Shots Fired Archive
I started this because 1) I really find gun violence in our country and communities, and our unwillingness to do anything about it, really disturbing and 2) I noticed that people have preconceived notions about the causes of gun violence and who's responsible. By making a collection of incidents you see that gun violence happens for a variety of reasons and under a variety of circumstances. And 3) because it’s amazing to me how quickly the stories behind shootings, which destroy lives and traumatize families and loved ones, are forgotten.
NOTE: Here's a shots fired list for Charlottesville from cvillepedia that goes back as far as 1840!
Archives: 2024 - 2023 - 2022 - 2021 - 2020-2019
If you have new information concerning any of the shootings archived below, or notice an inaccuracy, feel free to reach out at thedtmnewsletter@gmail.com
May 5, 2025: Rotunda suicide
UVA police responded to a report of shots fired on the south side of the Rotunda around 4:30am and found a “deceased male who appeared to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound," UVa said in a statement issued later in the morning. UVA has sais additional details will be forthcoming.
May 1, 2025: County Green Road Exxon shooting
ACPD responded to multiple reports of shots fired in the area near the Exxon/Oak Hill Market and Deli in the 660 block of Country Green Road just south of Charlottesville. Police discovered two people with serious but non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. Police says the shots came from a passing vehicle that fled before officers arrived and that they believe the incident is gang-related.
April 19, 2025: Tom Tom shots
CPD responded to eyewitness reports of shots fired near the CODE building on the Downtown Mall last night around 9:30pm during the second night of the Tom Tom Festival block party. No injuries or property damage were reported and a suspect hasn't been identified, but accounts from people online describe some scenes of pandemonium as crowds of people ran for cover in response to police racing down the mall on foot and in ATV vehicles in response to the reports.
3:00am: CPD responds to a report of shots fired in the 800 block of Hardy Dr. No injuries have been reported at this time and two buildings were found to be struck.
1:30am: CPD responded to a report of shots fired in the 800 block of Hardy Dr. No injuries have been reported at this time and two buildings were found to be struck.
April 15, 2025: Pine Haven Court shootout
ACPD responded to what appears to have been a domestic dispute that turned into a shootout at Pine Haven Court, an apartment complex off Rio Road, at around 9:00 pm last night. Apparently, Anthony L. Lee Sr, 53, took an unidentified firearm from his wife, which she reported to the police, and when officers arrived Lee shot an unidentified adult male in the apartment and then fired on the officers. One ACPD returned fire and then Lee escaped on foot. He is still at large. The gunshot victim was taken to the hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries.
April 16 update: Lee turned himself in to authorities without incident. He is in custody at Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.
April 4, 2025: 600 block of Belmont Avenue shots
CPD responds to reports of shots fired in the 600 block of Belmont Avenue just after 2 am this morning. No one was injured but a vehicle and a residence were struck, police reported.
April 3, 2025: Three men face firearm charges
Two men were sentenced to prison and one plead guilty today on firearm charges, according to a release from Charlottesville Commonwealth Attorney Joe Platania.
Clifford Long, 61, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, seven years and six months of that suspended, and will serve two years and six months, dependent on three years of “intense” supervised probation and 10 years of good behavior. In late November last year, CPD detectives arrested Long in the Prospect neighborhood for dealing weed and selling firearm parts such as “trigger switches,” which allow firearms to fire automatically.
Kaijon Cortez Sholes, who was 18-years-old last year when he was charged in a September evening shooting incident around the Ix Art Park (one of three shooting incidents in the city that night) that caused multiple businesses in the area to go into lockdown. There were no injuries, but vehicles were struck. Sholes was sentenced to five years in prison, with fours years suspended, and will serve one year dependent on “intense” supervised probation and five years of good behavior.
Damillion Diggs, 19, also plead guilty to a firearm charge and fentanyl possession and could face 10 years in prison when he is sentenced in July. Diggs was arrested during a night-time police raid in the city’s Ridge Street neighborhood last June, in which six firearms, including two AR-style rifles, three handguns and one AR-style pistol and assorted narcotics were also seized.
March 16, 2025: Possible murder-suicide
Albemarle County police conducted a wellness check in the 500 block of Loblolly Lane and found Lucille Williams, 77, and Bernard Williams, 86, dead of gunshot wounds. DP reports that police have been investigating this as a murder-suicide, but police have yet to confirm that.
February 28, 2025: shooting at house in Waynesboro
Domanik S. Trohon, 24, of Staunton is arrested and charged with shooting at a residence at 305 East Main Street in Waynesboro around 1pm.
February 17, 2025: shots at Crozet Harris Teeter
ACPD responds to a shots fired report at the Harris Teeter in Crozet around 1:35 pm. Police discover three people with gunshot wounds. Two were pronounced dead at the scene and one was transported to UVA Medical Center, later dying from their wounds.
At this point in the investigation, it's believed that the shooter, Justin M. Barbour, 28, of Crozet, began firing in the parking lot with an assault rifle, killing one person (43-year-old Peter L. Martin of Crozet, Va) as he exited the store and wounding another (Diane G. Spangler, 68, of Afton, Va., who would later succumb to her wounds) in her car, at which point an off-duty federal law enforcement officer exiting the Harris Teeter engaged Barbour with their own personal weapon and killed him.
“Two subjects shooting each other,” a dispatcher told responding officers, according to a police scanner recording obtained by the DP. “One has a rifle, and one has a handgun.”
DP: "Minutes later, an officer on the radio urged the county to issue a shelter-in-place order and lock down nearby schools. The Blue Ridge Shopping Center is home to multiple businesses, including a nail salon, a Thai restaurant, a Truist bank branch, a hardware store and an Augusta Health clinic. The shopping center is roughly a mile and a half from three county public schools: Brownsville Elementary, Henley Middle and Western Albemarle High."
However, when officers arrived the dead and wounded already lay on the ground.
“We have no further shooters right now,” an officer on the scene communicated over the radio, according to the DP.
Barbour did not have a criminal history but has had prior contact with law enforcement, with the most recent being in January 2025. At this point in the investigation, it is unknown if Barbour had any affiliation to Martin and Spangler prior to the incident.
Albemarle County Police Department press conference on the shooting:
https://www.facebook.com/AlbemarleCoVAPolice/videos/1219582393119583
February 18, 2025: Yesterday, police said that Justin Barbour, who had no criminal history, had "prior contact with law enforcement" as recently as January, but declined to elaborate on the nature of that contact. However, a Facebook post by Barbour's sister claims that family members called 911 during a mental health crisis and requested an Emergency Custody Order (ECO) for Barbour.
"We are aware of the family’s claim and are conducting a thorough review of ACPD’s interactions with Mr. Barbour and the circumstances surrounding this incident," says County police spokesperson Logan Bogert. " As this remains an active investigation, we are unable to disclose specific details regarding Mr. Barbour’s prior contact with law enforcement at this time. Part of our review will examine whether Virginia’s Red Flag Law was applicable during our encounter with Mr. Barbour."
Police officers, based on their own observations and the reliable reports of others, have the authority to request an ECO from a magistrate if they believe there person might be a danger to themselves or others, which allows them to take someone into custody temporarily to be evaluated at a local hospital. If physicians at the local hospital believe the person still presents a danger to themselves or others, then a Temporary Detention Order (TDO) can be filed with a magistrate, which allows police to take the person into custody and transport them to a psychiatric facility for treatment. Oftentimes, it's difficult to find a bed at a nearby psychiatric facility, which means people often need to be driven great distances across the state to facilities with available beds. Within 72 hours, a commitment hearing is held at the psychiatric facility, attended by a court-appointed Attorney, a Special Justice, and an Independent Evaluator, to determine if the person should continue to be held for treatment. Oftentimes, people are released even though they still might need treatment and oftentimes end up in jail after committing an offense. Indeed, the upcoming $49 million renovation of the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail includes a special mental health wing. Ironically, people struggling with mental health conditions who end up incarcerated often end up receiving more prolonged care than they do in psychiatric facilities.
'The other side of the tragedy': Family remembers father of 2 killed in Crozet shooting
'The system failed': Family remembers troubled young man-turned-gunman
Family of Crozet shooting victim encouraged by hiring of new gun violence prosecutor
'She was the light': Retired nurse who died in Crozet shooting remembered
Police say Crozet shooter exhibited no dangerous behavior. Family, experts disagree.
Family says authorities were warned about Crozet gunman before deadly shooting
'Hero' likely averted mass shooting at Crozet Harris Teeter that killed 3
February 16, 2025: 4th Street shots
CPD responds to a report of a shooting in the 200 block of 4th St NW at around 5:40 pm. Shell casings were found at the scene but no injuries were reported.
February 6, 2025 - Hard Drive standoff
A juvenile with an AR-style rifle threatened another juvenile at their home in the 800 block of Hardy Drive at around 7 PM and ordered them to leave. After the victim was able to flee to safety Charlottesville police arrived and proceeded to negotiate with the juvenile with the AR-style rifle who had barricaded themselves in the home. The juvenile was then peacefully taken into custody and arrested on an outstanding warrant for robbery, with additional charges pending.
February 2, 2025 - 45 shots at Page Street
CPD responds to shots fired report in the 900 block of Page Street and collects 45 cartridge casings. No injuries were reported but multiple parked vehicles and one building were hit.
January 26, 2025 - Water Street parking lot shooting
CPD responds to reported shooting downtown. Jahaanz Wilson, 22, was shot in the Water Street Parking Lot at close to 3:00 am this morning and later died after arriving at the hospital. No further details have been released.
January 27, 2025: “This is a sad situation,” said Charlottesville Police Chief Michael Kochis in a radio interview. “It feels like a broken record sometimes, continuing to talk about the same story.” Kochis said that “we know that there were a lot of individuals that witnessed this” and urged them to come forward with information. He also talked about gun violence involving young people. “We see this all the time. We need to get our arms around that at every level within the criminal justice system, not just law enforcement,” he said.
January 24, 2025 - Lousia shooting
Louisa County sheriff's deputies investigated a reported shooting at around 4:15 am in the 00 block of West Chapel Drive near Gum Spring. Stephanie Wharam, 34, was arrested and charged with shooting the owner of the property, her landlord, who suffered a gunshot wound to the neck and was taken to the hospital where he is reported to be in stable condition. An investigation is ongoing.
January 22, 2025 - South Street armed robbery
CPD responds to reported armed robbery in the 1000 block of 1st St South around 4:30 pm. Victim reported being robbed at gunpoint during a prearranged sale of a firearm. Suspect fled on foot but was quickly located and apprehended nearby. Identified as 18-year-old Scottsville resident, Kelon McCory Washington.
January 18, 2025 - 800 block of West Main
CPD responds to a report of shots fired in the 800 block of West Main around 12:30 am. Multiple shell casings in the roadway and nearby parking lots. No reports of any injuries or property damage.
January 12, 2025 - Stribling Avenue shots
CPD responds to a shots fired report near Stribling Avenue at around 4:30 pm. Two residences were hit by bullets and ten bullet casing were found. There were no reported injuries.
January 1, 2025 - Upper Brook Court wounding
ACPD responds to shots fired report in the 900 block of Upper Brook Court around 12:30 am. A 19-year-old male suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and was transferred to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
December 23, 2024 - Robbery at Trading Post convenience store
ACPD responded to an armed robbery at the Trading Post convenience store in North Garden around 8:50 p.m. The suspect left on foot wearing a black hoodie, black pants, black gloves, and a black face mask. On January 17, 2025, Dakotah A. Cenno, 26, of Charlottesville was arrested and charged with robbery, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
November 29, 2024 - Rives Street shots
Shortly after 7:30 am, CPD officers responded to the 900 block of Rives Street for a report of gunshots. Shell casings were found in the area but there were no injuries and no property was struck.
November 26, 2024 - More Hardy Drive shots
CPD responds to a report of shots fired in the 800 block of Hardy Drive at around 4:30 pm. An unidentified male fired into a vehicle occupied by an adult driver and a three-year-old child. No injuries were reported. CPD believes the suspect and victim may be acquainted.
January 28, 2025: CPD & VSP Tactical Unit carry out multiple searches across Charlottesville, arrest 19-year-old Zamir Javon Wheeler for this November shooting incident
November 19, 2024 - Hardy Drive shots
CPD responded to shots fired report in the 800 block of Hardy Drive around 8:08 p.m. No one was killed or injured, but police found shell casings and a window of a nearby apartment was hit.
October 30, 2024 - UVA frat house, Romer
UVA student Robert Cabell Romer, 20, has been charged with a hate crime for branching a firearm at another student at the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity house at 513 Rugby Road, which was converted into apartments after fraternity was shut down in April following hazing allegations.
November 17, 2024: Romer is accused of extreme antisemitism directed at his housemate, a charge his family is denying. More here.
October 28, 2024 - Short 18th Street threat, Marco Antonio Berberena Perez
CPD responds to Short 18th Street for a reported domestic assault. Victim reports that Marco Antonio Berberena Perez, 34, pointed a gun at their head and threatened to shoot them. Perez fled before police arrived and is at large. Perez was last seen wearing khaki pants, a black sweatshirt, and a black beanie cap. Perez is also missing his left arm.
October 19, 2024 - Rio Hill Drive shots
ACPD responds to a “shots fired incident with injuries” in the 1600 block of Rio Hill Drive around 8 pm. No further information was released.
October 20, 2024: ACPD reports that Zerrion Eubanks-Warfield, 23, was shot and killed during an exchange of gunfire yesterday. Another person was wounded, and several vehicles and apartments were struck, in what ACPD is calling a gang-related shooting.
