Suspect with swastika tattoos charged with Virginia murder
A murder suspect with Nazi swastikas tattooed on each shoulder faced arraignment today in Virginia, three days after a 46-year-old man was fatally gunned down in his home.
Roger Melvin Tackett, 44, of Clintwood, Virginia, faces charges of first-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Over the weekend, Tackett was the subject of a multi-agency manhunt in western Virginia, near the state’s borders with Tennessee and North Carolina, after Bruce Douglas Ferguson, 46, was shot Friday at his residence on Lime Hill Road in Washington County.
Washington County Sheriff Fred Newman said the suspect was located Saturday at a home in Clinchburg, Virginia, about 20 miles from the shooting scene.
Officers negotiated with Tackett for an hour before he walked out of the residence, holding a knife. He was struck with a Taser and taken into custody.
The sheriff said the suspect and the victim, who was shot three times, knew each other. The two may have been “arguing over a woman acquaintance,” according to one media report.
Authorities says Tackett has “several white supremacist tattoos” and they are now investigating his ties to hate groups.
