A Jeep that Roanoke County police believe was involved in a fatal hit-and-run has now been linked to a man charged with hitting a pedestrian in Floyd County, according to court papers.

Jeffery Martin Young, 30, of Floyd County was charged with malicious wounding after a woman was hit with a vehicle and then attacked with a stick outside Slaughters' Supermarket on Wednesday, two days after runner Thomas Farrell was killed in Southwest Roanoke County.

Young was known to have driven a white Jeep Wrangler that police believe was involved in the Roanoke County hit-and-run, according to a police affidavit filed Tuesday in Roanoke Circuit Court. A different vehicle hit the woman in Floyd County.

The Jeep, which was found Monday at a towing company's lot in Roanoke, had front-end damage and "reddish orange marks ... similar in color to the reflective safety vest worn by Farrell at the time of the crash," the affidavit says.

Jeffery Martin Young

Young has not been charged in the Roanoke County hit-and-run, and police wouldn't say if he's a suspect. His lawyer, Fred Kellerman, declined to comment.

Young was taken to the New River Valley Regional Jail in Dublin after his arrest on the Floyd County charge. He has since been moved to Central State Hospital, a state mental facility in Petersburg that conducts psychiatric evaluations, authorities said.

In the affidavit, Roanoke County police said they saw Young driving the white Jeep at the Country Store on Starkey Road early Jan. 28, less than three hours before Farrell, 49, was found dead on nearby Springlawn Avenue.

County police Lt. Chuck Mason said an officer stopped because he thought Young appeared suspicious, but did not detain or charge him. Mason said county officers had had contact with Young 11 times between Jan. 25 and Jan. 28, all in Southwest Roanoke County. Some contacts had been made after residents called police; most were initiated by officers on patrol.

A resident found Farrell's body about 5:45 a.m.

Employees at the Country Store say they saw a man they believe was Young at the store that morning shortly before 6.

He had a white Jeep that was dented in the front and was emanating steam and fluids, store employee William Parfitt said.

The man came into the store several times and wandered around, at one point fixing a hot drink and leaving it behind without paying for it, employees said. He also moved the Jeep several times to different parking places.

Store manager Penny Prillaman said the man told employees he was having "vehicle problems." Prillaman said the man followed her as she walked toward the Jeep.

He did not say anything, but his demeanor frightened her, Prillaman said.

"He was always watching me," she said. "It was like he was trying to read my mind or something."

At one point, the man left in a taxi only to return about 10 minutes later, employees said.

Robbie Yates, an employee at a nearby business, saw the man sitting in the Jeep behind the Country Store about 7 a.m.

He was sitting in the Jeep again when Yates broke for lunch about 1 p.m. The Jeep was towed the next day, Jan. 29.

An employee of Slaughters' Supermarket was attacked about 3 p.m. Wednesday as she walked from her car to the store, fellow employee Jennifer Boothe said.

Neither Boothe nor authorities would identify the woman, but an arrest warrant identifies her as Ciera Sowers.

"None of us saw her actually get hit with the vehicle," Boothe said, "but we did see him hit her with the stick" after allegedly knocking her down with the vehicle.

The man tried to come inside the store, but Boothe said she had locked the doors and called 911.

Sowers did not know her attacker, according to Boothe and the authorities. She was treated at Carilion New River Valley Medical Center after she suffered head and leg injuries, Floyd County authorities said.

She does not remember much about the attack, Boothe said.

"She was in shock down here -- you know, 'Why did he hit me?' " Boothe said.

Several employees had seen the man sitting in the parking lot on and off throughout the day before the attack, Boothe said.

Authorities declined to say what type of vehicle was used in the Floyd County incident, but court papers said it belonged to a relative of Young's.

Roanoke County police said they received several tips about a white Jeep during their investigation. On Wednesday, Floyd County authorities told Roanoke County police about Young's arrest and said he was known to drive a white Jeep.

Authorities did not say who owns the Jeep.

Neighbors portrayed Young as a troubled man whose behavior alarmed them.

Loretta Moran said she got along fine with Young's mother for the dozen years Roberta Young rented a house from her in the rural Copper Hill section of Floyd County. But Moran said Jeffery Young, who lived with his mother much of the time, often seemed angry.

Jeffery Young was most recently living in the town of Floyd in the Pine Ridge apartment complex. Barbara Simpkins, who moved next door to Young last summer, said he sported a shaved head, wore a long white robe and was given to long periods of meditation, sitting either on his porch surrounded by candles or in a field next to the apartments. He seemed sad and withdrawn, but never aggressive, she said.

"My heart went out to him," Simpkins said.

Simpkins said the last time she saw Young was about a month ago, when she and other residents noticed him sitting in his Jeep in the parking lot. He stayed there for more than a day, with his apartment door standing open. Residents called police and Young's mother, Simpkins said. Finally Young drove off.

About three weeks later, Simpkins said, she heard he had been charged in the attack at the supermarket.

Staff writer Shawna Morrison contributed to this report.

reed.williams@roanoke.com | 981-3334

mike.gangloff@roanoke.com | 981-3336