April 21, 2025: ACPD, with assistance from the Charlottesville Police Department and the United States Marshals Service, announces that three men have been arrested: Raymond R. Carter Jr., 19, of Charlottesville, Darnell A. Morris Jr., 24, of Charlottesville, Kaveigh J. Palmer, 20, of Richmond. They face charges of aggravated malicious wounding, shooting with intent to maim or kill by mob, gang activity, two counts of conspiracy to commit a felony, and two counts of use of a firearm in commission of a felony.
October 19, 2024 - Hardy Drive, 27 shell casings
CPD responds to reported shots fired in the 800 block of Hardy Drive at around 3:30 am. Later, an adult male victim arrived at the UVA Hospital with a single non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the leg. 27 casings of 4 different calibers were recovered at the scene but no suspect(s) have been identified.
October 7, 2024 - Peyton Drive shots fired
ACPD responded to a shots fired report in the 2300 block of Peyton Drive around 4:20 pm. According to ACPD, “officers located property damage and at least one bullet lodged in a fence post that surrounded a playground. There were no injuries reported.” Later, on November 15, ACPD announced they had charged two people: Jakai J. Mulford, 18, of Charlottesville, with attempted malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and Rico L. Walker Jr., 18, also of Charlottesville, with conspiracy to commit a felony. ACPD characterized the incident as “gang-related” but offered no further details.
October 6, 2024 - Multiple Fifeville shots
Witnesses reported hearing more than 15 shots fired at around 2 am at the intersection of 7 1/2 Street Southwest and Pine Street, just behind Tonsler Park. No suspects were identified and no injuries or damage were reported as CPD investigates.
September 16, 2024 - Brandishing firearm at City Hall
Charlottesville resident Toreke Barbour was arrested and charged with brandishing a firearm at a City employee on the Downtown Mall near the City Hall Annex. CPD has provided no details about what took place, other than saying the City employee was unharmed. Barbour was charged with brandishing a firearm, being a convicted violent felon in possession of a firearm, and concealed carry of a firearm by a convicted felon.
October 17, 2024: Barbour pleads guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, carrying a concealed weapon, and brandishing a firearm. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 7, 2025 at 1:00 PM and faces up to seven years in prison. In addition to any sentence he receives on these charges, Mr. Barbour is also facing the possibility of an additional eight years in prison for a pending probation violation in the Charlottesville Circuit Court.
September 12, 2024 - Hardy Drive shots
CPD responds to reports of shots fired near Hardy Drive around 1:40 am. A building was struck by a bullet but there were no reported injuries. Hardy Drive was shut down while police collected evidence.
October 15, 2024: CPD announces to the public they have arrest warrants for Nayquon Laymonte Steppe, 25, in connection with the shooting, saying he should be considered armed and asking for information concerning his whereabouts.
October 17, 2024: Steppe was taken into custody without incident.
September 9, 2024 - Multiple shots fired in one night
CPD responds to reported shots fired in the area of 2nd Street SE and Monticello Avenue around 7 pm. Shell casings were found and parked vehicles were struck. No reported injuries. Monticello Avenue was shut down from 2nd Street SE to 6th Street SE while police investigated.
10:21 pm: CPD responds to shots fired call in the area of Michie Dr. No injuries are reported; one unoccupied building was struck.
10:29 pm: CDP and callers overhear gunfire coming from Hardy Dr. No injuries reported.
12:04 am: (technically September 10): CPD responds to multiple reports of shots fired at Lankford Avenue and South 1st Street Shell casings were found but no reported injuries or objects hit. CPD shut down South First Street rom Elliot Avenue to Lankford Avenue while they investigated.
September 11, 2024: Charlottesville Police Chief Michael Kochis acknowledged community concern about the shots fired incident that happened in the area of 2nd St SE and Monticello Avenue on Monday evening, alarming those who were at the IX Park eating at Brazos and picking up their children. No one was injured in the shooting but several vehicles were struck by gunfire.
“I got several emails specifically from parents who were dropping their little kids off at ballerina practice,” said Kochis during a WINA radio interview this morning, referring to Charlottesville Ballet's studio in the IX Park. Some on social media reported seeing two men in masks running through the parking lot at IX following the shots.
Later on Monday evening, police responded to three other shots fired incidents, one on Michie Drive at 10:21 pm (no injuries, one unoccupied building struck), one on Hardy Drive at 10:29 pm (no injuries reported), and one on South First Street at 12:04 am (no injuries reported). According to shooting data collected by the DTM, it's highly unusual to have so many reported shootings in one day.
Kochis said no suspects have been apprehended, and so far no connections have been discovered between the shootings. He also put a spotlight on gun ownership.
“If you’re going to own a firearm, be a gun owner, be a responsible one. I just think we’re seeing too many irresponsible gun owners right now,” Kochis said.
September 17, 2024: CPD asked for public help in identifying suspects caught on camera.
October 11, 2024: Kaijon Cortez Sholes, 18, is arrested on a weapons charge related to the incident. CPD still searching for two other individuals involved.
August 28, 2024 - Batesville shooting
ACPD responds to 2600 block of Heartwood Road in Batesville for a reported shooting, discovered that 73-year-old Craig Thomson Handley of Batesville had fired some shots in a dispute with a neighbor and had also hit a parked vehicle with his ATV. Handley retreated into his home and officers spent 8 hours getting him to come out so they could take him into custody.
December 2024: Handley files a lawsuit against his neighbor Nicholas Patrick Oppenheimer alleging he was the aggressor. "I know it sounds weird for a defense lawyer to say his client was the victim, but he truly was the victim," Handley's lawyer August McCarthy told The Daily Progress.
August 22, 2024 - Mason Street shooting
CPD responds to reported shooting near Mason Street around 12:27 a.m. and find a man with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound. Later, Esteban Benjamin Fortin, 27, was arrested and charged with the shooting.
October 29, 2024: Fortin pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 9, 2025 and faces up to five years in prison.
New details emerge in court: The victim, Alijah Elese Brown, 27, was allegedly shot in the arm after a confrontation involving Fortin and a woman named Kristina Sprouse, Brown's ex-girlfriend, outside Sprouse's Mason Street apartment. Brown had previously attacked Sprouse and was convicted of abduction. Fortin and Sprouse were hanging out at Fotin's apartment on Nassau Street and when they went out to the BP gas station on Monticello Road Sprouse received a call from her mother saying that Brown was ransacking her Mason Street apartment.
“Once near her residence, Sprouse said Brown looked at her, switched his position, and ‘full-force lunges’ at her,” according to a detective’s account. That's when a gunshot hit Brown's left forearm.
Prosecutors said Brown was so belligerent at the hospital while he was being treated that he had to be sedated. They also learned that Fortin had 10 felony conditions on his record.
Fortin has pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a felony only, not to shooting Brown, and while the prosecution has evidence he did shoot Brown (cell phone records in which he admits he did), Brown is on record telling officers that a dog bit him and that “she” shot him.
Fortin will be sentenced on Jan. 9.
August 14, 2024 - Two shootings in Belmont within the hour
CPD responds to two shootings within an hour of each other. 1) 1300 block of Midland Street around 7 pm. Two shell casings found. No property damage or injuries were reported. 2) 600 block of Montrose Avenue around 7:44 pm. Multiple shots were fired. No property damage or injuries were reported.
August 2, 2024 - Prospect and Bailey shots
CPD responded to a shots fired report in the area of Prospect Avenue and Bailey Road around 4:10 a.m. Multiple shell casings were found but no reported property damage or injuries.
July 31, 2024 - Dairy Market parking lot
CPD responded to a shots fired report in a parking lot near the 900 block of Grady Avenue, next to the Dairy Market food hall, around 4:30 p.m. Multiple shell casings were found, but no injuries were reported. A witness said someone in a black sedan shot at someone in a gold sedan.
July 28, 2024 - 100 block of East Market shooting
CPD officers on patrol were flagged down by someone in the 100 block of East Market Street at around 1:38 a.m., near the edge of Market Street Park, who told them his friend had been shot. A 33-year-old male was taken to the UVA Medical Center and is reported to be in stable condition.
August 1, 2024: Police have identified Gustavo Junior Laurent, 41, as a suspect and ask the public for help in tracking him down. He is considered armed.
August 5, 2024: Laurent was arrested without incident. Read more.
September 12, 2024: With a history of violent crime, Gustavo Laurent shouldn't have had a firearm. So how did he get one?
December 2024: During a December hearing prosecutors said Laurent shot Damon Emanuel Bank, 33, because Banks was taunting him about his status as a child sex offender. However, Banks refused to testify, which lead to a plea deal charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and serving a five-month sentence.
In addition to tying Laurent to the shooting, the detective who obtained the search warrant on Laurent's phone, Courtney Lowe, had expressed hope that the phone might show how Laurent, with multiple felony convictions, including cocaine distribution and grand larceny, obtained a firearm. However, nothing was said in court about that, and Laurent declined to make a statement in court. Read more.
July 24, 2024 - Lee Jackson Highway shooting
Augusta County Sheriffs responded to a report of a man shot in the face in the 3500 block of Lee Jackson Highway (near Loves Truck Stop) around 7:50 p.m. An investigation revealed that the shooting stemmed from a road rage incident between two drivers. The suspect is believed to be in a four-door white or light-colored pickup, with dark rims and tires.
The victim was flown from Riverheads Elementary School to UVA Hospital for additional treatment. His condition is currently unknown.
July 23, 2024 - Holly's Diner shooting
CPD responds to Holly's Diner at 1221 E. Market Street around 11:15 p.m and found a 30-year-old man suffering from a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the leg.
"The initial investigation indicates that a disorder inside of the establishment led to a shooting which occurred outside," police said in their Wednesday statement. "It is believed that the suspect and victim may be known to each other."
July 25, 2024: CPD asks for help in identifying suspects, vehicle in Holly's Diner shooting. Images: https://www.charlottesville.gov/civicalerts.aspx?AID=1884
July 23, 2024 - wounded on Lankford Avenue
CPD responded to a reported shooting at 108 Lankford Avenue around 8:54 p.m. and discovered a 23-year-old man with multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to the University of Virginia Medical Center and his condition is currently was listed as “serious.”
"The initial investigation indicates the victim and suspect may be known to one another," police said in a statement. "There is no indication that this incident is random."
July 23, 2024 - James Avenue in Waynesboro
Waynesboro Police respond to a report of a shooting in the 400 block of James Avenue around 9 a.m and discover Trevor Hill, 33, of Waynesboro, dead on the front porch of a residence. An injured Jacob Preston Sipe, 23, was also discovered and after being released from the hospital he was arrested for second-degree murder.
July 4, 2024 - Monte Vista double shooting
CPD responds to welfare check at 301 Monte Vista Avenue at 1:30 pm reported by a family member. Inside the home, police find Brenda Lois Lambert, 81, dead from a gunshot wound and James Marvin Shea, Jr., 85, wounded and in serious condition. He is taken to UVA Hospital. Evidence suggests this was a planned suicide by the married couple gone wrong, but the investigation is ongoing.
Lambert was a well-known social justice advocate, as is Shea. Hawes Spencer has their story. Both were known to be in poor health recently.
July 4, 2024 - Michie Drive shots
CPD responds to shots fired report at 11:22 pm in the 2000 block of Michie Drive. Eight shell casings found in the parking lot of an apartment building. One residence and two vehicles were damaged
July 2, 2024 - 1st Street pursuit of Alexander Turner
CPD attempted a traffic stop around 10:15 pm. Driver fled striking the officer's vehicle, and a parked vehicle., and officers chased him into the area of 900 block of 1st Street. Driver stopped the vehicle and then fled on foot and officers were able to catch and arrest Alexander Turner, 21, in the area of Lankford Avenue. Narcotics, ammunition, and a AK-47-style rifle were recovered. Chief Kochis stated: “The dangerous work our officers do each and every day cannot be overstated. Thankfully nobody was injured during this incident, but it is a reminder of the risks our officers take each and every day in service to our community.”
October 29, 2024: Turner pled guilty to felony eluding, felony possession of ammunition after having been convicted of a felony, and misdemeanor hit and run. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 7, 2025 and faces up to 11 years in prison.
February 4, 2025: Today, in Charlottesville Circuit Court, Judge Claude V. Worrell sentenced Alexander Turner Jr. to 19 years in prison for eluding police, possession of firearm ammunition by a previously convicted felon, leaving the scene of an accident and a probation violation from a previous attempted robbery. A portion of the 19-year sentence was suspended and Mr. Turner was returned to supervised probation for a term of two years and placed on 10 years of good behavior.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Joe Platania reiterated that “the Charlottesville Commonwealth's Attorney’s Office, in partnership with the Charlottesville Police Department, will continue to prioritize the prosecution of violent offenders.” This case was prosecuted by Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Nina-Alice Antony.
July 2, 2024 - South First Street 1000
CPD responds to shots fired report in the 1000 block of South First Street around 1:40 a.m. Tuesday. Two vehicles and an occupied apartment were shot.
July 1, 2024 -Booker Street and Charlton Avenue
CPD responds to the intersection of Booker Street and Charlton Avenue around 10:35 p.m. Monday to reports of a man firing a gun in the street. Shell casings were recovered but no injuries or property damage.
June 29, 2024 - 700 block, 6th St SE
Just after midnight on June 29, police were called to the 700 block of 6th St SE for a report of a shooting. No injuries or damage have been reported.
June 23, 2024 - Boonesville Road in Free Union
Albemarle County Police and Fire Rescue Departments responded to a reported shooting in the 3200 block of Boonesville Road in Free Union. Officers discovered one adult victim suffering from a gunshot wound. Police say a suspect is in custody, but have provided no further information.
