Allen Lee Hottle Jr.

Suicide

Police said Allen Lee Hottle Jr. was suspected of killing his estranged wife Paula Jean Hottle at a neighborhood cookout in Frederick County. Hottle reportedly stole a minivan in Clarke County and then tried to cash a check to buy alcohol in Maryland. Maryland state police saw Hottle about 7 p.m. near the West Virginia border and pursued him on US-340. The chase eventually drew about a dozen police vehicles and went into West Virginia through Charles Town and then into Virginia, where Clarke County Sheriff Dale Gardner monitored the situation by radio at his Berryville home. Gardner said he told Sgt. Jeff Levi, who lived next door, to ram his police truck into the minivan as it approached at about 7:45 p.m. The minivan overturned, rolled about 200 feet and ended up on its roof. As police surrounded the minivan, Hottle reportedly reached for a shotgun, ignored orders to drop it, pointed it at his head and pulled the trigger.