Wednesday, January 4, 2012

How fast your life can change when you make one mistake.....No turning back on this one. Couple arrested in crime spree surprised by potential charges

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ELKO, Nev. — A tearful Angela Hill seemed shocked and confused when she was informed by an Elko Justice Court judge Wednesday that she had been arrested for investigation of attempted murder.

"I don't understand what's going on," she cried.

Hill, along with Logan McFarland, made their initial court appearances after being arrested Tuesday near the small town of Oasis, Nev., between Wendover and Wells. The two are accused of going on a crime spree that started in Utah and, according to investigators, included a carjacking in which the driver was shot in the head, a high speed chase and a possible double homicide in Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete County.

According to court documents, Hill fired the shot that struck a woman in the back of the head after the couple carjacked and kidnapped her in West Wendover on Dec. 31.

Both McFarland and Hill were booked in the Elko County Jail for investigation of robbery with use of a deadly weapon, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit kidnapping and/or robbery, and committing a crime in a stolen vehicle. Hill was also booked for investigation of attempted murder.

Related:
Couple arrested in connection with double homicide, crime spree
A pair of sharp eyes from an Elko County commissioner brought a three-day manhunt for a couple accused of going on a two-state crime spree — including a home burglary, violent carjacking and possible double homicide — to an end.

Hill's bail was set at $102,000 cash only. McFarland's bail was set at $52,000 cash only. But Elko Justice Court Senior Judge Barbara Nethery informed both inmates during a brief video hearing from the jail that they each had warrants out of Utah. She said McFarland had two no bail warrants out of Utah.

Nethery told McFarland that the Nevada charges would be "satisfied first" before extradition proceedings would take place. The judge said formal charges would likely be filed within 10 days.

Neither inmate wore handcuffs as they sat in a back room of the Elko County Jail during the video proceedings. Hill wore a blue jump suit and sat with her arms and legs folded as she waited for the judge to begin. She seemed genuinely surprised when Nethery informed her she was being held for investigation of attempted murder. She bent her chest into her knees while sitting, and cried.

McFarland seemed equally surprised by his booking charges, asking the judge at one point, "How am I being charged with kidnapping?"

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Logan McFarland is reported to have said "How am I being charged with kidnapping?" when his charges were explained to him before a judge.

According to the booking statement from the jail, Hill and McFarland carjacked a woman in the parking lot of the Red Garter Casino. Hill allegedly pushed the victim into the passenger seat at gunpoint and drove her vehicle while McFarland followed in a second car.

At one point, police say the women fought back, biting Hill and pushing her out of the car. After she regained control of her vehicle, the woman felt McFarland's vehicle strike her from behind, jail documents state. She then "heard a gunshot and felt an object strike her in the head."

The woman was able to drive herself to the police station and was at last word in stable condition at a Salt Lake hospital.

McFarland and Hill have not been charged in connection with the deaths of Woody and Ann Fullwood, but several court documents filed in both Utah and Nevada strongly suggest they are suspects in the double killing.

Police said individuals had come forward "and had provided information that they suspected the two individuals were involved in the deaths of the Fullwoods in Mount Pleasant," according to an Elko County Jail statement.

A vehicle stolen out of Santaquin was later found in Wells, Nev., where a Volkswagen Jetta left warming up in front of a Super 8 Motel was stolen. During a high speed chase on I-80 with police, personal items belonging to the Wendover carjacking victim, including her purse, were thrown out of the Jetta by McFarland and Hill, police said

The Jetta was recovered late Tuesday in a very remote, mountainous region in the area where McFarland and Hill were arrested. Police said the vehicle was no longer operable.

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