After Tense Hours, Some Still Shaky

Fear Remains a Day After Fleeing Robber Took Elderly Couple Hostage

The elderly couple taken hostage in their Leesburg home by an armed man Friday returned home yesterday morning after spending the night with relatives, according to family members.

Robert and Frances Belote, both in their 80s, were "doing just fine," said their son, Keith Belote, a doctor. "They spent a lot of time last night in an outpouring of emotion with family, recounting what happened. They're strong Christian people who prayed."

The couple did not wish to speak to reporters about the ordeal, relatives said.

The gunman, identified by police as William Spencer, 49, of Baltimore, surrendered to police late Friday. He had held the couple through the afternoon and into the evening after allegedly fleeing a botched robbery at a downtown Leesburg pawn and jewelry shop.

Spencer is being held without bail at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center. Leesburg police have charged him with attempted robbery and use of a firearm to commit a felony, and spokesman Chris Jones said they intend to file additional felony charges tomorrow.

It's unclear how Spencer traveled to Leesburg, Jones said, noting that the investigation is still underway.

More than 100 police officers from at least five agencies descended on the streets of Leesburg on Friday, according to Mayor Kristen C. Umstattd. But by yesterday morning, residents were settling back into their routines and trading stories about the incidents.

Insurance agent Prescott Engle said he was standing in his office near the jewelry shop when he saw the suspect running outside and then trip and fall. The man hid in the bushes at the edge of Engle's property before he started running again.

Engle, a veteran of the Army Special Forces, said he retrieved his 9 mm Beretta. The gunman resurfaced from behind a neighbor's house and fired at Engle, who said that he regretted not firing back. "When I heard he had kidnapped the Belotes' parents, I was real upset with myself."

Spencer allegedly entered a house on nearby Royal Street, where a 21-year-old babysitter was caring for a boy who turns 2 next week. He tied the babysitter's hands behind her back and locked the pair in the bathroom, according to the toddler's father, Steve Olmstead, who arrived home with his wife to find the gunman in their living room.

"Multiple times he told us he'd have no problem blowing our brains out," said Olmstead, who gave the man $1,000 in cash, keys to the family Jeep and directions to the District.

Olmstead said he hid his cellphone from Spencer and alerted family members by text that he and his family were in danger. After abandoning the Jeep, Spencer is alleged to have run to the Belotes' house, where he held them hostage for hours.

Olmstead said recovering from the traumatic experience will take time. His wife refuses to return to their home, he said. "She wants to move out and go somewhere else and live somewhere else and get rid of her clothes and just forget about it," he said. "She wants to get rid of the car. She wants it all gone."

It was, he said, an "absolute violation."