Rose Hill, VA: Three charged in Lee County shooting that left husband dead, wife wounded

By Hank Hayes

Published March 6th, 2010


JONESVILLE — Authorities in Lee County, Va., were trying Saturday to determine the motive in a Jonesville couple’s shooting that resulted in the death of the husband.
Steven Rutledge Jr., 22, was shot once in the lower body and was dead at the scene inside a Dodge pickup truck at the State Route 640-643 intersection Friday afternoon near the county’s Long Hollow section.
His wife, 33-year-old Tracie Rutledge, was shot in the head but was faring better Saturday after being flown to Kingsport’s Holston Valley Medical Center.
“Apparently we are going to be able to talk to her, ... that will give us a better idea of what went on,” Lee County Sheriff Gary Parsons said.
The incident marked two straight days of fatal shootings in the county. On Thursday, a Rose Hill man was charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of a woman who had refused to be his girlfriend.
Three men were charged in the Rutledge shooting: Larry Smith, 40, of Jonesville, charged with first-degree murder; Johnny Roberts, 44, of Jonesville, charged with aiding and abetting murder; and Timothy Osborne, 44, of Pennington Gap, also charged with aiding and abetting murder.
Parsons said evidence indicates all three were at the scene with Smith firing the shots.
At least five shots from a .44-caliber pistol were discharged into the vehicle, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
The three men charged in the shooting are being held in the Duffield Regional Jail and are scheduled to be arraigned on Monday morning in Lee County General District Court.