July 14, 2024: Follow-up reporting by the Daily Progress reveals that this was the result of an early morning (8am) argument between Krystal Frazier, 36, and Tommy Forbes, 61, and his wife Deborah, 57, over property their families own in the area. According to Albemarle police detective Nic Richardson, when Krystal and Deborah began fighting, Tommy Forbes pulled a loaded gun. Frazier lunged for the weapon and it went off. “The slug entered the left side of Frazier's face and exited the right, according to Richardson's report, which noted that Frazier was airlifted to the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville,” the DP reported.
August 1, 2024: details presented in court show that this was not the first time Forbes shot someone and claimed self-defense. Read more.
Krystal Frazier’s name changes to Krystal Dudley in the Daily Progress news coverage below:
December 17, 2024: Trial Day 1 — "She's lost her left eye, and she's blind in the other," Jamie Frazier, Krystal Dudley's brother, told an Albemarle County Circuit Court jury of eight men and five women. "She's had a stroke, trouble walking, no use of her left arm and facial paralysis." Forbes' attorney argued that Dudley was the aggressor and that the gun went off accidentally during an argument. Forbes could be sentenced to 20 years to life behind bars if he is found guilty. Read more.
December 18, 2024: Trail Day 2 — A witness to the shooting blamed Forbes' wife for launching the day's violence."Thomas' wife slapped Krystal, and that initiated a fight," testified Travis Lambert, Dudley's boyfriend. He also said Forbes fired a warning shot into the air before a second shot hit Dudley in the face. Lambert’s mother also said a warning shot was fired. However, Albemarle County police Sgt. Jordan DeLange testified that he found one spent casing and four live rounds inside the gun. Three neighbors also testified to hearing one gun shot.
Deborah Forbes testified to being attacked by Dudley by grabbing her ponytail, pulling it down, and punching her. She said her husband’s gun went off when Dudley tried to pull it away from him.
About two weeks before the shooting, a lawsuit alleging that Dudley's mother and others tried to submit a bogus will which would have bolstered their share of the estate was decided in favor of Deborah Forbes.
She recalled happier times at the property before the Shiffletts, the Morrises and the Fraziers — including Krystal Frazier Dudley — drifted apart.
"Back in the day," she said, "we all used to come together at Christmastime." Read more.
December 20, 2024: Trial Day 4 — Jury declares Forbes not guilty of all charges, believing the shooting of Dudley was an accident, reports the Daily Progress. Police body camera footage of key prosecution witnesses proved pivotal, as it showed them giving contradictory accounts of what happened. Indeed, Forbes ‘attorney accused key prosecution witnesses of lying to the court.
After the verdict, as darkness fell on Court Square in downtown Charlottesville, tears streamed down the face of Tonya Payne, one of of Forbes' three daughters.
"This has been a very tough six months on our family," Payne told The Daily Progress. "And we're just so thankful that the truth came out today."
"We are going home," she continued. "We want to hug our dad. We want to cry together. We want to get our life back together. We want to be a family for Christmas."
Dudley's family declined to comment to The Daily Progress.
During the trial, Thomas Forbes betrayed little emotion other than when he spoke about Dudley's injuries.
"Every day I pray for her," he said from the stand as he reached for a tissue.
Earlier, he was asked about Dudley's demeanor.
"I love all my family," he said, "but some of them you got to love from a distance."
— Daily Progress reporter Hawes Spencer
June 21, 2024 - South & Lankford
CPD responded to shots fired in the area of South First Street and Lankford Avenue at around 2 pm. No reports of injuries or property damage.
June 20, 2024 - Carlton Avenue trailer
CPD responds to shots fired call in the 1300 block of Carlton Avenue at around 12:06 am. An 18-year-old female with gunshot wounds to her upper body is found in a vehicle that crashed into a trailer home. She was transported to the University of Virginia Medical Center where she is in stable condition with serious injuries.
Update 7:45 pm: CPD has charged 25-year-old Charlottesville resident, Travis William Herndon, in connection with the shooting in the 1300 block of Carlton Avenue. However, CPD says Herndon has not been taken into custody and should be considered armed.
6/23/2024 - Just before 7:00 pm this evening, Herndon turned himself in to CPD officers without incident. He is currently in custody at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.
September 19, 2024: "There are some significant safety concerns from witnesses," Deputy Charlottesville Commonwealth's Attorney Nina-Alice Antony said. Read more.
June 17, 2024 - Monticello Avenue & Midland Street
CPD responds to two shots fired calls: the first call was in the area of 6th Street SE and Monticello Avenue at 5:04 pm. Shortly after a second call for shots fired occurred in the 1400 block Midland Street. No reported injuries.
June 19, 2024: Malik Luck, 26, has been charged with multiple firearms charges in relation to at least one of the shootings, police say. Read more.
“There are groups of kids, adults, and juveniles that are settling beef over with firearms and these are high-powered firearms. We’re talking AR-15 style weapons, AK- 47, style weapons, pistols with switches that make them fully automatic,” Charlottesville Police Chief Michael Kochis said. Bryan Page is with B.U.C.K Squad says the city didn’t give the organization enough funding to continue dealing with this problem. Read more.
June 15, 2024 - Watson Avenue and Marshall Street
CPD responds to shots fired incident around 12:40 a.m. in the area of Watson Avenue and Marshall Street. Officers found shell casings on the scene and saw that an unoccupied vehicle had been hit. No injuries.
June 13, 2024 - Richard Sanders
CPD arrests Richard Sanders at Tonsler Park on Cherry Avenue without incident. Following a personal search, police found two concealed firearms: a handgun with a device that enabled it to be fired in a fully automatic mode and contained an extended magazine, and an AK-style firearm with a 30-round magazine. Sanders was charged with felony possession of a machine gun, possession of a firearm in a city park, and possession of a concealed weapon.
October 29, 2024: Sanders pled guilty to possession of a machine gun. He is scheduled to be sentenced on February 11, 2025. He faces the possibility of an overall prison sentence of 10 years.
June 12, 2024 - Damillion Diggs
CPD arrested Damillion Diggs in the 1000 block of 1st Street South at 9:56 PM. He was wanted for firearm possession while being a convicted felon. As a result of the arrest six firearms were seized including two AR-style rifles, three handguns, and one AR-style pistol along with illegal narcotics.
June 12, 2024 - Harmon Street
CDP to shots fired report in the 100 block of Harmon Street. A single residence was targeted and struck by gunfire as well as a vehicle parked in the driveway. In total, 41 shell casings were recovered from the scene to include a rifle and pistol. No persons were struck in this incident.
CPD Chief Michael Kochis says the shooting had to do with a feud between groups from two different neighborhoods, CBS19 reported.
"Folks having beefs over really trivial things. Right. Folks being seen in someone else's neighborhood. And then picking up firearms and settling those beefs. Think about an AR-15. How many rounds come out of an AR-15 in such a short period of time? Doesn't take long. We're talking seconds. And that's a lot of firepower,” said Kochis.
June 10, 2024 - Timberland Lane shooting
ACPD officers respond to a shots fired call at 2:30 am in the 300 Block of Timberland Lane. Police are reporting there is property damage and an adult female suffering from a non-life-threatening gunshot wound. Police do not have a suspect description to share publicly at this time.
June 9, 2024 - Carlton Avenue shots fired
CPD investigating shots fired on Carlton Avenue around 4:25 p.m. One building was damaged and there are no reports of injuries.
May 25, 2024 - D Street shooting in Waynesboro
Waynesboro police said they found Seth Wayne Wallace, 22, suffering from a gunshot wound shortly after 4 a.m. Saturday in the 1300 block of D Street. Dustin Allen Dove, 23, of McGaheysville, was later arrested that day in connection with the shooting. No update yet on the victim’s condition.
June 14, 2024: Wallace died from his wounds on June 12. Wallace was shot numerous times when Dove opened fire on him with a rifle.
October 17, 2024: Kaylee Grace Turner, 21, is arrested and charged as an accessory to second-degree murder in the death of Wallace. Dove returns to court for a hearing Tuesday, October 22 and Turner will have her first hearing the following Thursday, Oct. 24. Both are being held at Middle River Regional Jail.
November 4, 2024: A Waynesboro grand jury indicts Dove on charges of first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of first-degree murder. He had been facing a charge of second-degree murder.
May 9, 2024 - Wilda Road door shooting
Augusta County Sheriff Deputies arrested Raymond Gregory Allen, Jr., 35, after he shot at a woman through a door with a rifle in the 800 block of Wilda Road around 12:30pm on Thursday. She suffered a laceration to the face from the door debris and was treated at the scene. After a search by Deputies, Allen was discovered at a neighbor's house, emerged peacefully, and was taken into custody. The neighbor, John Shifflett, 58, was charged with obstruction of justice.
"This was an isolated domestic incident that was fueled by substance abuse," said Sheriff Donald Smith. "There is no danger to the community at this time."
May 3, 2024 - Michie Drive shooting
Charlottesville Police respond to a reported shooting in the 2000 block area of Michie Drive just after 6:30pm. One male juvenile with a non-life threatening single gunshot wound.
April 19, 2024 - Runnel Court shooting
Albemarle County Police Department responded to a shooting in the 800 block of Runnel Court (off Barrack Road) at around 5:20 am. One adult male was wounded with non-life-threatening injuries.
April 16, 2024 - Cherry/Ridge shooting
Charlottesville Police Department responded to a shots-fired call at 7:09 p.m. in the area of 726 Prospect Avenue. One gunshot victim with non-life-threatening injuries.
April 17: Police identified Corinthian “Zayquan” Brown as a suspect in the shooting. Brown is at large and considered armed. Police also so said the shooting did not occur on Prospect Avenue, as originally reported, but at the intersection of Cherry Ave and Ridge St.
April 19: Brown turns himself in. He was charged with malicious wounding, shooting from a vehicle, maliciously shooting at a vehicle and using a firearm during a malicious wounding. More.
April 13, 2024 - Colonnade Drive shots
The Albemarle County Police Department responded to several calls for shots fired in the 200 block of Colonnade Drive at around 5:06 pm. No injuries or property damage was reported.
April 10, 2024 - Police shoot man on on I-64
Waynesboro Police responded to a reported shooting today at the Parkway Village Apartments around 5pm and pursued the shooting suspect's vehicle over Afton Mountain into Albemarle County until it crashed into a guard rail on I-64 at the 102-mile marker. After a standoff with the driver that lasted about an hour, “shots were fired” and the man was transported to UVA Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. Virginia State Police say no police were injured and a firearm was found at the scene. Blue Ridge Life Magazine with the coverage today.
The man shot was identified as Kevin D. Taylor II, 29, of Charlottesville. Taylor was convicted of an attempted armed robbery in 2014, during which his accomplice was killed, and in 2020 he was convicted of malicious wounding and the use of a firearm.
A Facebook post on a page called The Official Spot-a-Cop appears to show Taylor being confronted by police.
August 23, 2024: "...Taylor tried again and again to create a situation in which the officers had no choice but to shoot him to protect themselves and others," reads the report from Albemarle Commonwealth's Attorney James Hingeley.
April 9, 2024 - 12th and Grady shots/murder
CPD finds an adult male with multiple gunshot wounds after responding to a shots fired call at 12th and Grady Avenue around 7:30pm. The following day, CPD issued a press release saying that 31-year-old Deqwane Brown was found shot to death inside a vehicle in the area of 12th St. and Rosser Ave.
Brown had just dropped off his 6-year-old daughter after having dinner with her and was expecting a third child. "He definitely made sure he was always there for his kids," his sister said, DP reports.
CPD Detectives have obtained arrest warrants for Sidney Montcellus Stinnie of Charlottesville in connection with Brown’s murder. On April 14, Stinnie turned himself into Charlottesville police officers without incident.
Stinnie, 41, who served time for dealing cocaine and shooting someone in 2012, was also the subject of a 2015 prison sodomy case featured in C-Ville Weekly. He also has a hearing in Nelson County J&DR Court for Assault &Battery of a Family Member in June.
March 24, 2024 - Nassau and Vine streets shots
CPD responded to shots fired at the intersection of Nassau and Vine at around 2:45 am. Two shell casings found, no reported property damage or injuries.
March 17, 2024 - Carlton Ave and Nassau St. shots
At approximately 6:52 p.m., CPD responded to a shots fired call at the intersection of Carlton Ave and Nassau St. Upon arrival, multiple shell casings were found and property damage incurred. There are no reported injuries
March 12, 2024 - Ridge Street and Langford Avenue shots
A heavy police presence in the 700 block of Ridge Street and Langford Avenue around 12:10 p.m. for reports of shots fired. No injuries or property damage was reported.
March 5, 2024 - 6th street shots fired
At approximately 5:15 p.m., officers responded to a shots fired call at the 600 block of 6th St SE. Upon arrival, multiple shell casings were found. There are no reports of injury or property damage.
March 13, 2024: Charlottesville Police Department detectives, with the assistance of the Virginia State Police and Albemarle County Police conducted a search in the 100 block of Stribling Ave in the City of Charlottesville and the 800 block of Mallside Forest Court in Albemarle County related to this shooting. As a result, one juvenile male was taken into custody and others are wanted. Read more…
April 12, 2024: Four people have now been arrested in connection with this shooting. More details…
November 26, 2024: Eric Dweh is sentenced to 18 years in prison for attempted malicious wounding, possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon, and a probation violation. 13 years of the time imposed by the court was suspended leaving an active sentence to serve of five years in prison.
February 24, 2024 - Stewart Circle shots
CPD officers responded to a shots fired call at the 100 block of Stewart Circle at around 7:45 pm. Multiple shell casings were found. No reports of injury or property damage.
February 24, 2024 - late night shots on DTM, man wounded
Police on patrol hear gunshots in the 200 Block area of Market Street on the Downtown Mall around 1:45 am. They discovered several shell casings and a wounded 35-year-old man who was transported to the hospital and remains in stable condition. No suspect has been identified.
