ELKO, Nev. (ABC 4 News) - A Utah man and woman have been charged in connection with a kidnapping and attempted murder investigation after a crime spree that began with the death of a retired Mt. Pleasant couple.
Logan McFarland and Angela Hill (aka Angela Atwood) appeared in an Elko courtroom on Wednesday to face charges related to the kidnapping of a West Wendover woman who was shot in the head while escaping.
The woman survived and was recovering in a Salt Lake City hospital.
McFarland and Hill were arrested on Tuesday while walking along a dirt road 30 miles west of West Wendover after a rancher and pilot spotted them from the air.
Court documents show that Angela Hill was the person police believe fired the shot that hit Rattana Keomanivong as she struggled to get away from the Utah couple during a failed carjacking on Saturday near a West Wendover casino.
Police say McFarland and Hill are also suspects in the deaths of Dorothy Ann and Leroy Woody Fullwood, who were found covered in blood at their home in Mount Pleasant on Sunday.
A police affidavit said that a witness told investigators that McFarland and Atwood "borrowed" a friend's car while attending a party in Moroni on December 29, but did not return it.
The affidavit said that a witness reported that McFarland returned to the Moroni residence at about 2:00 a.m. on the 30th and bragged about having obtained cash and firearms.
The witness told police that McFarland and Atwood left sometime during the night, and that when the car's owner asked him about the car, he texted McFarland, suggesting the car might be reported as stolen if he did not return it. According to the affidavit, McFarland called the witness and told him the car was parked near Santaquin.
The witness told police he and a companion went to Santaquin to retrieve the car, and found a jewelry box, an electric grill, a keyboard and other items in the trunk as they returned the vehicle to the owner.
Police say the witness burned some of the items, fearing they were stolen.
According to the affidavit, the witness later read about the Mt. Pleasant homicides and called police to report what had happened.
Meanwhile, police in Santaquin reported that another stolen vehicle had been found in Wells, Nevada.
In court Wednesday, Angela Hill became visibly and vocally upset when a judge read formal charges that would be filed against her, including one first degree felony attempted murder accusation, which identifies Hill as the person investigators believe shot Rattana Keomanivong during the West Wendover carjacking.
Hill and McFarland will face nine charges between them during another Wednesday evening hearing. Among the felony charges they will face are kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnapping, vehicle theft, robbery with a weapon, and a possible battery with a weapon.
No known charges have been filed against McFarland or Hill in connection with the Utah investigation into the death of Dorothy Ann and Leroy "Woody" Fullwood.
Should McFarland or Hill be charged with any crimes related to the Mount Pleasant deaths, they would then face extradition to Utah.
