California 911 call saves Virginia couple from gunmen

CHATHAM, Va. (AP) Grace Richardson believes she and her husband survived when two armed men burst into their Virginia home because the intruders interrupted a phone call with her sister in California.

On the evening of Aug. 10, Richardson was talking to Betty Gates, who lives near Fresno, Calif., when the gunmen arrived and held Richardson and her husband, Marvin, at gunpoint.

Grace Richardson put the telephone receiver down, but didn't hang up. What Gates overheard on the other end of the line terrified her.

``I heard someone coming in the door, and then the dogs started barking and barking,'' Gates said. ``I kept on trying to get Grace to talk to me, but she wouldn't answer. Then I heard someone yelling at the dogs to shut up, and I didn't recognize the voice.''

Gates handed the phone to her husband, Darrell Gates, who heard the Richardsons pleading for their lives.

Darrell Gates hung up the phone and dialed 911 and told a California Highway Patrol dispatcher about the desperate situation unfolding 3,000 miles away. The dispatcher connected Gates with the Pittsylvania County Sheriff's Department in Chatham, which sent deputy Ben Shelton speeding to the Richardsons' home.

The intruders fled when Shelton arrived. Shelton arrested Martinez Otero Witcher, 23, of Gretna, who was charged with four felonies breaking and entering, robbery and two firearms violations.

Another man escaped, deputy Shannon Edwards said. Authorities were still searching Saturday for Jimmy Dickerson, 20, of Pittsylvania County, Edwards said.

The Richardsons suffered minor injuries, said Maj. Gary Goodson of the sheriff's office.

``I didn't think I was going to live any longer,'' Grace Richardson said.

She said she had no idea how police were alerted, and she was shocked to see them arrive.

``They got here in four minutes, which I think is a miracle,'' she said. ``That was God's way of saving our lives.''

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)