Woman charged in ‘random’ slaying of Covington man walking home from work
Virgil Stewart was killed on his way home from his job at Family Dollar, which friends say he took to support his granddaughters.
COVINGTON, Ky. (WXIX) - A woman is behind bars accused in connection with the shooting death of a man who was walking home from work in Covington.
Virgil Stewart, 60, was walking along Madison Avenue on Aug. 18 when two people approached him, according to the Covington Police Department.
One of the suspects shot Stewart. His body was found near the 15th Street Bridge around 9 p.m.
Latoya Dale, 31, of Florence, Kentucky, was arrested on Sept. 15 on counts of burglary and murder, Covington police said.
She told detectives it was her accomplice who shot Stewart, according to court documents. She also said that person stole $6 from Stewart after shooting him.
Dale is at the Kenton County County Detention Center on a $1 million bond.
PREVIOUSLY | Family, friends honor man killed while walking home from work in NKY
“It’s really everyone’s worst nightmare if they’re coming home and they’re randomly targeted for an attack by robbers,” said Kenton County Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders.
Sanders says the pair were out that night “looking for someone to rob” when they encountered Stewart.
“They went to that area because the accomplice was familiar with it, and Mr. Stewart was, unfortunately, the first person to walk past and look like a viable target for them,” Sanders said.
Stewart was walking home from his job at the Family Dollar on Madison Avenue. The store still has a memorial in place honoring him.
His friends say he took the job to support his granddaughters.
Sanders says officers spotted Dale’s car on surveillance video near the scene of the shooting. She became a suspect, he says, because she’d been driving it multiple times when police pulled her over for traffic violations.
The prosecutor says Dale admitted to her role in the robbery but blamed her accomplice for the homicide.
He adds authorities still don’t know whether Dale or her accomplice fired the shot. Dale’s accomplice has been identified, but Covington police say he has not been charged in connection with Stewart’s death.
The accomplice is in jail on unrelated charges, police added.
Dale will be back in court Thursday.
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