Update: According to reporting from 29 News, a fight started inside a Downtown Mall business and moved outside as members of the B.U.C.K. Squad, an anti-gun violence organization, tried to bring the situation under control. Then someone pulled a gun and began shooting.
February 22, 2024 - First Street shots
CPD officers responded to several shots fired calls in the 900 block of First Street South at around 11:39 pm. Several shell casings found. No reports of injury or property damage.
February 21, 2024 - Lynchburg young couple
Lynchburg Police respond to a report of a malicious wounding at 10:50 a.m. at 1808 Locust Street. Charlottesville resident Keon Jamir Palmer, 22, is later charged with second-degree murder and first offense use of a firearm in the commission of a felony in connection with the death of Makayvia Iyana Cabell, 19. Witnesses say both young people were armed. More here.
February 9, 2024 - shots fired on Prospect Ave. leads to arrests
A shots fired report from a vehicle in the 800 block of Prospect Avenue at approximately 12:40 a.m. led to a vehicle stop by CPD in which officers recovered 4 firearms and narcotics from the vehicle. Three individuals were arrested in connection with this incident. More details here.
February 2, 2024 - Multiple reports of shots fired at Cedar Hill Road and Dellmead Lane
Multiple reports of shots fired near the intersection of Cedar Hill Road and Dellmead Lane at 5:42 p.m. While Charlottesville police found multiple shell casings, there were no injuries. The shooting remains under investigation.
January 29, 2024 - 42-year-old male shot in the area of Bainbridge Street and Carlton Avenue
CPD officers responded to multiple calls about shots fired in the area of Bainbridge Street and Carlton Avenue at around 8:45 pm. Police found multiple shell casings. A 42-year-old male victim with life-threatening gunshot wounds drove himself to UVA Medical Center. He remains in stable condition. The shooting remains under investigation.
January 14, 2024 - one person with gunshot wound on Hardy Drive
More than a dozen gunshots were reported on Hardy Drive around 8 pm. Charlottesville police found one person with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound. This is an ongoing investigation.
2023
December 30, 2023 - disturbance among neighbors in Rose Hill
Charlottesville police were dispatched to Charlton Avenue in the Rose Hill Neighborhood around 8 p.m. after a report of shots fired. Police described it as a “disturbance among neighbors." Five shell casings were found but there were no reported injuries.
December 29, 2023 - 10 shots fired on Hardy Drive
Charlottesville Police reported shots fired around 5:45 am in the 800 block of Hardy Drive. DTM was nearby and heard this one - around 10 shots fired in several short bursts. CPD reported that two residences were struck but that no one was injured.
December 24, 2023 - home invasion and shooting on Ridge Street
Charlottesville Police report an attempted home invasion and shooting on the 800 block of Ridge Street in the early morning hours. No injuries were reported.
December 22, 2023 - family shootout in Staunton
In the early morning hours of December 22, a man and a woman at 395 Hermitage Road in Staunton got into an argument over cigarettes and things escalated. The woman called her sons to the residence to help her move her belongings. At one point, the man shoved the woman and the woman's son, Curtis Johnson, 23, pointed a pistol at the man. A 17-year-old boy at the residence, presumably the man's son, drew a pistol and shot Johnson in the chest. Johnson's brother, Donté Hess, 21, then pulled a handgun and exchanged fire with the teen. Numerous rounds also went through a vehicle at the scene that was carrying three children, all under the age of 8, court files said. More from the Staunton News Leader.
December 15, 2023 - Jeffery Dennis Simms
Greene County Sheriff’s Office looking for a suspect involved in a shooting that occurred on Ford Avenue in Stanardsville. They describe it as an “isolated incident” and say “an individual was treated on scene for a gunshot wound.” The suspect is 61-year-old Jeffery Dennis Simms of Stanardsville, who faces charges including malicious wounding, felony possession of a firearm, and shooting at an occupied vehicle.
January 6, 2024: Greene County Sheriff's Office offers $500 reward for information leading to the arrest of Simms, described as a 5-foot-11, 170-pound Black man with graying hair.
November 29, 2023 - Anthony Wayne Martin
Anthony Wayne Martin, 45, of Barboursville was later arrested for firing a handgun inside a mini-van with five children. This took place just north of Cismont on Gordonsville Road. Martin was riding as a passenger in the vehicle with a couple and their children, ages 3 to 17. Police say Martin was intoxicated and became angry after the driver asked him to lower his voice. The driver, the husband, subdued Martin while his wife took the wheel and drove to a nearby Dollar Store. ”Shit’s not funny when it’s real,” Martin allegedly shouted before firing the gun. Martin faces a misdemeanor reckless handling charge and two felony charges: shooting in a vehicle and possession of a firearm as a felon. Martin was previously convicted of possession of a controlled substance and child abuse in 2019.
August 10, 2024: Martin, who has plead guilty, has now been jailed for more than eight months, awaiting a determination on his case, even though no one was injured. Details here. His sentencing is set for Aug. 19 in Albemarle Circuit Court.
November 22, 2023 - person shot in driveway on Alberene Road
Albemarle County Police responded to a reported shooting at a residence on Alberene Road around 9:43 pm. Police discovered a person who had received a “superficial” wound from a shot fired from a car in the driveway of the residence. Police say the victim declined treatment from the responding paramedics and that they have identified the suspected shooter.
November 16, 2023 - man accidentally shot at a private gun range
According to the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office, a man was accidentally shot at a private gun range on Thomas Morris Lane at around 4:30 p.m. Deputies found the person suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to his torso. The man was awake and talking and "flown to a hospital for treatment," according to a CBS19 report. This incident is under investigation.
November 15, 2023 - Nyeem Rysuan Hill, 18, brandishing AR-15 style rifle and handgun
CPD was alerted about a man seen armed with an AR-15 style rifle and handgun in the 800 block of Hardy Drive at 11 a.m. At the scene, CPD made contact with Nyeem Rysuan Hill, 18, of Albemarle County, who was brandishing the weapons near the Westhaven playground. Hill was arrested and charged with Possession of Firearm While Respondent of Protective Order and Possession of Firearm by Convicted Felon.
May 26, 2024: Interesting case. Charlottesville Circuit Judge Claude Worrell is going to spend the summer thinking about what kind of sentence to give an 18-year-old charged with live-streaming himself on Facebook last November at the playground at Westhaven with a pistol and a semi-automatic rifle that resembled an AR-15. The teen has a previous gun possession charge, but has so far never shot anyone. Witnesses have testified about his good character, and even prosecutors have acknowledged that he's a promising young man, but they are also recommending a 12 to 18 months jail sentence.
“We’ve had way too many cases, your honor, with young individuals who shouldn’t have them,” said the prosecutor.
“I sit up here, and I wonder sometimes what it is about young people that are attracted to firearms," Judge Worrell said. "The fact of the matter is it doesn’t make you safer. It may be more dangerous.”
“Everyone’s arming themselves to what end?” the judge pondered.
July 8, 2024: Charlottesville Circuit Court, Judge Claude V. Worrell sentenced Hill to five years in prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The court suspended a portion of that time, leaving an active sentence to serve of 14 months. Commonwealth’s Attorney Joe Platania stated, “the prosecution of individuals who possess firearms after having been prohibited from doing so is and will continue to be a priority of this office.” This case was prosecuted by Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Nina-Alice Antony.
October 14, 2023 - Daniel O’Brien Hall
CPD responded to a shots fired report at 3 a.m. on the 200 block of East Market Street (between the downtown public library and the back of the Paramount Theater), identifying one shooting victim, 48-year-old Daniel O’Brien Hall of Charlottesville, who later died at the hospital. No suspect was identified. CPD asked downtown businesses and residents in the area to check their video cameras.
Many quickly speculated it had something to do with the homeless encampment in nearby Market Street Park, but not only did police confirm the shooting had nothing to do with the situation in the park, some camping in the park came forward as witnesses. It appears an argument between two men, which could be heard from the park, proceeded the shooting.
October 24, 2023: Reginald Eugene Lindsay Jr., 48, of Gordonsville is arrested for Hall’s murder. CPD Chief Michael Kochis held a 1 p.m. press conference.
"There was a beef between two people: the victim and the suspect," said Kochis, as reported by the DP. "There were some encounters throughout the night between the two."
Kochis said Virginia State Police made the arrest in Louisa County at the home of one of Lindsay's relatives but did not say how he was found.
The police chief stressed that the homeless population bore no responsibility for the shooting.
"The park had absolutely nothing to do with this murder," said Kochis.
February 16, 2024: reporting now indicates that Lindsay Jr. “inserts himself into an altercation between two other people” and “takes out a weapon and shoots the victim,” according to Charlottesville Commonwealth’s Attorney Joe Platania. He was denied bail despite a lot of people in court to support him. The next hearing is set for next hearing for March 7.
May 15, 2024: Commonwealth's Attorney Joe Platania downgrades Lindsay’s charge to manslaughter. "I will address the reasons that the charge was downgraded to manslaughter at his guilty plea," Platania told the Daily Progress. His plea is scheduled for May 21.
In court later, Platania addressed why he agreed to a manslaughter plea. He explained then that the video was so grainy that it showed only what happened but not who did it, and he revealed that at least three people saw what happened but declined to volunteer information.
"The almost total lack of cooperation by individuals with knowledge of this incident led to the case being resolved by a guilty plea to manslaughter," he later said in a prepared statement.
August 6, 2024: Charlottesville Circuit Court, Judge Richard E. Moore sentenced Lindsay Jr. to 10 years in prison. Commonwealth’s Attorney Joe Platania stated, “Six homicides were committed in the City of Charlottesville in 2023 and today marks the sixth and final sentencing event with each charged individual receiving a significant active prison sentence. The sentencings are a painful reminder of the life-altering consequences for those who choose to commit an act of violence with a firearm and the victims that they leave behind. As Danny’s wife said during her victim impact testimony, 'I hate that we are killing each other.’"
“If you have to go somewhere and carry a gun, just don’t go,” Shaniqua Rucker, niece of Danny Hall told 29News. “Nothing good comes out of it. A bullet doesn’t have a name on it.”
Rucker is part of the family group who walked out of Charlottesville Circuit Court on Tuesday talking about crime and gun violence.
“Even if we did get justice, or he was served first-degree, second-degree murder, at the end of the day, no family won,” Rucker said.
“I’m not pleased as a prosecutor. I’m in Circuit Court for yet another homicide sentencing,” Platania said. “The gun violence in this community needs to stop. It is over petty disputes, and people are solving these petty disputes by picking up firearms and shooting each other.”
October 11, 2023 - man accidentally shoots himself in leg
Accident/self-inflicted. CPD responds to shots fired report at Tonsler Park around 10 p.m. An investigation leads them to a man being treated for a gunshot wound to the leg at the University of Virginia Medical Center. The man later admits to accidentally shooting himself in his car.
September 27, 2023 - Jacob Goodwin
The Fluvanna County Sheriff’s Office arrested a parent — identified as 29-year-old Jacob Goodwin of Palmyra — who had come onto school property while wearing and displaying a firearm. The Light Academy is a K-12 private school in a southern area of the county. When school officials asked the parent to leave, he did so but returned to a neighboring property where he allegedly brandished another firearm in view of school officials and parents. The incident closely follows other similar violent threats made at schools in the county. Earlier this week, it was reported that two teenagers had been arrested for social media threats to blow up Fluvanna County High School.
September 13, 2023 - Jalontae Percer
ACPD officers respond to shots fired report in the east parking lot of Fashion Square Mall off Rio Rd East at around 7:00 p.m. and find two shooting victims who are transported to UVA hospital. The mall was on lockdown and police were witnessed at the scene cordoning off the parking lot and inspecting vehicles. Police able to identify the shooter because of store video, later conduct a search at a residence at Brookdale Apartments and arrest and charge Jalontae Percer, 19, in the shooting.
Prior to the shooting, according to reporting on court proceedings from the Daily Progress, Percer, his brother Richard Payne Jr. and two other men got into an argument inside Belk with store manager Jerome Henry, which was captured on store video. According to Mark Belew, a detective with the Albemarle County Police Department, "a store employee can be heard explaining that he cannot sell the individuals anything due to them not being 21 years old." Percer and the others are eventually escorted out of Fashion Square by a security guard. Later, Henry and another man, Eliazar Prieto, are fired upon as they are sitting in a car outside the store. The men suffered multiple gunshot wounds, and the car was riddled with bullets. Eight shell casings are found. Remarkably, the two men, and a dog inside the car who suffered gunshot wounds all survived.
Percer is being held in jail without bail - due to the firearm charge -and a preliminary hearing is set for Nov. 2.
January 25, 2024: Percer was told by the owner/manager of Supreme Green, a cannabis dispensary, to leave the store and the mall due to their behavior, according to court testimony. The owner/manager and an employee were intercepted and shot at in a vehicle as they were leaving the mall after closing the shop.
"There was glass everywhere," the owner/manager said. "Glass was breaking, then everything just felt so surreal and like almost dreamlike. I then looked down and noticed there was a hole in my chest."
Footage from the store's surveillance cameras was used by police to identify Percer. His two-day trial is scheduled for March 21, 2024.
March 26, 2024: Percer has pleaded guilty to two charges of unlawful wounding, a felony firearm charge and an animal cruelty charge, and a plea agreement was presented. Percer had no prior arrests and was a young offender. Additionally, the two shopkeepers appeared to have threatened him, prosecutors explained. But a judge known for being tough on gun crimes, rejected the plea.
