Roanoke County Fire & Rescue worker arrested - WSLS 10 NBC in Roanoke/Lynchburg Va

Roanoke County Fire & Rescue worker arrested

Roanoke County Fire & Rescue has suspended a paid firefighter-paramedic from the Fort Lewis Fire & Rescue station without pay, following an arrest over the weekend.

County police say 27-year-old Robert Kelly Stoots faces six charges:

• Abduction
• Assault & Battery
• Use of a firearm in the commission of a felony
• Reckless handling of a firearm
• Brandishing a firearm
• Preventing someone from making a 911 call

Investigators say the case began early on Sunday, February 10th, when Salem Police officers contacted them about arresting Stoots on a DUI charge.  Officers said Stoots' girlfriend was in his truck, and Salem investigators determined she had been held against her will, and that Stoots pointed a gun at her.

Salem officers believe the incident began in Roanoke County.

Roanoke County investigators say the couple had been at a party on Saturday night.  The girlfriend asked Stoots to take her home, but he refused, then drove to the parking lot of the Masons Cove Fire Department.

Officers say Stoots pulled out a handgun, then pointed it at his girlfriend, and then a gunshot was fired in the truck.  Luckily, the bullet did not hit either Stoots or his girlfriend.  Police say the gun was not pointed at Stoots' girlfriend when it was fired.

Police believe Stoots then took his girlfriend's cell phone, to stop her from calling police.

Stoots then drove away from Masons Cove, and headed toward Salem.  That's where Salem Police arrested him.

Stoots is being held at the Western Virginia Regional Jail, without bond.

Roanoke County Fire & Rescue says Stoots has been with the department for about two years, and was off-duty, in his own vehicle when the arrest took place.