Newport News Police Department(NEWPORT NEWS, Va.) — A man charged with gunning down a Virginia dentist was allegedly “lying in wait” outside the doctor’s office before the killing, according to court documents.
Newport News dentist William Trolenberg, 65, was found shot in a parking lot outside his office just after 5 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Newport News Police Department.
His suspected killer, 42-year-old Kelly Michael Vance, was arrested on Friday and charged with first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
While a motive has not been released.
Police say the killing was caught on surveillance video, which shows Trolenberg leaving his practice and getting into his car. It then shows the suspect putting his hands on the trunk and the dentist stopping the car, the complaint said.
It appeared the two had a conversation, and the suspect then went to the passenger side and the dentist fell out of his car and onto the ground, the complaint said.
The gunman then walked over to Trolenberg, stood over him and fired, the documents said.
Trolenberg was shot three times, including at least once at close range, the documents said.
As the manhunt began, police released surveillance images of the suspect. On Thursday, a tipster told authorities that the suspect looked like a man named Kelly Vance, the document said.
A photo spread was shown to a person who was at the dentist’s office, and that witness identified Vance as the person the witness saw at the dental practice about 26 minutes before the murder, the criminal complaint said.
A photo of the suspect on surveillance camera matched what Vance was seen wearing at a garden center the criminal complaint said.
Vance was in the area hours before the murder, the documents said, and 30 minutes before the killing, Vance was walking up and down the road near the dental practice, leading authorities to believe he was “lying in wait” for the victim.
Vance made his first court appearance on Monday. His preliminary hearing was set for Sept. 20.
it was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.
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