WAYNESBORO -- People familiar with Slade Woodson describe an amiable young man whose actions have, on rare occasions, clashed horribly with his apparent personality.

Jill Tice, whose Waynesboro house was targeted in the shooting spree, says her son, Scott, used to be one of Woodson's closest friends.

She considered Woodson a "very pleasant, nice-looking fellow," who was always welcome in their home, but that changed when Woodson was charged with auto theft and arson.

Norman Carter, 62, a photographer for The News Virginian, has known Woodson's family for 20 years.

His son recently married one of Woodson's older sisters. His relationship with Woodson was always cordial, Carter said -- until Woodson stole his truck, set it ablaze and left it smoldering on a roadside.

"I was angry before I found out who it was, but after I found out who it was, I was also somewhat bewildered and dismayed, because I would have never suspected that of Slade," Carter said.

Woodson was charged in January 2007 with two felony counts of auto theft and two felony counts of arson but pleaded guilty to reduced charges and spent six months in jail.

While out on bail, Woodson attempted to make amends for his crime in a heartfelt note he left in Carter's mailbox.

"He apologized for what he had done, for the inconvenience that he had caused, and let me know that it was nothing personal, it was just something that had happened," Carter said.

Then, last year, when high winds blew a tree across the road in front of Carter's house, Woodson volunteered to clear it away.

"I could not have asked for better help under those circumstances," Carter said.

Carter said he had truly believed his young neighbor's reckless behavior was firmly in the past. Woodson's arrest Thursday in the shootings on Interstate 64 came as an awful surprise.

Cleve Wiese is a staff writer for The News Virginian in Waynesboro.