Probe widens on men held in 7 killings

RICHMOND, Va. -- Investigators are looking into whether two men being held in the robbery and killings of seven people in their Richmond homes were involved in similar crimes elsewhere, a police spokeswoman said yesterday.

Ray Joseph Dandridge and Ricky Gray, both 28, were captured Saturday in Philadelphia on charges stemming from the killings of members of two families, including two children, who were discovered bound with tape. The home of one family was set on fire and the other was ransacked.

Authorities said police found evidence linking the pair to all seven killings.

After the arrests, the investigation widened.

''There's other law enforcement agencies that are looking into any similarities with these cases," said Cynthia Price, a spokeswoman for Richmond police. ''We know there was a home invasion in Chesterfield, and they have been charged with that one."

Police in suburban Chesterfield County did not immediately respond to phone calls seeking comment yesterday about charges in the Jan. 3 home invasion, in which no one was injured.

Dandridge had been released from a state prison in November after serving 10 years for robbery.

''We all make mistakes and what don't kill will only make us stronger," Dandridge wrote on a website from prison. ''I believe in treating others as I want to be treated and respected in life."

A SWAT team found Dandridge and Gray on Saturday and used pepper spray to subdue one of the men, who resisted arrest, said Philadelphia police Captain Benjamin Naish.

The men remained in custody yesterday in Philadelphia, Naish said. An extradition hearing could be held today.

Police said they were led to the suspects by a green Chevrolet Blazer taken from the site of a triple homicide discovered Friday.

The bodies of Percyell Tucker, 55; his wife, Mary, 47, and her daughter, Ashley Baskerville, 21, were found in their ransacked home. The causes of death have not been disclosed.

Price would not comment on media reports that the suspects knew one of the victims in the Tucker home.

The killings in the Tucker home came less than a week after the slayings of members of a family well-known in music and business circles.

Bryan Harvey, 49; his wife, Kathryn, 39, and their daughters, Stella, 9, and Ruby, 4, were found with their throats cut on New Year's Day. Their house was set on fire.

Price said it appeared that the Harveys were random victims of a robbery.