July 19, 2024: Jalontae Truriel Percer pleaded guilty Friday to several charges, including two counts of unlawful wounding, and will serve no more than six years. Judge Cheryl Higgins accepted that deal. More here…
September 2024: One of Percer’s relatives rushed out the courtroom in distress at hearing he'd be locked away for years for shooting two shopkeepers and a dog. Read more…
September 13, 2023 - A woman’s car struck by gunfire on Preston Avenue
A woman's car was hit by gunfire at about 1:30 p.m. as she was driving down Preston Avenue near UVA. Police say she was caught in the crossfire as "two groups were shooting at each other," the Daily Progress reported. No injuries were reported and the shooters are still at large. A shooting happened in the same area on May 16, 2023 (see below).
September 10, 2023 - Kenneth Justino Rowley
Louisa County Sheriffs responded to a shooting in the 2100 block of South Spotswood Trail at 3:46 p.m. The victim, 34-year-old Michael Wayne Harris of Louisa, is pronounced dead at the scene. Law enforcement determined that Harris was brought to this location for medical attention, but had been shot at a residence in the 5000 block of South Spotswood Trail, roughly 3 miles away. They also determined that Harris knew the shooter. A day later, 35-year-old Kenneth Justino Rowley of Louisa turned himself in. Circumstances surrounding the shooting are still under investigation.
September 8, 2023 - Jolanda M. Frye
Domestic. Harrison L. Jackson, 47, of Barboursville was arrested after an 8-hour standoff with the Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office, Culpeper Police Department, Fauquier Sheriff’s Office and Virginia State Police at the Friendship Heights apartment complex in Culpeper. He was charged in the shooting death of Jolanda M. Frye, 47, of Culpeper, who died at the scene.
Culpeper Star-Exponent - Upon arrival, law enforcement encountered Jackson, armed with a gun, according to Coffey. The suspect retreated from a third-floor balcony and barricaded himself inside the apartment throughout the night, police said.
Law enforcement attempted to gain access to the residence to help Frye, the woman who called 911 for help, when the suspect began firing at them, according to Coffey. Law enforcement determined the woman had passed away, in starting negotiations with Jackson in an attempt to de-escalate the situation, Coffey said.
September 8, 2023 - mysterious shooting in Greene
One person was taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries in connection with a shooting incident in Greene County. “The Sheriff’s Office has investigated the shooting and upon conferring with the Greene County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office the case will be presented to a grand jury for determination on charges. Until that time names will not be released,” GCSO said in a statement.
August 20, 2023 - Johnnie Antoine Brown
Fluvanna County Sheriffs responded to a shooting at a home in the 3700 block of Ridge Road northeast of Palmyra around 3 a.m. 43-year-old Johnnie Antoine Brown was pronounced deceased at the scene. A witness described seeing “multiple suspects in a two-door car” but no suspect has been clearly identified.
August 18, 2023 - shots fired on Eighth Street
CPD investigating shots fired near the 200 block of Eighth Street NW around 5 a.m. No injuries or property damage, no suspects.
August 15, 2023 - shots fired on Prospect Ave.
CPD investigating a report of shots fired in the area of 700 Prospect Ave. in the early morning hours. No injuries or property damage have been reported. Officers have located evidence and will be in the area processing the scene.
August 13, 2023 - Juan Rodriguez-Bedolla
Orange County Sheriffs responded to a reported domestic dispute at a house on Mansion Road near Barboursville Vineyards and find the house in flames. Juan Rodriguez-Bedolla, 57, is still wanted for firing shots at a house, blocking the exits, and setting the house on fire with people trapped inside.
April 25, 2024: Bedolla is still at large and the Orange County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Marshals Service are now offering a $5,000 reward for any information that leads to his arrest. He was previously believed to be working at an orchard near the Albemarle-Nelson county line. He’s described as 5-foot-5 with brown and gray shoulder-length hair and brown eyes.
August 10, 2023 - Disorder at Hartmans Mill Road and Rougemont Avenue
"Disorder" call near the intersection of Hartmans Mill Road and Rougemont Avenue at 12:48 a.m, shots were believed to be fired, around the same time an adult male showed up at UVA ER with gunshot wounds. Ongoing investigation.
July 21, 2023 - Jiffy Lube shootout
ACPD officers responded within 3 minutes to a shots fired call at 5:06 p.m. in a parking lot on the corner of Berkmar Drive and Seminole Trail (in front of Jiffy Lube) and found one man dead, another man in critical condition, and a third man they believed to be the shooter. Shooting victims Carlos Atilio Portillo Requeno, 27, and Gerardo Antonio Chicas-Torres, 22, both of Albemarle County, are later pronounced dead. ACPD then charges the third man, Charles Munoz De Jesus, 22, also of Albemarle County, with two counts of second-degree murder.
Portillo Requeno and Chicas-Torres were brothers-in-law, Laura Portillo, a cousin, told NBC29. “He was a great father. He was a father of two kids. He had a dream to become a Marine,” Laura said. “He will become friends with anyone.” Wayne Boone, owner and operator of Sedona Taphouse, said Portillo was “a father, a husband, a family, a brother, cousin, and a coworker to a lot of people. It just breaks our heart to see such a good, young man, so full of life, so much life ahead of him.” Laura and Boone say they don't know why the shooting happened. The family has organized a fundraiser for Portillo Requeno. Chicas-Torres was also a father, according to a report in the Daily Progress, and his family has organized a fundraiser as well.
June 25, 2023 - William Barksdale
Suicide. William Barksdale III, 72, of Charlottesville shot himself on the sidewalk in the 200 block of South Street at around 3 p.m. He lived in a condo on the fifth floor of the nearby Lewis and Clark Building. Obit in the Daily Progress.
June 23, 2023 - A 22-year-old female at Berkshire Place wounded
Domestic violence. A 22-year-old female was shot at Berkshire Place Apartments. She was hospitalized and recovered. 26-year-old Walter Lamont Banks was taken into custody and charged with aggravated malicious wounding, and use of a firearm.
November 21, 2024: Banks, having already pleaded guilty earlier this year to aggravated malicious wounding, is sentenced for the shooting. More details about the case here.
December 5, 2024: Banks gets an additional 5-year sentence (on top of a 10-year sentence for shooting the mother of his children) because the shooting happened eight months after he agreed to a no-jail deal for strangling her. Read more.
June 20, 2023 - Laura DeLapp
Domestic violence. 46-year-old Laura DeLapp was shot and killed at Rio Hill Apartments. Suspect Jemarcus Devonte Butler, 33, has been found and taken into custody. DeLapp was a beloved advocate for the homeless and a mother of five.
February 29, 2024: Butler pleads guilty to second-degree murder and faces 27 years in prison.
May 30, 2024: Judge Richard E. Moore sentences Butler to 26 years and eight months. DeLapp's mother, Diane Key, blamed the legal system, as Butler was a wanted felon at the time he shot her daughter, after having violated parole for an assault conviction in 2016 in which he attacked a woman he met online. DeLapp and Butler had met online as well. In that previous case, Butler struck a woman in the face with a gun, but after he moved in with DeLapp he shot her with a gun in her apartment with her children there, severely traumatizing them. It was an emotional day in court, and you can read more here.
June 16, 2023 - Mark Christopher Wagner II
Police officer shot. Wintergreen Police Department officer Mark Christopher Wagner II, 31, was shot and killed after responding to an assault call. Daniel M. Barmak, 23, of Towson, Maryland, was charged with the murder. During Wagner's funeral at the Augusta Expo Event Center in Fishersville, Chief Dennis Russell of the Wintergreen Police Department said the officer was ambushed by a "drug-fueled demon" when he was killed. Wagner was the first officer to arrive at the residence. He reportedly encountered Barmak in the woods and a struggle ensued over Wagner's department-issued handgun. During the struggle, Barmak allegedly shot and killed Wagner. Barmak was also shot during the encounter, police said, according to the News-Leader.
A preliminary hearing was scheduled in October 2023 for Barmak in Nelson County General District Court, but was postponed until January 17, 2024. Barmak is being held at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.
January 17, 2024: evidence presented in court shows that Barmak had attacked and tried to kill the friends he was staying with before he encountered Wagner, and that according to one friend “Barmak used mushrooms and another white powdery drug, ketamine, before exhibiting such strange behavior.”
March 26, 2024: Barmak is indicted by a Nelson County grand jury on charges of aggravated murder, using a firearm in commission of a felony.
May 15, 2024: Wagner was among 282 names added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. Wintergreen Police Chief Dennis Russell and Wagner’s father, Mark Wagner, attended the vigil.
“Never asking for anything, Chris gave everything on that dark, cold June night. Placing himself between evil and good, Chris did what he had to do to protect his community and sacrificed himself,” Russell said. Read more.
June 14, 2024: The Wintergreen Police Department unveiled a memorial in Wagner’s honor. Read more…
February 13, 2025: Barmak pleads guilty to second-degree murder, firearm, and malicious wounding charges. Read more.
February 13, 2025: The Line of Duty Act bill (SB 1142), based in part on the shooting death of Wagner, was passed by the General Assembly. The legislation would provide benefits to the families of officers who work for private police departments if they are killed in the line of duty.
May 30, 2023 - Jonathan Shelton Hensley
Domestic violence. Jonathan Shelton Hensley, 34, of Scottsville, was shot in the arm, but after “statements from the female on scene” ACPD charged Hensley with brandishing a firearm and assault.
May 27, 2023 - A 16-year-old male was shot on Prospect Avenue
Youth violence/unsolved. A 16-year-old male was shot in the stomach in the area of 766 Prospect Avenue by someone described by the victim as a “thin, black male wearing dark clothing.” Currently in stable condition. Under investigation.
May 16, 2023 - Kyhiem Kier
Youth violence. Kyhiem Kier, 21, was arrested (after turning himself in) and charged with firing approximately 10 shots out of a gray 2013 Acura near the intersection of Preston and Madison avenues. The shooting shut down Preston Avenue and delayed the release of students from city schools. No injuries were reported.
Kier claims he was shooting at someone who was shooting at him inside a black Nissan Altima. Later, on September 13, 2023, Zeyon Jamir Payne, 18, is arrested and charged as the one shooting at Kier from the Nissan. Kier claims he was shooting at the Nissan in self-defense and that Payne was pursuing him. More details about Kier and Payne and what they are alleged to have done from the Daily Progress.
May 24, 2024: Kier pleads guilty and is sentenced to five years with four years suspended suspended and a year and a half of probation. He will serve one year in jail.
May 9, 2023 - Alex Brown
David A. Branham of Madison County tracks down Alex Brown, the ex-husband of the woman he is living with, in Louisa County following a court date in a custody dispute and kills him with a shotgun in front of multiple witnesses. Branham was convicted of first-degree murder in January 2024 and faces life in prison. More details here.
April 4, 2023 - Multiple gunshots near Tonslar Park on Cherry Avenue
Random shooting/unsolved. Multiple gunshots in two bursts near Tonslar Park on Cherry Avenue just before 8 p.m., causing those gathered in the park for a basketball game to run for cover. Police report a home was hit, but no injuries.
April 4, 2023 - Dennis Allen Bishop
Domestic violence. Dennis Allen Bishop, 58, later pleaded guilty to firing three shots at a man in a car parked outside his neighbor's house on Cabell Road in Nelson County near Howardsville. "The neighbor had asked the victim to help repair her mailbox; the neighbor is the petitioner of a protective order against Bishop," reported The Daily Progress.
April 6, 2023 - Jeffrey Harris
The Nelson County Sheriff's Office received a call early Thursday about shots fired in the 900 block of Rockfish Crossing in Schuyler — about a mile from the road's intersection with Howardsville Turnpike. According to the sheriff's office's statement, a victim complained that James "Jeff" Jeffrey Harris, 26, approached, made demands, and committed an assault which led to an injury. A firearm was discharged during the incident and Harris fled the scene before authorities arrived. Harris was eventually arrested on November 7, 2023.
April 6, 2023 - Mental health crisis around Greenwood Drive
Mental health crisis. 23-year-old Dylan Gregory Harvey, believed to be carrying a firearm and mainly a danger to himself, goes missing in the area around Greenwood Drive near Crozet. ACPD issues a shelter-in-place order for the area as they communicate with Harvey (via phone) and his family. Harvey was eventually located and returned home safely.
March 18, 2023 - Cody Brian Smith
Youth violence. Lakori Brooks, 21, was arrested and charged with shooting and killing Cody Brian Smith, 26, near a parking deck on Elliewood Avenue at around 2 a.m. Brooks was denied bail and is awaiting trial.
February 22, 2024: Brooks pled guilty to the March 18, 2023 murder of Cody Smith on Minor Court Lane.
As is often the case now, video evidence was key evidence, as it showed Brooks running toward Smith as a crowd exited Biltmore Grill on the Corner shortly after its 2 am closing time and shooting him from behind, one in the head and four times in the back. Brooks and Smith had both dated the same woman, who was present in the crowd that night, and the prosecution argued that Brooks was angered by Smith's proximity to her.
“Mr. Brooks absolutely takes responsibility for what he did,” said his attorney, noting that his client turned himself into police and waived his right to a preliminary hearing, reported the Daily Progress.
Brooks is scheduled to be sentenced on July 8 and faces up to 43 years in prison.
July 8, 2024: Charlottesville Circuit Court, Judge Claude V. Worrell sentenced Brooks to 43 years in prison, with 15 years suspended, for the murder of Smith. Commonwealth’s Attorney Joe Platania stated, “Senseless gun violence like that which took the life of Cody Smith cannot be tolerated, and the severity of the sentence imposed in this case reflects just that.” This case was prosecuted by Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Nina-Alice Antony.
