News & Announcements Archives
March 2008
Chesapeake names Wright new police chief
March 31, 2008 | Virginia News
The formal announcement came Monday afternoon during a news conference in City Council chambers. Major Kelvin Wright, a 26-year Chesapeake police veteran, replaces Richard Justice, who retires today after more than four decades in the department.Chesapeake’s police chief is moving on
March 31, 2008 | Virginia News
Richard Justice does not know how retirement will suit him. He does not know what it will be like to go to sleep and wake up without the career that has largely defined him for 42 years.Policing has been with Justice since the evening of April 1, 1966, when a senior officer picked up the newlywed for his first shift.
He does not feel like 42 years have gone by. He never planned to stay for so long. He did not plan on becoming a police officer in the first place.
Manhunt Ongoing in Two States for Virginia Fugitive
March 29, 2008 | Virginia News
Man Wanted for Shooting Virginia State TrooperWYTHEVILLE, Va. – Virginia and West Virginia authorities are still searching for a 32-year-old Wythe County man wanted for shooting a Virginia State Police trooper Friday (March 28, 2008) afternoon. Steven Dale Branscome of Barren Springs, Va., is described as 6 feet tall and weighing approximately 185 pounds. He has blue eyes and brown hair, and is considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information related to Branscome or Friday’s shooting is encouraged to call the Virginia State Police at (276) 228-3131 or, if calling in Virginia, toll-free at 1-800-542-8716; or to call the West Virginia State Police at (304) 425-2101 or (304) 256-6700.
Ballistic Analysis Links Shootings on I-64 in Charlottesville Region
March 29, 2008 | Virginia News
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Early Saturday morning, March 29, 2008, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) notified the Virginia State Police of its findings in regards to the analysis of ballistic evidence recovered from six shootings on and near Interstate 64 in the Charlottesville region, from the suspect vehicle and a recovered firearm.Police arrest 1, shoot 1 during sniper probe
March 28, 2008 | Virginia News
CHARLOTTESVILLE - One person was arrested today and another was shot as police searched an Albemarle County house during their investigation of Thursday’s Interstate 64 shootings.Authorities said Slade Woodson, 19, of Afton was taken into custody this morning as police executed a search warrant just west of Crozet. Woodson was charged with two felonies related to shootings Thursday in Waynesboro but was not charged in relation to the I-64 shootings that injured two motorists.
Arrest made, 1 sought in sniper shootings
March 28, 2008 | Virginia News
CHARLOTTESVILLE — At least one person has been arrested and another is being sought in connection with the Interstate 64 shootings that injured two motorists yesterday morning, a police source told Media General News Service today.Police also executed a search warrant at a house in western Albemarle County earlier this morning, according to Corinne Geller, a spokeswoman for the state police.
State police are planning a news conference late this morning to discuss the new developments in the I-64 shootings, said Virginia State Police Sgt. Dave Cooper, who refused to release any further details about the person arrested or other details of the case. The news conference was originally scheduled for 10 a.m. but was moved back to 11 a.m.
Police hunt for I-64 snipers
March 28, 2008 | Virginia News
Motorists urged to remain vigilant driving in Albemarle region 2 hurt, 6 vehicles struck; at least 2 shooters soughtCHARLOTTESVILLE -- Police will be out in force today along the Interstate 64 corridor, where at least two shooters fired bullets randomly at passing cars early yesterday morning.
Police believe more than one person was involved in the random firing, based on what witnesses saw at the site of one shooting, Flaherty said. At least one shooter was male. They have no suspects, however, or reason for the shootings.
Is Car Link Between Bank, I - 64 Shootings?
March 27, 2008 | Virginia News
Waynesboro police are working with state investigators to determine the cause of shots fired at a Dupont Community Credit Union early Thursday morning. They're investigating connections with the Interstate 64 shootings between Waynesboro and Charlottesville.The shootings happened between the hours of 12 a.m. and 2 a.m. Bullets hit the window and part of the bank's building on Lucy Lane as well as a white van parked in the lot. No one was injured.
Police are looking for an older model, light colored AMC Gremlin with a dark stripe running down its side. Surveillance video revealed that vehicle at the scene.
VSP Investigating Shootings On and Near I-64 in Charlottesville Region
March 27, 2008 | Virginia News
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – State and local police are actively following leads related to a series of overnight shootings along and near Interstate 64 in Albemarle County and a neighboring jurisdiction. At least six vehicles were struck during the overnight hours of Thursday, March 27, 2008. More than 50 leads have already been called in this morning and early afternoon.I-64 gunman shoots at cars, injuring 2; interstate reopens
March 27, 2008 | Virginia News
At least four motorists on Interstate 64 were shot at overnight along an 11-mile stretch near the western part of Albemarle County, leaving two people with non-life threatening injuries, Virginia State Police said.Interstate 64 was shut down between Waynesboro and Charlottesville for several hours, the Virginia Department of Transportation said. At 6:37 a.m., state police said I-64 had reopened.
