strongernow
06-30-2004, 09:40 AM
Body found in unmarked car still puzzles WR police
By Becky Purser
Telegraph Staff Writer
WARNER ROBINS - An autopsy Thursday failed to show what killed a Warner Robins man whose body was found Wednesday in an unmarked police car at a fenced-in police parking lot.
Toxicology test results still are pending on the body of Joseph Wendell Lowe, 30, of 120 Ignico Drive. His body was discovered Wednesday afternoon in a light blue Chevrolet Caprice used by police as a "stolen-vehicle deterrent" - a car used to entice criminals to steal it and be captured in the act.
Warner Robins Police Lt. Bobby Brantley said Thursday that the car had not been used recently for that purpose but was being stored in a parking lot across the street from the city's police department.
Brantley said whether the man became trapped in the vehicle and could not get out is part of the investigation and has not yet been determined.
Police still were processing the car for evidence late Thursday afternoon.
Warner Robins Police Chief Brett Evans said Thursday that the car has not been used as a stolen-vehicle deterrent for about two years.
The way such undercover operations would go down, Evans said, was the car would be placed out in the open to see if anyone would steal it. Officers would watch the car. If someone tried to steal the car, officers could push the button of a remote control that would shut the car down and lock all the doors, Evans said.
What investigators are trying to determine is whether the internal locking system still was operational and was somehow triggered when Lowe entered the vehicle, Evans said.
Investigators determined Thursday that Lowe was last seen alive late Monday night or early Tuesday morning, Evans said. The body had begun to decompose, which may have been accelerated by the summer heat, he said.
Investigators hope that the physical investigation of the car and pending toxicology reports on the body may shed more light on what happened, Evans said. There were no physical marks on the body indicating any physical trauma, he said.
"We still don't know why the man was in the car or how he died," Evans said. He declined to speculate on theories investigators may be pursuing.
According to the Georgia Department of Corrections, Lowe was in and out of prison from October 1992 through November 2003 for varied convictions - including entering a vehicle. Other convictions included theft by receiving stolen property, obstruction of a police officer, burglary, and the sale and delivery of cocaine.
Lowe had been arrested by a Houston County Sheriff's deputy in May for a probation violation and was released from jail on his own recognizance, according a sheriff's arrest and booking report. Lowe, an unemployed construction worker, was on probation for a burglary conviction, the report says.
The Warner Robins police parking lot, which is open at one end, is marked with a no trespassing sign. The parking lot is located on Young Avenue across from the police department and behind City Hall.
City Attorney Jim Elliott said Thursday that "any time a death occurs on city property, there are possible legal ramifications ... But it's too early to speculate on that."
By Becky Purser
Telegraph Staff Writer
WARNER ROBINS - An autopsy Thursday failed to show what killed a Warner Robins man whose body was found Wednesday in an unmarked police car at a fenced-in police parking lot.
Toxicology test results still are pending on the body of Joseph Wendell Lowe, 30, of 120 Ignico Drive. His body was discovered Wednesday afternoon in a light blue Chevrolet Caprice used by police as a "stolen-vehicle deterrent" - a car used to entice criminals to steal it and be captured in the act.
Warner Robins Police Lt. Bobby Brantley said Thursday that the car had not been used recently for that purpose but was being stored in a parking lot across the street from the city's police department.
Brantley said whether the man became trapped in the vehicle and could not get out is part of the investigation and has not yet been determined.
Police still were processing the car for evidence late Thursday afternoon.
Warner Robins Police Chief Brett Evans said Thursday that the car has not been used as a stolen-vehicle deterrent for about two years.
The way such undercover operations would go down, Evans said, was the car would be placed out in the open to see if anyone would steal it. Officers would watch the car. If someone tried to steal the car, officers could push the button of a remote control that would shut the car down and lock all the doors, Evans said.
What investigators are trying to determine is whether the internal locking system still was operational and was somehow triggered when Lowe entered the vehicle, Evans said.
Investigators determined Thursday that Lowe was last seen alive late Monday night or early Tuesday morning, Evans said. The body had begun to decompose, which may have been accelerated by the summer heat, he said.
Investigators hope that the physical investigation of the car and pending toxicology reports on the body may shed more light on what happened, Evans said. There were no physical marks on the body indicating any physical trauma, he said.
"We still don't know why the man was in the car or how he died," Evans said. He declined to speculate on theories investigators may be pursuing.
According to the Georgia Department of Corrections, Lowe was in and out of prison from October 1992 through November 2003 for varied convictions - including entering a vehicle. Other convictions included theft by receiving stolen property, obstruction of a police officer, burglary, and the sale and delivery of cocaine.
Lowe had been arrested by a Houston County Sheriff's deputy in May for a probation violation and was released from jail on his own recognizance, according a sheriff's arrest and booking report. Lowe, an unemployed construction worker, was on probation for a burglary conviction, the report says.
The Warner Robins police parking lot, which is open at one end, is marked with a no trespassing sign. The parking lot is located on Young Avenue across from the police department and behind City Hall.
City Attorney Jim Elliott said Thursday that "any time a death occurs on city property, there are possible legal ramifications ... But it's too early to speculate on that."