March 4, 2023 - Justice Kilel
Youth violence. Justice Kilel, a 20-year-old Gordonsville resident, is jumped and assaulted as he’s buying something at the Sunshine Market on Cherry Avenue by 20-year-old Nasir Floyd Mcghee and an unidentified 17-year-old juvenile referred to as O.A. in court proceedings. A struggle ensues. A gun that Kilel has falls to the floor as he tries to reach for it, and as all three go for the gun O.A. is wounded in the abdomen. Mcghee releases Kilel, who is face down on the floor, and O.A. shoots him four times in the back, killing him. O.A. is later arrested at the hospital and Mcghee is arrested at his mother's apartment at Timberland Park. The charges against McGhee were certified to a Charlottesville grand jury.
Because this was done in a convenience store…everything ends up on video.
January 14, 2024: McGhee and the now-named Orlando Wendell Allen Jr., 18, who have been in jail since they were arrested and charged with second-degree murder., are headed to trial in March and April. Details here.
February 22, 2024: Allen Jr. pled guilty to the March 4, 2023 murder of Justice Kilel at the Sunshine Minimart on Cherry Avenue. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 28, 2024, at 9:30 AM and faces up to 43 years in prison.
March 22, 2024: More details. McGhee pleaded guilty last week in Charlottesville Circuit Court. Amazing these young men decided to do this in a convenience store…where everything ends up on video.
May 28, 2024: Allen Jr. gets a new lawyer and wants to change his plea to not guilty, arguing that because Kilel shot him first, despite admitting to attacking Kilel, it should be a lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter. Read more.
June 6, 2024: McGhee is sentenced to ten years in prison. Commonwealth’s Attorney Joe Platania stated, “While Mr. McGhee was not the individual who ultimately possessed a firearm or fired the lethal shots, his participation in this violent attack warranted a conviction and a significant prison sentence that reflected the severity of the choices he made.”
July 23, 2024: Allen Jr., 17 at the time of the killing and now 19, is sentenced to 23 years in prison.
"Why did you have a gun on you when you already had the brass knuckles?" the judge questioned Allen Jr.
"If I hadn't had the gun," Allen replied, "I might not be sitting here today."
As it turned out, the victim had a gun of his own which fell to the floor during the attack, and the victim was able to get one shot into Allen's chest before Allen produced his own gun and fatally shot Kilel. More here…
February 28, 2023 - Billy James Sites, police shooting
Police shooting. On February 27, Christina Martinez, the girlfriend of Billy James Sites, 44, told Albemarle County police that he had violated a no-contact protective order by texting her threatening messages. A warrant was obtained and an officer attempted to locate Sites but was unsuccessful. The same day, Martinez rented Sites a room at the Red Roof Inn on Rt. 29, hoping to help him avoid being served with the warrants, she later told investigators. According to Martinez, Sites was agitated about his father’s recent cancer diagnosis and did not want to go to jail. An ACPD Detective spotted Site’s truck at the Red Roof Inn the following morning and called CPD for backup. Upon seeing Sites and Martinez approaching the truck, CPD detectives drew their guns and told Sites to show them his hands. He refused. As he was backing away, officers noticed he had a black pistol in his hand. Sites then ran through the parking lot towards a walking path along the 250 Bypass. Sites fired his pistol in the air several times and police continued to negotiate with him. Sites demanded to see his father, Cecil, who arrived and told officers that his son was upset because Martinez had obtained the warrants for his arrest. After many further negotiations and attempts to force Sites to surrender (detailed here) to no avail, six ACPD officers fired on Sites when he raised and pointed his weapon at them, striking him seven times. He later died at the hospital.
February 21, 2023 - Joshua Lamont Jones
Unsolved murder. 34-year-old Joshua Lamont Jones of Charlottesville is shot and killed at Timberland Apartments around 9:40 p.m. An arrest has yet to be announced.
February 21, 2024: The Albemarle County Police Department offers a $500 reward on the anniversary of the murder for information leading to an arrest. Anyone with information is asked to contact the ACPD Criminal Investigations Division at (434) 296-5807 or CrimeStoppers at (434) 977-4000.
June 12, 2024: During a sentencing hearing for 20-year-old Nasier Floyd McGhee, who was sentenced to 10 years for his participation in the killing of Justice Kilel at the Sunshine Market on Cherry Avenue on March 3, 2023, McGhee's lawyer claimed that Kilel was involved in the shooting of Jones, and that the triggerman in the Sunshine Market shooting, Orlando Wendell Allen Jr., was the intended target.
"That was the reason Orlando wanted to go into that store," said McGhee's lawyer. Read more.
October 7, 2024: Albemarle County grand jury indicates Taquarius Orlando Cato-Anderson and Torius Jihad Price, both 22, for conspiring to kill Jones. They have been charged with first-degree murder, felony conspiracy and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, according to the indictments. Catoe-Anderson had previously plead guilty to a drive-by shooting on Anderson Street in September 2022. Catoe-Anderson fired at least nine shots from his car as he was being pursued by another car along the street, just as students at Venable Elementary were walking home from school. The incident terrified neighbors and left two men in the car pursuing Anderson wounded; Deonte Johnson, who was shot in the left shoulder, and Jatavious Turner-Jones, who was shot in the buttocks and thigh.
February 22, 2023 - Nicklous Gregory Pendleton
Youth violence. Nicklous Gregory Pendleton, 20, a 2021 graduate of Louisa County High School and student at Piedmont Virginia Community College, was shot while driving his small pickup truck along Hardy Drive. The car then crashed into a parked vehicle, and Pendleton’s younger brother, who was riding with him, suffered a broken leg. Raymaqu’a Antonio Nicholas, 19, was later arrested and charged with the murder. He is awaiting trial. Piedmont Virginia Community College created a scholarship in memory of Pendleton.
October 2023: PVCC announced the trio of awards honoring Pendleton.
Nicholas's 3-day trial is scheduled to begin in Charlottesville Circuit Court on April 1, 2024.
April 1, 2024: Nicholas pleads guilty to shooting and killing Pendleton. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 13 and faces up to 43 years in prison.
June 13, 2024: Charlottesville Circuit Court, Judge Claude V. Worrel sentences Nicholas to 43 years in prison, with 20 years suspended. Commonwealth’s Attorney Joe Platania stated, “although no sentence imposed by the Court can bring back the life lost by the Pendleton family, the sentence reflects the seriousness of the crime and its impact on the community.”
February 18, 2023 - unidentified person shot near the Dairy Market
Random shooting. An unidentified person shot in the 400 block of 10th Street near the Dairy Market. “We got a call from a victim who heard a gunshot, looked around and realized he had been shot in the hand,” Charlottesville Police Chief Michael Kochis told The Daily Progress. Kochis said there were no witnesses to the shooting.
February 15, 2023 - isolated incident involving a drug deal at Cavalier Crossing
Youth violence, drug-related. Shots fired around 11:35 a.m. at the Cavalier Crossing apartment complex off Old Lynchburg Road-Fifth Street directly across the street from the county police department’s headquarters. Police described the shooting as an “isolated incident involving a drug deal.” One juvenile victim was transported to the hospital. The investigation is ongoing.
February 8, 2023 - Demetrius Andre Brown
Arguement, altercation. An altercation between two men at Wicked Hits, a skills game and smoke shop on Harris Street, escalated into a shooting at about 12:24 a.m. in the morning when one man, later identified as Demetrius Andre Brown, 41, of Palmyra pulled a gun. Brown wounded the other man (non-life threatening) and fled the scene. Brown was arrested about two months later and charged with felony, malicious wounding, maliciously shooting at an occupied vehicle, discharging a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school zone and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Video footage showed Brown and the eventual shooting victim Devin Lamar Perry arguing in the store. Perry then physically attacked Brown, knocking him to the ground, and proceeded to beat him. Brown made it outside to his car where he retrieved a gun and started shooting, hitting a nearby car and Perry on the right side of his back near his belt line.
David Heilberg, a legal analyst, told the Daily Progress that video evidence depicting the beating that Brown took may serve as a mitigating factor but won't absolve him for the shooting.
"He took the law into his own hands," said Heilberg. "You're supposed to call the police when you're the victim. When you come back and shoot, you're the defendant."
January 23, 2024: Brown was sentenced to 4 years in jail.
January 28, 2023 - Eldridge “Skeeta” Smith
Odd circumstances Eldridge “Skeeta” Smith, 36, a father of four, former Charlottesville High School basketball standout, and a member of a group dedicated to ending gun violence, was shot multiple times in his vehicle near Fifeville Park as he was about to go to work. Tadashi Demetrius Keyes, 38, was arrested and charged with the murder. Keyes, given a life sentence for drug crimes when he was just 20, had recently been released from prison.
September 27: Trial begins for Keyes. It’s revealed that detectives found the murder weapon and a hoodie not far from the scene, a rarity. Day One from the Daily Progress. Day Two: Video places Smith and Keyes together that evening, shows Keyes purchasing liquor at the ABC Store on West Main Street, and a Ring doorbell video captures the firing of the 14 shots that killed Smith. Text messages also show that Smith was hoping to recruit Keyes for the B.U.C.K. Squad, a group dedicated to trying to reduce street violence, just a half-hour before Smith was shot.
September 28: A jury convicts 38-year-old Tadashi Demetrius Keyes for the January 28, 2023 murder of 36-year-old Eldridge Vandrew Smith.
"I am hopeful that this verdict lends some small measure of justice and closure to those that knew and loved Mr. Smith,” said CCA Joe Platania. Sentencing will take place in January.
It’s still unclear why Keyes, whom Smith was trying to help that night, ended up shooting Smith, but the prosecution suggested that Keyes, who had spent most of his life in prison and had only been released a year earlier, was inherently dangerous. See final day coverage from the Daily Progress.
DP— Keyes was sentenced Monday for the murder of Eldridge “Skeeta” Smith in Charlottesville Circuit Court. Keyes, who has maintained his innocence, was found guilty of first-degree murder and use of a firearm in commission of a felony during a three-day trial back in September.
“My condolences,” Keyes said before receiving his sentence in court Monday. “Especially to his kids, no kid should have to grow up without a father. To the family that knew me most of my life, I was not the triggerman on Jan. 28.”
January 23, 2023 - shooting that coincided with a power outage downtown
Random shooting. A shooting that coincided with a power outage that affected about 2,400 people in the downtown area, leaving a boy injured near the intersection of 6th and Garrett streets. “It sounded like gunshots and then all the lights went out,” an employee at the ACAC gym downtown told The Daily Progress. It is still unclear whether the shooting and the power outage were connected.
January 8, 2023 - Jose Omar Rivas Sorto
Kidnapping, Self-defense. Jose Omar Rivas Sorto, 22, was living in Rockville, Maryland when he made arrangements to have his wife cross the Mexican border and join him. Then he got a call telling him he needed to pay $10,000 if he ever wanted to see his wife again. Her kidnappers led him to the parking lot of the Fitzgerald’s Tire Co. in Downtown Belmont (likely a randomly chosen location) and during the transfer of money a shootout occurred, leaving one kidnapper dead and another wounded. The charges against Sorto were eventually dropped and its turned out to be a wild story.
September 7, 2024: Two men have been arrested and charged in connection with a botched kidnapping plot that resulted in a shootout in the parking lot of the Fitzgerald’s Tire Co. in Downtown Belmont in January 2023, which left one of the kidnappers dead and another seriously wounded.
According to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Virginia, Ricardo Franco-Ordaz, 26, and Jordan Joseph Perez, 20, both from Texas, conspired with others to kidnap two victims at the United States-Mexico border, exchanging one victim for a $5,000 ransom in Texas and making plans to exchange the other victim in Virginia for a $10,000 ransom.
The other victim was the wife of 22-year-old Jose Omar Rivas Sorto, who was living in Rockville, Maryland, and after following a series of travel instructions sent to him via text message, they all met in the parking lot of the little Belmont tire shop, something investigators later said was chosen at random. Perez and another accomplice, Osvaldo Lopez Hernandez, 20, were the ones who transported Sorto's wife to Charlottesville. While Perez was seriously wounded in the shootout that followed, Hernandez was killed.
During the exchange, which took place in the kidnapper's vehicle, Perez and Hernandez became agitated after they realized Sorto had only brought $4000. In addition, Sorto had also asked his uncle and two other men to follow him, and when they rolled into the parking lot and began yelling at the kidnappers chaos ensued. The kidnappers fired on Sorto's uncle and the others with a rifle, but at some point, Sorto was able to wrestle the rifle away from them and ended up shooting both men.
At the time, Sorto was arrested by CPD on a felony firearm charge, and while the charges were later dropped, it would be months after the shooting before we learned what had happened. We also learned that Sorto, who had acted heroically to save his wife and family, was later taken into federal custody on immigration charges.
2022
December 27, 2022 - Deborah Griffin
Domestic violence. Deborah Griffin, 48, of Charlottesville was shot in the yard of a house in Gordonsville. Police found and arrested James Greer, 79, inside the house and charged him with 2nd-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
December 21, 2022 - Sabrina Elizabeth Jenkins
Domestic violence. Sabrina Elizabeth Jenkins, 37, is found shot dead in her car parked along Stony Point Road. Dominic Gaskins, 31, is charged with her murder. Gaskins had been living with Jenkins at her apartment in Orange. Jenkins was a mother of four boys.
January 25, 2024: Gaskins pleads guilty to first-degree murder in Albemarle County Circuit Court. Prosecutors said one of Jenkins's boys, a four-year-old, was in the car and witnessed the shooting, for which Gaskins received additional charges. Prosecutors described a tense and violent argument between the two over care of the children while Jenkins worked her job as kitchen manager of Gopuff in Charlottesville. Gaskins followed her in his vehicle and Jenkins, scared, told a friend on the phone that he was shooting. She’d been shot six times and a sealed autopsy report indicated defensive arm wounds and a fatal shot to the head, prosecutors said. Gaskins's defense has asked for a mental evaluation, arguing that mental health concerns are further compounded and complicated by a significant history of incarceration and inadequate medical care. Sentencing is scheduled for April 25.
