Shooting victim’s family wants answers

By Denice Thibodeau

Published: July 5, 2008

Randolph Neal Seamster’s family wants answers.

Seamster, 22, of Pelham, N.C., was shot and killed by a member of a Halifax, South Boston and Virginia State Police Regional Narcotic/Gang Enforcement task force, at Sheetz in South Boston, on Wednesday night, according to state police.

Seamster’s aunt, Angela Meredith, answered the phone at the family’s Pelham home Saturday and said she has been designated the family spokesperson about Seamster’s death.

Meredith said the family was originally told by a police official that Seamster was not a target in the task force’s investigation. Since then, she said, the official is no longer returning the family’s calls.

Meredith said Seamster and a female friend had stopped at Sheetz on their way to Buggs Island, near Clarksville, where he was starting a new job Thursday.

She said the family has been told Seamster purchased rolling papers and that officers saw he had marijuana.

“I understand pot is illegal, but he wasn’t a drug dealer; he had enough pot on him to roll a joint,” Meredith said. “He wasn’t a drug dealer or a gang member.”

She said three of the plain-clothed officers approached the vehicle Seamster was driving, scaring him and his companion.

“They thought they were being carjacked,” Meredith said. “He threw the car in reverse, and clipped two of the (three men who had approached). The third man shot him through the windshield.”

She said none of the officers identified themselves as they approached.

“You don’t shoot and kill an unarmed 22-year-old just because he had marijuana,” Meredith said. “He had no weapons whatsoever. All he had on him was $2.30 and enough pot for a joint.”

Sgt. Dave Cooper, of the Virginia State Police, said Saturday that the incident is still under investigation.

Asked if Seamster had any weapons on him when he was killed, Cooper said, “I can’t release that information at this time.”

Meredith admitted Seamster has had some run-ins with law enforcement before, and has been convicted of DUI, assault and possession of marijuana.

She said reports that he attempted to kill the officers are wrong, and the reports released so far have “ruined the reputation of a 22-year-old kid.”

“If you’re a plain-clothes officer and approach someone, you should have the common sense to identify yourself as an officer,” Meredith said. “They know they’ve messed up.”

Contact Denice Thibodeau at or (434) 791-7985.