FBI AGENT SHOOTS, KILLS SUSPECT

He Dies Near His Chesterfield Home After He Rams Agent's Car; 4-Year-Old
Boy Unhurt

Glenn Joseph Sweeting of Chesterfield had his 4-year-old son and a
large amount of heroin with him in a rented SUV yesterday when he was
shot to death by a Richmond FBI agent after ramming the agent's car, a
Richmond FBI official said.

The boy was not hurt during the 11 a.m. shooting in the 10400 block of
Melissa Mill Road in the Runnymede subdivision off Courthouse Road in
Chesterfield.

FBI agents and Chesterfield County police officers were unaware the
boy was in the Chevrolet TrailBlazer when they tried to arrest
Sweeting, 35, on a federal interstate narcotics warrant, said Donald
W. Thompson Jr., special agent in charge of the Richmond division of
the FBI.

"Sweeting used his vehicle to ram an FBI vehicle occupied by agents,"
Thompson said during a news conference last night. "After striking the
FBI vehicle, he was shot as he was attempting to back up in the
direction of the Chesterfield County marked [police] unit."

Sweeting, a felon with convictions in Richmond, died at the scene,
near his residence on Melissa Mill Road near the Powhite Parkway.

He did not have a firearm in the SUV, Thompson said, but "he was
considered armed and dangerous when we planned the arrest operation."

Proper procedures were followed to "minimize risk," Thompson
said.

"It's regrettable [when there is] a loss of life in any circumstance,"
he said. The FBI permits the use of deadly force when an agent
believes someone poses an imminent threat, and that includes someone
using a motor vehicle in a threatening or violent manner, Thompson
said.

Sweeting's son was in the custody of Chesterfield County's Child
Protective Services last night. The whereabouts of his mother was
unclear last night.

Authorities said investigators found a large quantity of heroin in a
bag under a seat in the TrailBlazer. Asked to elaborate, Thompson said
only: "Ounces."

Citing the ongoing investigation, the FBI would not identify the FBI
agent who fired the fatal shot, how many shots were fired or whether
the agent fired from a position inside the FBI vehicle.

The shooting will be investigated by FBI special agents working
jointly with Chesterfield County police criminal investigators, said
Lt. Col. Dennis G. McDonald, Chesterfield's deputy police chief.

In accordance with FBI policy, the agent was not placed on any kind of
administrative leave, Thompson said.

Sweeting, a New York native, was wanted in connection with a
long-term, ongoing federal narcotics investigation that involved the
interstate distribution of cocaine and heroin, officials said.

Court records show Sweeting, who was also known as Glenn Brooks Jr.,
was arrested on June 1, 1994, and charged with possessing cocaine and
heroin. Eight months later he was convicted of possessing cocaine, a
felony, in Richmond Circuit Court. He was sentenced to five years in
prison, with all five suspended.

In 1997 he was arrested and charged with violating his probation, and
was later sentenced to five years in prison on that count, with all
but one month suspended, records show.

Two months ago, he was convicted of misdemeanor assault in Richmond
and was given a one-year suspended sentence. In 2001, he pleaded
guilty to disorderly conduct in Richmond.

Gary Tong, who lives in the same block where the shooting occurred,
said he heard "engines revving and tires squealing." Tong was awakened
by the noise.

Tong said he thought someone was racing up the street. "I was going to
tell them that this wasn't a drag strip," he said.

A short time later, Tong saw several unmarked police cars and a
Chesterfield fire truck that doubles as a medical rescue vehicle.