20 years since a Virginia State Police officer was shot and killed

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR)--State police grapple with the shooting death of long-time trooper, Master Trooper Junius Walker, age 63. And it’s been 20 years since the last Virginia trooper was shot and killed.

Walker was shot several time off Interstate 85, the suspect firing into his cruiser; witnessed by an officer arriving on scene. Walker's car rolled into the woods and caught on fire.

State police aren't releasing much information yet about the man they have in custody, but police sources tell CBS 6 the suspect is from Chesterfield and Richmond  area, and no stranger to law enforcement.

Walker was a veteran officer, joining in 1973,  who recently talked to his neighbors about retirement plans.

“The trooper was shot multiple times and died at the scene," Geller said.

State police are in the early stages of their investigation.

Around 1:20 p.m,  troopers say Walker pulled alongside a black vehicle on the shoulder of I-85.  A few moments later another trooper arrived to witness the shooting horror. The trooper’s car crashed into the woods and caught fire, as the  suspect ran into the woods.

Troopers are unsure if it was a traffic stop or if Walker was checking on a disabled vehicle.

“He does not have a  camera in his car, so it's a little more difficult for us to put a sequence of events together," Geller said.

A K-9 found clothes and a weapon in the woods.  “We have recovered a weapon and now we will send it off for ballistics tests to see if it was the murder weapon,” said Geller.

Forty minutes later and half-mile from the scene, sources tell CBS 6 the suspect was found naked in an abandoned vehicle at this tow service parking lot.  He was taken into custody as troopers began the search as to why the shooting happened.

"I think it's safe to say that everyone who knew this trooper, knew he was a great man, not only in size but personality, character and dedication to the citizens of the Commonwealth," said Geller, her eyes filling with tears.

Charges are pending, although the suspect will most likely face capital murder of a police officer and if found guilty, could face the death penalty.

Trooper walker leaves behind a wife and two grown daughters.

The VSP’s  heavy-duty training and professionalism have largely kept them  safe, but they’ve still lost plenty in the family, most of them struck by vehicles on the road they patrol.

Just five months ago, Trooper Andrew Fox was struck and fatally injured while directing traffic outside of the Virginia State Fair.

And there have been, on average, one trooper killed in crashes or vehicle strikes every other year.

But it’s been 20 years since the last trooper was shot and killed.

Trooper Jose Cavazos was shot in the chest six times by a speeding motorist in a stolen car on February 24, 1993. The killer, Lonnie Weeks, asked God to bless the Cavazos family just before he was executed by lethal injection 13 years ago.

Another trooper died from gunshot wounds since then, in 1995, but Henry Noel Harmon had been shot in the neck by a man he arrested nearly 30 years earlier and had been left a quadriplegic.

The worst run of recent murders came between 1984 and 1987, when five troopers were slain.

For more information on this story, click here: Virginia State Trooper shot and killed on Interstate 85.

Stay with WTVR.com and CBS 6 News for the latest updates on the state trooper shooting.