BUCKHANNON – The Randolph County Sheriff’s Department has arrested a man employed as an emergency medical technician at Upshur County EMS as part of an investigation into a murder that occurred in Randolph County on Sunday, Nov. 18.
Randolph County Sheriff Mark Brady told My Buckhannon Wednesday afternoon that deputies arrested 32-year-old Christopher Warren Koch late Tuesday evening on a charge of accessory after the fact, a felony.
Investigators believe Koch is somehow connected to the murder of 49-year-old Spencer C. Zoller, who deputies found dead of a gunshot wound at a Gum Road residence in the Crystal Springs area of Randolph County on Nov. 18.
Brady said deputies believe the shooter was Vanessa Logan, 32, who had fled the scene before officers arrived.
As of late Wednesday afternoon, Logan was still on the run, Brady said; she’s described as standing 5-foot, 7-inches tall, weighing about 200 pounds and having brown hair and green eyes.
Brady said when officers arrived at the Gum Road residence, Zoller was already dead, having passed away from a gunshot wound to his “back side area.”
“When deputies arrived, they found one male subject deceased in the house in addition to other individuals,” the sheriff said. “The officers obtained statements from the other individuals, and in working the investigation, developed a suspect, who is Vanessa Logan, 32.”
Brady said law enforcement officers believe Logan lives in the Buckhannon area and that there is a murder warrant out for her arrest.
Koch, who Brady said was employed as an EMT with Upshur EMS, was booked in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail Tuesday after officers located him late in the evening. He is being held on a $20,000 cash-only bond, according to the W.Va. Regional Jail website.
The sheriff did not go into specifics about the investigation or what Koch’s role may have been.
Brady said although Logan has managed to elude law enforcement, the Randolph County Sheriff’s Department is teaming up with law enforcement agencies in Upshur County, in other states and with the U.S. Marshal’s Service to locate her.
“At this time, we are following all leads,” Brady said.
The sheriff said he believes the shooting was drug-related.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Mountain Region Drug and Violent Crime Task Force’s crime tip line at 304-636-TIPS (304-636-8477) or the Randolph County Communication Center 24 hours a day and ask to speak with a law enforcement officer.
