Standoff ends in arrest

A man killed Thursday in his house on Jonestown Road was beaten to death and a Meals on Wheels volunteer was fatally shot in the chest, authorities say.

A Kernersville couple was charged with two counts of first-degree murder yesterday in connection with the deaths.

Winston-Salem police drew warrants yesterday afternoon against Timothy Hartford Jr., 38, and Ashley Smith, 26. They are being held in Norfolk, Va., where they were arrested early yesterday after a chase and standoff with Virginia police.

Winston-Salem police detectives are in Norfolk to question the couple.

Police say they think that Hartford and Smith beat resident Bob Denning, 64, and then shot the volunteer, Anne Magness, 77, shortly before noon Thursday.

They have also charged Hartford and Smith with one count each of attempted first-degree murder in the shooting of Bill Magness, Anne Magness' husband.

Bill Magness was in good condition at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center late Thursday, and family members said yesterday that he continues to improve.

The Magnesses had come to Denning's house at 1105 Jones­town Road Thursday to deliver the last lunch on their route for Meals on Wheels, which delivers lunch to the homebound elderly. It appears that they were shot on the front porch.

Police Capt. David Clayton said that the scene inside the house was "horrific" and that it appeared the house had been ransacked. Detectives are trying to determine if anything was taken.

Although Hartford has a long criminal history, including a conviction for being a habitual felon, none of his past crimes appear to have involved a weapon. He has convictions for theft, common-law robbery and drug charges.

He got out of prison in December 2006 and at the time of the homicides was out on $8,500 bond after an arrest by Kernersville police in October for possession of cocaine.

It appears that Smith had no convictions or charges.

The couple were arrested in the wake of an alert by local authorities to be on the lookout for a silver SUV.

A Virginia state trooper spotted Hartford's and Smith's silver Ford Explorer and, after getting backup, began chasing it. The chase, which reached speeds of 80 mph, ended at MacArthur Center mall in Norfolk, where police used road spikes to puncture the SUV's tires, said Sgt. Michelle Cotten of the Virginia State Police.

Hartford pointed a gun twice at police during the chase, Cotten said. She said that Smith was driving.

Smith pulled into a mall parking lot after the SUV's tires blew out, Cotten said. That began a five-hour standoff with police that ended just after 7 a.m.

The couple agreed to trade their 1-month-old baby for a Coca-Cola, but then surrendered before the trade was made, Cotton said.

"He threw the gun out the window and just gave up," Cotton said.

The child, also named Timothy Hartford, is in the custody of child protective services in Norfolk.

Police had been investigating the possibility that Hartford had been knocking on doors in Denning's neighborhood during the past week, asking for water or food for his baby.

Police and the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office were also reviewing house break-ins to see whether either Hartford or Smith were involved.

On Thursday afternoon, the sheriff's office filed charges against Hartford for breaking and entering and larceny, stemming from a break-in last week.

Late Thursday night, detectives filed charges against the couple for unrelated break-ins this month. They sent descriptions of the SUV to law-enforcement agencies in the region, which led to the chase in Virginia.

Smith is accused of breaking into a house on Kernersville Road on April 1. Hartford is accused of breaking into a house on Reidsville Road on April 20.

Autopsies on Magness and Denning were done yesterday. Dr. Pat Lantz, the medical examiner, would not say if either victim had other injuries. He said he didn't want to interfere with the police investigation.

It appears that the victims had no connection to Hartford or Smith, Clayton said.

■ Dan Galindo can be reached at 727-7377 or at dgalindo@wsjournal.com.

■ Paul Garber can be reached at 727-7327 or at pgarber@wsjournal.com.

■ Journal reporter Wes Young contributed to this article.