Pair charged in carjacking, robbery that left one dead

Posted 9:22AM on Tuesday 16th April 2002 ( 23 years ago )

CLYDE, N.C. - More charges are possible against a Georgia man and a South Carolina woman arrested in a two-county crime spree that ended with a wreck that killed a Michigan woman. Larry Winton Doyle Jr., 29, of Augusta, Ga., and Kathy Lynn Thompson, 27, of Clarks Hill, S.C., were being held in the Buncombe County jail after their arrests Sunday. The alleged crime spree began in Asheville when investigators say Doyle grabbed a patron in a Wal-Mart parking lot at knifepoint and demanded the keys to her sport utlitity vehicle. Once he had the keys, the suspect threw her aside and the knife sliced her hand, Asheville police Capt. Tom Aardema said. Doyle pulled away and picked up Thompson, authorities said. An Asheville police officer arrived at the Wal-Mart and radioed the vehicle's description to other officers. Asheville police spotted the stolen Ford Expedition but the vehicle sped on to Interstate 40 toward Haywood County. Once in Haywood County, a Highway Patrol trooper tried to stop the vehicle with tire-deflating ``stop-sticks'' on I-40. The stolen Ford, traveling about 80 mph, veered away from the spikes and slammed into the back of an another car in the right lane, killing Michele Curran, 26, of Niles, Mich., authorities said. Gregory Wayne Shelby, 30, also of Niles, Mich., was in fair condition at Mission St. Joseph's Health System in Asheville. The Ford hit the side of a Highway Patrol cruiser and stopped. Doyle and Thompson got out but were arrested. They were each charged in Buncombe County with first-degree kidnapping, robbery with a dangerous weapon and larceny of a motor vehicle; Doyle was charged with additional driving-related counts. Doyle was being held on a $78,000 secured bond and Thompson on a $75,000 bond. Their arrest warrants said charges against them were possible in Haywood County.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/4/195967