WINTER HAVEN, Fla. —
A Spartanburg man wanted for killing two people in Florida and one person in Tennessee was taken into custody in Winter Haven early Tuesday after an hourslong standoff, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
Stanley Eric "Woo Woo" Mossburg, 35, was taken into custody about 5:10 a.m., deputies said.
He had been barricaded alone in a house that belongs to his acquaintances, deputies said. The people in the house are cooperating with deputies in the investigation.
https://www.wyff4.com/article/spartanburg-man-taken-into-custody-in-florida-after-2-state-killing-spree-that-began-in-tennessee-sheriff-says/29473619
https://www.wyff4.com/article/spartanburg-man-taken-into-custody-in-florida-after-2-state-killing-spree-that-began-in-tennessee-sheriff-says/29473619
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd held a news conference Tuesday morning that detailed a crime spree that began Oct. 1 with the killing of a man at a laundromat in Greenville, Tennessee.
Judd called Mossburg a "spree killer" and described how Mossburg told victims that he wanted to be a serial killer.
Judd described in detail how Mossburg was captured on surveillance video pulling a gun on the man in the laundromat, taking him into a bathroom, then forcing the man out of the building at gunpoint.
The man's body was found the next morning by customers in the back of the laundromat in a pool of blood, Judd said.
Judd said that after the killing, Mossburg stole the man's Buick LaSabre and drove it to his hometown of Spartanburg, where his sister lives. "He is well-known to police in Spartanburg," Judd said.
His sister bought Mossburg a ticket to Orlando, Judd said.
Spartanburg deputies said the sister is cooperating with law enforcement officers and will not face any charges.
Mossburg told his sister he had a drug rehab appointment set up in Orlando, according to Spartanburg deputies.
On Oct. 4, Spartanburg investigators spotted Mossburg on video tape and began assisting Tennessee law enforcement agengies, Judd said.
Spartanburg police found the Tennessee murder victim's Buick LaSabre on Oct. 5 at an area scrap yard, Judd said. No other details were provided and Spartanburg officials have not released any information about the discovery.
The bus trip took Mossburg through Atlanta and to Orlando, according to Judd.
Polk County deputies first got information about Mossburg being in the area on Oct. 11, Judd said. Deputies received word about property pawned by Mossburg at a shop in Auburndale, near Winter Haven, Judd said.
Judd said investigators do not know yet where Mossburg was between Oct. 2 and Oct. 11.
They found a black F250 truck on Oct. 11 that was stolen on Oct. 9 in Seffner, Florida, west of Tampa.
Mossburg was captured on Ring video Sunday in the yard of a home on 16th Street NE in Winter Haven, Judd said. The owner of the home, whom Judd described as elderly, came out and told Mossburg to get off his property, Judd said. The elderly man lived in the home with friends, a man and a woman, Judd said.
Judd described an ordeal that began at 10:30 p.m. when a person he described as a "live victim" came home to find Mossburg inside the home and the woman tied to a chair.
"'Just do what he says and he won't hurt you,'" Judd said the woman told the third victim.
Mossburg led the man through the house, but told him not to look in the master bedroom. "'You won't like what you see,'" Judd said Mossburg told him. The housemate's body was later found slashed on the bed, Judd said.
Mossburg ripped out computer cords from the wall and used them to tie the third victim to a chair, Judd said.
The man told Mossburg where to find valuables and gave him the combination to a safe containing money and passports. He told Mossburg he doesn't have anything else, Judd said.
Mossburg told the third victim that the other man who lived in the home tried to fight back, "'So I made him suffer before I killed him,'" Judd said.
Mossburg stayed in the home all night, then came into the room and told the man that he killed the female housemate, "'But I did it quick,'" Judd said Mossburg told the man.
Mossburg also told the man about other people he said he had killed, Judd said.
"Suspect Mossburg told our live victim, 'I want to be a serial killer - I like killing people.'" Judd said.
Mossburg then poured bleach on the two victims, got a mop bucket and started cleaning up the home, Judd said.
Judd said Mossburg untied the man because of his cooperation and allowed him to sit in the living room.
Mossburg left the home in the man's car early Monday morning, telling him that he would be back and would kill him if he called police, according to Judd.
The man waited until about 6 p.m. to run to a neighbor's house and call 911, Judd said.
"No less than 50 deputes" arrived at the home and surrounded the area, Judd said.
As the scene was being processed, a captain with the Sheriff's Office noticed the man's stolen car less than two blocks from the scene, Judd said. It had not been there two minutes earlier, according to the captain. That is when deputies realized Mossburg could be nearby, Judd said.
Minutes later, deputies found the stolen black F-250 truck behind the gate of another home in the area, Judd said. Deputies got information that Mossburg had just left the house and ran through the backyard and into a home, Judd said.
Mossburg fired shots at deputies as they approached the home and refused to come out, Judd said. Mossburg fired up to eight more rounds at deputies during the standoff, Judd said.
Deputies used a robotic device to break down the door of the home and saw through a camera on the device that Mossburg was hiding under a pool table. Deputies released a K-9 officer who was able to subdue Mossburg and he was taken into custody.
Mossburg was taken to an area hospital where he was treated for dog bites, Judd said.
He is currently at the Polk County Detention Center, according to Judd.
Along with the two murder charges, Mossburg will also face attempted murder charges for firing shots at deputies, as well as stolen vehicle charges, Judd said.
Mossburg will also face extradition for the murder in Tennessee, and other charges, deputies said.