December 18, 2022 - Anthony Marcus Paige
Assault. Anthony Marcus Paige, 28, pulls up in a car alongside the scene of an argument between Airrick Salisbury, 25, and another person near Christian’s Pizza on the Corner in the earlier morning hours. Mariah Shavone Smith, 30, is in the car with him and shouts something at Salisbury. Paige and Smith end up assaulting Salisbury and Paige shoots him in the chest. Almost the entire scene is caught on nearby surveillance video. Salisbury, a UVA employee, survived but suffered severe injuries from the shooting. Paige and Smith were both arrested and face separate charges. Paige pleaded guilty on July 25, 2023. According to court testimony which provides more details of the incident, Paige's brother, 31-year-old Davonn Jamar Wilson, was shot and killed at the October 23, 2022 shooting at Lucky Blue’s restaurant on the Downtown Mall listed below. Smith pleaded guilty in August 2023 to kicking and punching Salisbury as he lay on the ground with a gunshot wound to the chest (her sentencing is scheduled for January 9, 2024). No explanation for why Paige and Smith attacked Salisbury has been presented in court and prosecutors have said they have no connection to Salisbury. A defense attorney for Smith said Smith had “experienced significant trauma, including witnessing the murder of one of her own children,” according to a Daily Progress report.
October 10, 2023: Paige was sentenced to 8 years in prison. DP: It was an emotional hearing that included tearful testimony from the victim's mother as well as regretful statements from the perpetrator and his mother. The 24-year-old victim, Airrick Salisbury, attended but did not speak at the hearing.
"He took one bullet," said the victim's mother, Jessica Irving. "It changed everything."
"I would like to start off by saying I am truly sorry for my actions," said Paige. "I take full responsibility for everything."
Paige said that he was drunk at the time of the attack but noted that he didn't consider that an excuse.
"I just made some terrible decisions," said Paige. "I thank god Mr. Eric survived."
Salisbury's mother urged healing — and not just for her son.
"They are a family as well," said Irving. "They have to get along; they have to heal as well."
January 9, 2024: Mariah Shavone Smith, 31, is sentenced to six years and six months for malicious wounding. "Continuing to beat and hit him after he was shot, when for all you knew he was dying, is in many respects the definition of what malice is," said the presiding judge, Claude Worrell.
"By all accounts, Ms. Smith is the one who starts the altercation," Prosecutor Nina-Alice Antony told the court. "It's as close to a random act of violence that we'll see."
Salisbury's mother and Smith's mother took the stand, both describing the damage to their children. Smith lost her father at young age, became pregnant at 16, and her son was murdered at the age of 6 by his own father. "She became numb," Smith's mother said. "Just angry."
"We do not discount any of the struggles she's had in her life," said the prosecutor. "Those are horrible things, but it does not provide a justification or excuse."
Salisbury's mother said the attack left her son partially disabled and took away his livelihood and his freedom, she said. Her son had a job, worked hard, had never been in any trouble, she said.
Neither Smith nor Paige have ever explained why they decided to pull over their vehicle to attack Salisbury who has no known connection to the two. More from the Daily Progress here.
December 9, 2022 - Gun owner shoots another person while cleaning his gun
Accidental shooting. A black SUV was seen arriving at the UVA ER escorted by Charlottesville and UVA PD. A passenger in the car was suffering from a gunshot wound. However, according to ACPD spokesperson Bridgette Butynski, this wasn't the result of a violent attack -- the driver of the vehicle had been cleaning his gun at home when it discharged and struck another person in the room. The driver was on the phone with the Emergency Communications Center en route and the information was relayed to Charlottesville and UVA PD so they got behind the vehicle and followed them to the hospital. According to Butynski, the person shot was expected to make a full recovery, while the person cleaning the gun "has some mental anguish."
December 3, 2022 - self-inflicted gunshot wound on West Main
Self-inflicted. Officers responded to the 800 block of West Main Street for a shots fire call around 8 p.m. and discover a man suffering from a non-life-threatening gunshot wound. It was determined to have been self-inflicted.
November 13, 2022 - UVA football players Lavel Davis Jr., D'Sean Perry, and Devan Chandler
Mass shooting. UVA football players Lavel Davis Jr., D'Sean Perry, and Devan Chandler were shot and killed on a bus full of UVA students coming back from a field trip in DC late at night. Two other UVA students were injured, including UVA football player Mike Hollins. After a brief search, former UVA football player Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. was brought into custody and charged with three counts of second-degree murder. Further reporting.
2022 University of Virginia shooting wiki page.
Virginia coach Tony Elliott on July 27, 2023: “They understood that they have a responsibility to Lavel, Devin and D’Sean to move forward in the right way. Not moving on. There’s a difference. That was a big message within the program is we’re not moving on. We’re never going to forget this. We’re not going to put this to the side and act like it didn’t happen.”
September 2023: Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., was hit with 13 new indictments, including a relatively new type of murder charge that carries mandatory life imprisonment, per Daily Progress.
November 2, 2023: UVA denies open record requests from several news organizations after an independent review of the shooting was completed on October 20, 2023. The university has said it would make the details of the report available as soon as “early November.”
November 28, 2023: Is UVA hiding something? While UVA refuses to release the results of an investigation into last year's mass shooting, the questions mount.
February 5, 2024: A trial date has been set for Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. — it’s set to start on January 22, 2025.
May 31, 2024: UVA reaches settlement with families of slain UVa students and football players Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry will each receive $2 million, with another $3 million to be divided between the two other students injured in the shooting, Marlee Morgan and fellow Cavaliers football player Mike Hollins. We still do not know why Jones Jr. shot his fellow students and a state-commissioned fact-finding report completed in October 2023 is still being withheld by UVA.
"The most important thing for these families, the thing that will really bring them closure, is to know what happened to their sons," said a lawyer for the families. "It is time for UVa and the commonwealth to release the report."
August 14, 2024: Albemarle County Circuit Court denies effort by the Daily Progress to compel the release of reports from an external review of the shooting.
November 13, 2024: The University of Virginia marked the second anniversary of the shooting that killed three students and injured two others on Grounds. Photos.
November 20, 2024: Christopher Jones pleads guilty to shooting and killing three UVA football players and wounding two others in November 2022. He could face five life sentences when the judge rules on his sentence in February.
"Many in the gallery Wednesday cried as Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Susan Baumgartner read the proffer detailing the killings. Those chilling specifics had not yet been made public, and for the victims’ families, it was their first time hearing them read aloud." Read more.
October 25, 2022 - Matthew Farrell
Domestic violence. Matthew Farrell, 53, was shot and killed at his home on Stony Point Road by his girlfriend and housemate Shawna Murphy, 38, who was charged with his murder. Farrell was killed by a single bullet to the back of the head. Murphy was ordered to get in-patient psychiatric treatment ahead of trial. On August 22, 2023, the judge overseeing the case, Areshini Pather, said that Murphy still didn't "possess the capacities to assist in her defense... however, it is reasonable to believe that with additional treatment and education that competency will be restored."
December 4, 2023: at a hearing, Judge Areshini Pather said that Murphy, who is being held and treated at Western State Hospital in Staunton, is still not competent to stand trial. “She has not reached trial competence,” Judge Pather said. “She is still undergoing restoration.” The next hearing is scheduled for February 5, 2024.
Another hearing is scheduled for December 4, 2023.
February 15, 2024: After 16 months at Western State Hospital, doctors there say Shawna Murphy, who is charged with killing Matthew Farrell at his home on Stony Point Road, is mentally competent to stand trial. However, a judge has also ordered that a sanity evaluation be conducted on Murphy by UVA's Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy to determine her mental state during the time of the killing. Murphy is on record having told the police and local reporter Hawes Spencer that she killed Farrell, whom she'd been living with. Chilling details include a Facebook post Murphy made the day before with a scene from the 1996 film "Freeway," in which a woman kills a man by shooting him in the back of the head -- the same way Farrell would be killed.
"I got an A in Acting 1 in college for performing this scene," Murphy wrote along with the post.
Murphy’s next hearing is May 6, 2024.
June 25, 2024: May hearing was continued. Next status hearing is August 5, 2024.
August 5, 2024: Nearly six months after Murphy was deemed competent to stand trial, and nearly two years since Farrell's death, her defense asked for an additional month to study a new psychiatric report. Final status hearing will be Sept. 16.
September 16, 2024: Murphy waives her right to a preliminary hearing. “You don’t waive unless you’re getting something in exchange,” legal analyst David Heilberg told The Daily Progress. Heilberg said that the possibilities include a lowered sentence or a lesser charge than the count of second-degree murder that Murphy currently faces. Read more.
October 31, 2024: Judge hands down a rare verdict for Matthew Farrell's killer, finding her not guilty by reason of insanity.
"At the time of the offense she was insane under the statute," said Albemarle County Circuit Court judge Cheryl Higgins, accepting the agreed-upon recommendation from the prosecution and defense.
"The standard for not guilty by reason of insanity is extremely high," long-time Charlottesville defensive attorney David Heilberg told the Daily Progress. "In a homicide case, it's extremely rare."
Still, that doesn't mean 40-year-old Shawna Murphy will be set free, as insanity rulings in Virginia require offenders to remain detained until they are no longer a danger to society. Murphy's fate will be determined at an upcoming court date in February.
"Nobody's a winner here," Lynda Farrell, Mathew's mother, told The Daily Progress after the hearing. "It's all very sad."
She said her son "had an obvious love, or at least compassion, for Murphy, whom he allowed to remain at his residence" on Stony Point Road despite her mental health issues.
"Matt felt there was something in her that was worth helping her get better," Farrell said. "He tried so hard to get her in treatment, but she wouldn't be consistent."
October 23, 2022 - Davonn J. Wilson
Argument, assault, murder. 32-year-old Marcel Darell Washington of Charlotte North Carolina is charged with shooting and killing 31-year-old Davonn J. Wilson of Charlottesville during an altercation that began inside Lucky Blue’s restaurant on the Downtown Mall. Washington fired at Wilson as he fled the restaurant, continuing to do so outside, wounding two women with stray bullets. Much of this was caught on video.
May 2023: Washington was indicted on one count of second-degree murder and two counts of malicious wounding.
February 15, 2024: A plea agreement presented in court called for 25 years in prison for Washington, but the judge did not immediately accept that, which appeared to surprise the 50 or so people in the courtroom, according to the DP. The judge said he needed more time to decide if that was acceptable. The judge will rule on June 25, 2024. The court proceedings provided a more detailed account of what happened that night.
With a gun involved, an argument in a bar late at night that could have ended with a scuffle and a few punches thrown, ended instead with one person dead, two people seriously wounded, one person headed to prison for 25 years, and traumatized bar patrons, mall pedestrians, and friends and family members.
According to the defense, the two men got into an argument inside Lucky Blue's Restaurant on the Downtown Mall because Washington refused to shake Wilson's hand. Video shows that Wilson was the aggressor, punching Washington four times. The defense also pointed out that Washington had reason to believe Wilson had a gun, as he was arrested 10 days earlier for pulling a gun out at Wicked Hits on Harris Street, which was captured on video and shared on social media.
Washington responded to being hit by pulling a gun from his waistband and firing inside the restaurant, video shows. Wilson fled the restaurant and Washington pursued him. Exterior video shows Wilson fleeing east down the mall and Washington firing at him. Wilson fell to the ground near Bebedero restaurant, where a bartender trained in emergency medical procedures rushed to his aid. Wilson was shot six times and investigators found 13 shell casings, five in the restaurant and eight outside.
Two bystanders were hit by gunfire on the mall that night, Kendra Hunt, who was celebrating a wedding in her family that night, and Andrea Fortunati, an assistant athletic trainer for UVA's men’s and women’s swim and dive teams, celebrating after a season-opening meet against Florida. The women's team would go on to win its third straight national title in March 2023. Both women were shot in the thigh and had additional gunshot wounds to the foot or ankle, and according to the prosecution, they both needed tourniquets to stop blood loss.
Surprisingly, the defense also told the court that Washington had created an anti-gun violence nonprofit before the shooting called Stop the Shots, though no further information about the organization was provided.
September 28, 2022 - Taquarius Orlando Catoe-Anderson
Youth violence. 21-year-old Taquarius Orlando Catoe-Anderson pleads guilty to firing into a car from his car on Anderson Street at around 3 p.m. in the afternoon, wounding two men, Deonte Johnson, who was shot in the left shoulder, and Jatavious Turner-Jones, who was shot in buttocks and thigh.
October 13, 2023: Catoe-Anderson fired at least nine shots from his car as he was being pursued by another car along Anderson Street, just as students at Venable Elementary were walking home from school. The incident terrified neighbors and left two men in the car pursuing Anderson wounded. Catoe-Anderson was later arrested and charged with aggravated malicious wounding, but because witnesses refused to come forward he only ended up serving 180 days for a misdemeanor gun charge. During his arrest, a considerable amount of marijuana was found, and so now his faces a distribution charge which carries a greater penalty - up to 10 years - than the gun charge.
September 24, 2022 - domestic-relate killing at Rio Hills Apartment
Domestic violence. A shooting in the parking lot of the Rio Hills Apartment complex claimed the life of an unidentified person. Albemarle police said that the shooting death “appeared to be domestic-related.”
