Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

A murder suspect is in custody after a manhunt that started on Saturday night and ended on Sunday afternoon in Prince Edward County. 

Virginia State Police confirmed that 24-year-old Rayjaun A. Calloway had been arrested around 12:45 p.m. Sunday. He is a suspect in the murder of his father, 55-year-old Israel Calloway. That death happened on Saturday in the 900 block of 7th Street Northwest in the City of Roanoke. Police responded to a call about gunshots and found the older Calloway dead inside the home from gunshot wounds. The younger Calloway fled from police in a white Honda Accord and made his way up to Prince Edward County. 

According to Virginia State Police, at around 7:20 a.m. Sunday morning, Rayjaun was spotted in that Accord by a Farmville police officer in the area of Hixburg Road and Route 460. This isn’t far from the High Bridge Trail and the trailhead at Elam. There had been a bit of confusion over what happened next, with people claiming different things about the murder suspect on social media, ranging from “an officer has been shot” to “an officer has been killed”. Neither of those is correct. Virginia State Police confirmed to The Herald that Rayjaun shot at the officer, but he missed. The Farmville officer was not injured. The vehicle, however, was damaged, State Police said. 

Murder suspect goes running in Prince Edward

After that incident, however, residents within a five-mile radius of Prince Edward Highway and Hixburg Road received a notification from the Prince Edward County Sheriff’s Office, informing them to “shelter in place, lock your doors, stay inside and report any suspicious activity by calling 911.” The Farmville Alert System also went live, notifying people in the area that an armed suspect was being searched for. Rayjaun had fled his vehicle and ran off on foot. 

That all came to an end Sunday afternoon, as Virginia State Police and a combination of the Buckingham County Sheriff’s Office, the Prince Edward County Sheriff’s Office, the Appomattox Sheriff’s Office and the Virginia State Police found Rayjaun near the intersection of Route 460 and Sulpher Spring Road in Prince Edward County. Virginia State Police officials say once found the second time, Rayjaun gave himself up. 

“Calloway was taken into custody without incident,” said Matt Demlein. He serves as Public Relations Coordinator for the Virginia State Police. Charges are being filed and Rayjaun was taken back to Roanoke Sunday afternoon. 

Prince Edward County Sheriff Tony Epps thanked the different agencies that helped in the investigation and capture on Sunday. That included the U.S. Marshals, Farmville Police, Virginia State Police, Appomattox Sheriff’s Office, Buckingham Sheriff’s Office, Virginia State Parks Police, Hampden-Sydney Police, the Prospect Volunteer Fire Department and the Prince Edward Volunteer Rescue Squad. 

“We also want to thank the community for their support and understanding,” Epps wrote in a post on the department’s social media.’

Charges have been filed

As of Monday afternoon, Rayjaun A. Calloway has officially been charged with one count of capital murder, one count of brandishing a firearm and one count of use of a firearm in commission of an attempted murder, in regards to the shots fired toward the officer on Sunday. He may face additional charges out of Roanoke.