Albemarle police make arrest in ‘88 murder

Associated Press
Published: May 16, 2008

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Albemarle County police have made an arrest in the murder of a 38-year-old father of five robbed and shot to death outside a Charlottesville gas station nearly 20 years ago.

Police have charged 67-year-old Alvin Lee Morris with first-degree murder, robbery and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony in the death of Roger Shifflett.

Shifflett had stopped by Southwind Gas and Grocery Store on the morning of June 20, 1988. Shifflett and his wife owned the convenience store, and he also worked for Norfolk Southern Railway.

An employee later found Shifflett shot in the back of the head.

Albemarle Police Chief John Miller says a combination of new and old evidence broke the case — the first cold case that’s been broken in his 19 years with the department.