Rest stop murder suspect found with handgun, police say

UPDATE: Authorities found Peter Riggs with the handgun they say was used to kill a rest stop employee Saturday night along Interstate 80, officials said Tuesday.

Riggs, 31, of Columbus, Neb., is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Jeffrey D. McAdam, 46, of Victor. A truck driver found McAdam dead in the men's room at the westbound rest stop near mile marker 208.

Iowa County Sheriff Robert Rotter said a Johnson County sheriff's deputy arrested Riggs between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. Saturday night, about three hours after the shooting.

“A handgun was the murder weapon, and the weapon was found in Riggs' possession,” Rotter wrote in an e-mail to various media.

McAdam had a single gunshot wound, authorities said, but Rotter would not say Tuesday where the wound was located.

“There has been no information come to light thus far that indicates the suspect and victim ever met before the murder,” Rotter wrote.

Authorities have not discussed a possible motive for the killing. Rotter said investigators have talked to witnesses and he is confident they will be able to determine what prompted the shooting.

One commenter at GazetteOnline.com said McAdam was shot after he asked Riggs not to smoke inside the building, but Rotter said ”there has been no credible evidence to show that cigarettes had anything to do with this crime.” Also, no evidence of drug-related activity has been found.

Court records show Riggs did not have a violent past in Nebraska. All six of his criminal case records in that state were for traffic-related offenses.

Riggs' grandmother, Ida Riggs, declined to comment when contacted by The Gazette on Tuesday.

Riggs is being held at the Iowa County Jail in lieu of $1 million bond.

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• May 30 --

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• May 30 -- Police release name 0f shooting victim; suspect arrested