September 22, 2022 - 15-year-old Isiah Keshawn Barbour
Youth violence, gang-related. 15-year-old Isiah Keshawn Barbour, initially charged as a juvenile, plead guilty as an adult in Albemarle Circuit Court and received an eight-year sentence for shooting and seriously injuring three people at the Mallside Forest Apartment complex off Rio Road. Meleak Domorion Clark, 20, of Farmville; Devontae Markel Johnson, 18, of Albemarle County; and Jalonnie Antonio Henson, 20, of Charlottesville were also charged in the shooting.
September 18, 2022 - Daquain Maurice Anderson
Unsolved Murder. Responding to a shots-fired report near downtown around 3 a.m. Saturday, Charlottesville police officers found Daquain Maurice Anderson, 29, dying of wounds near Court Square. He later died at the hospital. No arrests have been made.
While some took issue with the way his murder was reported, there has not been the same kind of public concern for finding his killer. Unlike the shooting on East Market Street (between the downtown public library and the back of the Paramount Theater) on September 14, 2023 and the shooting at Lucky Blue's on the Downtown Mall on October 23, 2022, there have still been no arrests and there has been very little attention paid to making one.
The Lucky Blues shooter was caught on surveillance video and at a press conference Charlottesville Police Chief Michael Kochis said "countless phone calls and tips" and the work of detectives and partners, including U.S. Marshals Task Force, the Virginia State Police Division 2 Tactical Team, and the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office led to the arrest of the East Market Street shooter. Sources say that Anderson's killer may be known to law enforcement officials but that witnesses have declined to come forward.
September 15, 2022 - Man shoots himself in car as police approach on Elliott Avenue
Suicide. A Charlottesville Police Officer stopped a man who was wanted on a warrant and was talking to him when he fled in his vehicle, according to police. The man then crashed his vehicle into another vehicle not far away at the intersection of Elliott Avenue and 6th Street Southeast. When police approached the vehicle the man inside pulled a gun and shot himself. Police did not release the identity of the man.
August 29, 2022 - Andrew T. Ainsworth, police shooting
Police shooting. 60-year-old fugitive bank robber Andrew T. Ainsworth is shot by police at the on-ramp to the Rt.29-250 Bypass off Fontaine Avenue after a late-night pursuit. A U.S. Marshals task force, Virginia State Police, and the Albemarle County Police Department were all involved. Officers were cleared in an investigation following the shooting.
August 10, 2022 - Dwight W. Roach
Dwight W. Roach, 54, was found dead in his Ruckersville home from a single gunshot wound by Greene County Sheriffs. Daniel Emmett Roberts, 32, of Orange County and Allen Michael Shifflett, 28, of Charlottesville were arrested and charged with 2nd-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a Felony. Roberts was also found to be in possession of 102 grams of Methamphetamines, 5 grams of Crack Cocaine, 29 grams of Fentanyl, and 2 Firearms. Later, an accomplice, Ashlee Renee Morris, 38, of Orange County was arrested. All eventually plead guilty to the charges.
August 7, 2022 - car and person shot in random shooting
Random gunfire. Officers respond to shots fired at the corner of Cherry Avenue and 5th Street SW around 6:30 p.m. One vehicle hit and one person shot with non-life-threatening injuries.
March 20, 2022 - Fry’s Spring Beach Club shooting
Youth violence/gang. Fry’s Spring Beach Club shooting. 23-year-old Rymese Tremaine Walker and 25-year-old Miracle Octayvis Sims are charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Two men were wounded. Witnesses reported multiple shots fired.
March 19, 2022 - Jalen Maurice Fitch
CPD responded to a report of shots fired in the 700 block of Prospect Avenue and later obtained surveillance video that showed Jalen Maurice Fitch emerging from a residence and climbing into the front passenger side of a car before suddenly leaping out and firing at the same vehicle. He is seen shooting at the vehicle that is moving away from the building. The driver is never identified. Fitch left his cellphone and his Virginia state identification card in the vehicle.
Still, police didn’t locate Fitch until January 2024 when he was spotted in lower Belmont as a passenger of a Chrysler 300 sedan bearing Florida tags. According to a police report, Fitch was toting a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun, which accounted for one of his new firearm convictions.
May 28, 2024: Fitch, now 24, is sentenced to three years in jail.
Note: One of Fitch's priors stemmed from his alleged attempt, four years ago, to shoot another man standing outside the Sunshine Supermarket on Cherry Avenue in Charlottesville. Police blamed Fitch for initiating that April 2020 shooting, even though, taking a bullet in one leg, he was the only person injured in the incident.
August 15, 2024 - Fitch is given an additional six months by an Albemarle County court for probation violations. As the DP reports, Fitch, 25, lost his mother to cancer when he was 15 and last year his father, James Elliott Fitch, 63, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for shooting and killing his estranged wife, Yvette Denise Jackson Fitch, 55, while she was on a smoke break at a North Garden residence where she worked as a home caregiver
February 23, 2022 - Robert James Wayne
Gang/drugs. 38-year-old, Robert James Wayne of Charlottesville, was taken into custody in connection to a shooting incident that occurred on the 800 block of Hardy Drive. Wayne was charged with other crimes as well.
January 14, 2022 - 2-year-old shot
Negligent Shooting/child. A 2-year-old is rushed to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the head, shot by his 3-year-old brother. Police later charged the boy’s mother, Diamond Owens of Maryland (who turned herself in), and her boyfriend, R’Quis Jones of Charlottesville, with child neglect for leaving a loaded gun in the residence at the 900 block of 1st St S. The boy was last reported to be in stable but critical condition. Jones was also apparently involved in a forgery operation at the apartment.
2021
September 04, 2021 - shot fired in Boylan Heights bathroom
Reckless shooting. Taylor Ryan Woodson, 22, of Louisa County fires a gun inside a bathroom at Boylan Heights on The Corner and a bullet goes through the wall into an adjacent bathroom, seriously wounding a woman. Woodson was charged with willful discharge of a firearm with bodily harm and reckless handling of a firearm.
June 16, 2021 - Brianna Knicely
Self-defense. Gordonsville resident Brianna Knicely, 28, shoots and kills her babysitter’s husband, James Manning, 36, at his home in Barboursville. At trial Knicely claims she shot Manning because he was trying to sexually assault her. A jury finds Knicely not guilty.
June 16, 2021 - Virginia State troopers chance, shoot wanted man
Police shooting. Virginia State troopers approach whom they believed to be a wanted man sitting with a woman inside a Chevrolet Tahoe in a parking lot in the 2700 block of West Main Street in Waynesboro. The man fled. Troopers chased the man through Waynesboro and into Augusta County, where they went south on the Blue Ridge Parkway and eventually onto Pedlar River Road in Amherst County. The man, who was armed, lept from the moving vehicle and troopers fired on him. The man died at the scene. The woman in the Tahoe was not injured.
February 22, 2021 - person shot and robbed on Shamrock Road
Robbery. A victim was shot and robbed in the 800 block of Shamrock Road. The victim recovered from the injuries. Charlottesville Police Department did not release any other details.
January 04, 2021 - Five men shootout in front of Kroger on 29
Fight. At around 1:30 p.m. witnesses said five men began fighting in the road on Emmet Street in front of the entrance to Kroger. One man pulled out a semi-automatic pistol and fired at one of the other men, identified as a 21-year-old Fluvanna County man. Jayden Lamar Riley, 21; Carson Evan Dabbs, 20; and Zavien L. Goines, 19, all from Georgia, were pulled over and arrested and charged in the shooting.
2020
December 6, 2020 - Man suffers multiple gunshot wounds near Oakwood Cemetery
Shooting around 1:15 a.m. off of Ridge Street near Oakwood Cemetery. A male victim suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was treated at UVA Medical Center. He was reported to be in stable condition.
December 01, 2020 - Juvenile kills woman in Greene
An unidentified juvenile is charged with shooting and killing a woman on Celt Road in Greene County.
November 28, 2020 - Tanya Renee Wheeler
31-year-old Tanya Renee Wheeler of Charlottesville was shot in the head off of McIntire Road near the 250 Bypass and died later at UVA hospital.
Nov. 21, 2020 - Yvette Denise Jackson
Domestic violence. Yvette Denise Jackson, 55, was shot and killed by her estranged husband, James Elliott Fitch. Investigators say that the 55-year-old Jackson was taking a smoke break at a North Garden residence where she worked as a home caregiver when she was gunned down by two shots from a .22-caliber revolver. During trial it became clear that Fitch was obsessed with a sex video he believed Jackson was in and that alcohol was involved. A jury convicted him of first-degree murder on April 21, 2023 and he was sentenced to life in prison on June 30, 2023 by Albemarle Circuit Judge Claude Worrell.
November 14, 2020 - Tiewan Levert Benston
Fight. Tiewan Levert Benston, 41, is shot and killed in the 700 block of Orangedale Avenue. 44-year-old Bryan Garick Hatcher was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. The two were friends, and this was the result of a drunken argument they had about a missing wallet.
November 05, 2020 - Dre’Shawn Rayvon McDonald
Dre’Shawn Rayvon McDonald, 27, is shot and killed in the 900 block of South First Street around 9:40 pm. Tajuan Rahmeen Allen, 22, was charged with the crime. Allen was already convicted for pistol-whipping, choking and firing a gun at a female friend in her Turtle Creek apartment in 2016.
June 10, 2024: Allen pled guilty to the murder of Dreshawn McDonald. He also pled guilty to the December 8, 2023 malicious wounding of Brian Draper, an incident that occurred at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 24, 2024 at 1:00 PM and faces over 77 years in prison.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Joe Platania stated that Allen fled the Commonwealth after the homicide and was apprehended in Pennsylvania on November 29, 2020. He was extradited back to Charlottesville on October 3, 2023 and will remain in custody at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail until his sentencing.
September 24, 2024: Allen is sentenced to 40 years in prison, with 20 years suspended. Commonwealth’s Attorney Joe Platania stated, “Dreshawn’s father testified at the sentencing proceeding that he misses his son every day and another family member stated that things will never be the same again. This incident is yet another grim and sad reminder of the far reaching impacts of gun violence. ”
October 15, 2020 - murder-suicide on Rockfish Gap Turnpike
Domestic/family. An adult male and a juvenile are found dead at a home on the 6700 block of Rockfish Gap Turnpike in what was determined to have been a murder-suicide.
September 15, 2020 - Family shootout at a funeral gathering in Lovingston
Domestic/family. During a family gathering in Lovingston immediately after the death of James Cheape and George Cheape’s mother, James Cheape, 56, pulled a gun on his half-brother George Cheape, a Nelson County School Board Member, and threatened to kill him. George Cheape’s son grabbed James Cheape from behind and they were able to wrestle the gun away from him and pin him to the ground. A Nelson County sheriff’s deputy arrived on scene and secured James Cheape.
According to court documents, James Cheape was drunk most of the day, and later at his sentencing in August 2023, Nelson County Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Erik Laub “talked about the defendant’s criminal history, saying he can’t recall the last time he’s seen one “this long” and cited protective order violations that have brought him back to Nelson County court “over and over.”
James Cheape’s defense attorney Mark Arthur said his client seems to have a “tremendous history of mental illness,” and his mother’s death hit him “like a ton of bricks.”
Arthur also said his client can’t recall the incident, due to his alcohol consumption that day and the stress of his mother’s death.
James Cheape was sentenced in Nelson County Circuit Court to 13 years in prison for possession of a firearm by a violent felon, brandishing a firearm, possession of a firearm while subject to a protective order, assault and battery of a family member and attempted malicious wounding.
May 30, 2020 - Christopher Ryan Massie
Shootout. Police respond to gunfire on South First Street, and arrest thirty-two-year-old Charlottesville resident Christopher Ryan Massie, who was wounded and turned himself in to police.
April 19, 2020
Shooting at the Sunshine Supermarket, a convenience store at 827 Cherry Ave. Jalen Maurice Fitch and a man named Domineek Parker arrived in a vehicle together at the store. Outside, a man named Malik Dibble was standing when Fitch and Parker walked up to him, and then Fitch made a move, according to Young.
"Fitch attempts to shoot Dibble," wrote Young. "Dibble fires at Fitch and Parker."
Ironically for Fitch, the man cited as the initiator of the shooting, there was no mention of anyone getting hit other than him.
"I learned that Jalen Fitch was shot in the left leg and was at UVA Hospital," wrote Young.
Fitch and Parker each received firearms convictions and 12-month sentences in the incident. Dibble was not charged. More here.
February 15, 2020 - 12-year-old boy accidentally shot
Accidental/child. A 12-year-old boy is killed after an apparent accidental discharge of a CVA Wolf .50 caliber muzzleloader at home in the 1000 block of Kiddsville Road in Waynesboro.
January 29, 2020 - Southwood Mobile Home shootout
Random shooting. shooting at the Southwood Mobile Home community around 1:30 am. An adult female victim was wounded and multiple vehicles shot.
2019
November 12, 2019 - Cameryn Dickerson shoots elderly couple
Robbery/Murder. Cameryn Dickerson, 16, shoots 82-year-old Roger Payne Jr. and 73-year-old Nancy Payne with a sawed-off shotgun after breaking into their home in Gordonsville. Dickerson, charged as an adult, was found guilty and sentenced to 128 years in prison.
July 03, 2019 - William Oddie Flannagan shoots man in his garage
Fight/murder. William Oddie Flannagan Jr., 45, shoots Jason Ferguson, 43, in the head during an altercation in a garage on Penta Drive in Louisa. Flannagan is convicted of first-degree murder.
May 16, 2019 - Allan Ray Via
Allan Ray Via, 49, shoots and kills Cody Jason Cappel, 24, along the Rivanna River Trail. The two were homeless and lived in tents near the trail. Via is convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years in prison
April 09, 2019 - Murder–suicide in Louisa
Murder/Suicide. A 60-year-old man and 56-year-old woman were found dead Tuesday inside a home from a murder–suicide, according to the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office.