Shooting victim dies; suspect at large

A Springfield man died early Sunday morning after he was shot on South Street early Saturday evening, and police said they were still searching for his assailant.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20150420/THISJUSTIN/304209994

Shooting victim dies; suspect at large By Susan Smallheer Staff Writer | April 20,2015 SPRINGFIELD — A Springfield man died early Sunday morning after he was shot on South Street early Saturday evening, and police said they were still searching for his assailant. Wesley J. Wing, 37, of Springfield, died at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., about 2:30 a.m., Springfield police said in a news release. The shooting took place around 6 p.m. Police were still searching for a late model black Infiniti sedan, which was seen in the area when Wing was shot. It is the third shooting in Springfield in as many years, and the first fatal shooting. The men behind the first two shootings, which were drug- and gang-related, are still behind bars. Sunday afternoon, several Vermont State Police crime lab investigators were digging holes in a slight embankment across South Street from where police recovered shell casings Saturday night. They also appeared to be looking for gunshot damage to the apartment buildings at Southview Apartments. Wing, who was married and the father of four children, was shot multiple times at the corner of South Street and Cheryl Drive, which is a short lane near Jake’s Market and The Maples, a housing project for the elderly. The market is usually busy at that time of day. Wing’s last listed address was on Central Street in North Springfield. Wing went to Jake’s Market after he was shot, where market employees called police. Wing was taken to nearby Springfield Hospital, where he was air-lifted to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H. He underwent emergency surgery and later died. Springfield Police Chief Douglas Johnston didn’t return calls for comment about the investigation into Wing’s death. Wing, a carpenter by trade, had a minor criminal record, with the exception of being arrested with more than a pound of marijuana in his pickup in November 2013 in North Springfield. Wing had been arrested for DUI that evening at the Irving station in North Springfield, and police smelled marijuana in his truck. The truck was confiscated, and police later found eight Hefty Ziplock bags of marijuana, each labeled with different initials, such as JL, RL, RRL and BB, totalling more than a pound. A small amount of marijuana in a different bag was also found in the truck, along with a glass pipe. According to court records, the case was resolved late last year in a plea agreement. Wing had also been arrested by Springfield police and charged with domestic assault. Wing’s shooting, outside a busy market on a major road in town, and in a busy residential neighborhood, unnerved Kristi Morris, the chairman of the Springfield Select Board. Morris said Saturday the thought of the shooting itself, and the bullets ricocheting and possibly hitting one of the many children that live in that neighborhood, was very upsetting. Jeanice Garfield, chairwoman of the Springfield School Board, said that schools were on vacation this week and as a result, wouldn’t be open to offer children counseling and put their contingency plan in place today. Two of Wing’s children attend Springfield High School, which is a short distance from the shooting, and dozens of children walk to and from school near the site of the shooting every day. “It’s very, very unfortunate,” said Garfield Sunday. “You don’t want any of your kids to have to go through this sort of thing.” Correspondent Eric Francis contributed to this report.