva made his break. Both Morva brothers were doing time in the Montgomery County Jail during that period, according to court records.

Commonwealth's Attorney Brad Finch on Wednesday refused to talk about the charges. He would not say if the prisoner with whom Michael Morva is alleged to have conspired is his brother. Finch wouldn't say whether authorities had any advance knowledge of an escape plan involving William Morva, who is expected to be charged with another count of capital murder in relation to the shooting death of a sheriff's deputy during the 37-hour manhunt that followed his escape and ended up shutting down Virginia Tech's campus and sections of Blacksburg.

William Morva has not yet been charged in the death of Deputy Eric E. Sutphin. Finch said he will not file charges for that crime until after the funerals of Sutphin and the security guard, Derrick McFarland. The latter of those funerals is Monday.

Authorities also are witholding the name of the deputy who was escorting Morva when he escaped. Their stated intention is to let him recover from his injuries in peace.

Michael Morva's court-appointed attorney, Mark Anderson, has not returned calls for comment. Before he was arrested, Michael Morva was facing charges that he, his brother and another man, Gregory Nelson, tried to break into and steal money from the Freedom First Credit Union on Draper Road and the Food Time on Heather Drive, both in Blacksburg.

Testimony by Nelson in a transcript from a preliminary hearing in March indicates Michael Morva had tried to distance himself from his brother long before his televised outburst Tuesday outside of the Montgomery County Court.

Nelson said Michael Morva became fed up with repeated attempts by his brother to break into an ATM at the Food Time, and had vented his frustrations one day in the apartment the brothers shared.

"Mike and Will became on unfriendly speaking terms," Nelson said.

David Rhodes, Michael Morva's attorney for the hearing, pressed Nelson.

"Didn't he say, 'I don't want anything to do with you all; you all are crazy,' and then he left?" he asked Nelson.

"I believe so -- yes," Nelson replied.

Nelson testified that both Morva brothers were involved in an attempt to break into the Freedom First ATM. He also said Michael Morva discussed the layout of the Food Time building, the placement of the ATM and security there, before the argument in the apartment.

William Morva was scheduled to go to trial Wednesday on robbery, weapons and burglary charges related to an attempted armed robbery of a Blacksburg Deli Mart in August 2005. That trial has been postponed until Nov. 29.

William Morva also faces charges related to failed robbery attempts of the Freedom First and Food Time as well as a Blacksburg Burger King.

According to testimony, those attempts involved trying to cut through doors or break into ATMs with a saw or drill during the summer of 2005.

"There's like a week and every night we would go and every night something would go wrong," Stanford Harvey said in the March preliminary hearing.

Harvey also faces several charges related to the attempted robberies of the Burger King and Food Time.

Michael Morva was in jail from Dec. 31 until Jan. 15. He was released on $10,000 bail.

No bail was set for William Morva. But in a checklist for bail determinations on Aug. 17, 2005, William Morva's argument for bail was described.

"Accused states that he does not have much money and he would never really hurt anyone."