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Carrier charged with transporting felony
A Warrenton man has been arrested and charged with transporting a dead body, police said.Maj. Paul Mercer of the Fauquier County Sheriff's Office said James Bruce Carrier, 39, was arrested and charged with the felony offense.
At about 8:30 on the morning of March 29, Fauquier County deputies responded to the 9100 block of Harts Mill Road in response to a call about an unresponsive man lying on the shoulder of the road.
"Upon arrival, emergency services personnel found the male to be deceased," Mercer said.
Because the man did not have any identification, his identity remained unknown for several hours.
Fauquier County detectives ultimately identified the man as George S. Russell, 43, of Warrenton.
Following leads provided by Russell's friends and acquaintances Sgt. James N. Hartman III interviewed Carrier, who was the last person known to be in Russell's company.
"Carrier subsequently admitted that he used his vehicle and transported the dead body of George Stephen Russell from the location of Russell's death in Fauquier County to Harts Mill Road...where the body was left by the side of the roadway," Hartman said in a search warrant affidavit.
In the affidavit, Hartman also said he saw blood "in plain view" in the front passenger compartment of the vehicle.
By searching the vehicle, the sergeant said he hoped to find more evidence that the body had been transported in the car.
Police took a swab of a red stain from the car, according to a search inventory and return form filed by Fauquier County Detective Mark L. Jones.
An autopsy did not determine the cause of death, Mercer said. Authorities are now waiting for a toxicology report.
Carrier was released on his own recognizance and is scheduled to appear in Fauquier County General District Court on April 28.
The investigation is ongoing.
E-mail the reporter: abogdanovic@timespapers.com
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