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Portsmouth man indicted for attempted capital murder of Suffolk officer

Posted at 8:13 PM, Sep 25, 2012
and last updated 2012-09-25 20:14:00-04

A Suffolk Grand Jury has indicted Joseph Staton on attempted capital murder and a list of other felonies after police say he beat Suffolk police officer James Winslow nearly to death on May 19, 2012.

According to a criminal complaint about the incident, Winslow told detectives "he was certain he was going to be killed" by Staton.

Police said Winslow pulled Staton over after the officer saw him driving an SUV that had been reported stolen from Norfolk.  Staton, as shown on dash cam video, ran away.  Winslow chased him.  Police said the two got into a struggle in the woods, during which Staton "attempted to remove his 40 caliber service weapon from his holster."

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Police later found Winslow in the woods with "severe facial lacerations and possible broken bones" on his face and the right side of his head.  He was flown to Sentara Norfolk General where he had several surgeries.

Police found Staton in Suffolk after an eight-hour search that day.  He will face arraignment on October 3, 2012.