Category Archives: crime

Councilperson Marty Jewell’s Nephew Held in VUU shootings

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The Richmond Times Dispatch reports:

A Richmond city councilman’s nephew is being held without bond today in the malicious wounding of a Virginia Union University student early Sunday.

Jamir Lee Jewell, whose uncle is Councilman E. Martin Jewell, was arrested Sunday about 1:15 a.m. — minutes after a student was shot in front of Newman Hall, an all-female dormitory on the northern edge of campus near Brook and Graham roads. Jamir Jewell is not a VUU student.

University police confirmed yesterday that the shooting occurred as they tried to deal with a crowd that had grown to as many as three dozen people.

“I really have to hand the credit to our people for the way they reacted,” VUU Police Chief David Horace said, noting that one officer stationed in a guard shack about 30 yards from Newman Hall called for reinforcements as the crowd grew more unruly. “It could have been much worse,” the chief said.

At least a half-dozen students have been shot or stabbed on or near the VUU campus in the past decade, according to news reports. The school has sought for years to control access to the campus, especially from nearby neighborhoods with histories of violence. A fence encircling the campus is under construction.

Campuswide alerts were not sent to the university community until nearly an hour after the shooting.

Two of the three school officers responding to the crowd are not authorized to carry weapons, Horace said.

Jewell, 21, could receive up to 23 years in prison if convicted on a malicious-wounding charge and an accompanying firearms charge. He made a brief appearance yesterday in Richmond General District Court and said he will retain his own attorney. A hearing was set for Sept. 11.

VUU officials declined to release the identity of the student who suffered three gunshot wounds to his left leg. He was expected to be released from the hospital shortly.

Martin Jewell said the news of the arrest of his sister’s son was a shock to him, but he declined any further comment. His nephew lives in the 800 block of West Lancaster Road, a few blocks from the university.

RPD’s Safe Corridors Initiative

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Received this and thought of Open High:

Bryan T. Norwood
Chief of Police

Contact: Gene Lepley
Richmond Police Department
Phone 804-646-0607
Fax 804-646-3496
http://www.richmondgov.com/police
For Immediate Release

News Release
Chief Norwood Introduces Safe Corridors Initiative

Aug. 31, 2009
With the first day of school a week away, Chief Bryan T. Norwood and the Richmond Police Department have plans in place to help Richmond Public Schools students start the school year off right.

Chief Norwood, along with Schools Superintendent Yvonne Brandon, will introduce the Safe Corridors Initiative at a 10:30 a.m. press conference Tuesday, Sept. 1, at John Marshall High School, 4225 Old Brook Road.

“Safe Corridors is about the safety of our young people in school and out of school,” Chief Norwood said. “We want them to have safe passage as they travel the hallways at school and the roadways on the way to and from school. Our target audience is our high school students.”

“Richmond Public Schools is about the business of education. As such, the safety and security of our students is paramount,” said Dr. Brandon. “We look forward to our continued collaboration with the Richmond Police Department, and appreciate all of their efforts in helping to provide a safe environment for our students.”

The Department has a school resource officer assigned to each public high school in the city. The officers work with Richmond Public Schools security officers to resolve any crime-related issues that may arise during the school day. Some of the school resource officers take their role a step further by serving as mentors for students and also assist with directing or coaching extracurricular activities at the schools.

High school students with cars should be aware of speed limits and all safe driving laws, especially those regarding seat belts and cell phone usage. The Department’s Traffic Unit and sector officers from each precinct will increase traffic and radar enforcement in and around school zones.

“Our goal with Safe Corridors is to provide a safe learning environment and overall community for our students,” Chief Norwood said. “We want them to focus all of their energy on their education.”

Graffiti Related To Best Friends Day?

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IMG_0326
A neighbor saw someone putting this graffiti on the Overlook this
morning. She described offender as a “bff scenster kid”.

“I saw him doing it. I was totally enraged…tired of all the beer
cans tossed everywhere, (am planning to go out and pick up some
later.) Two people in the townhouses came out though could not hear
exactly what was going on. I got home fairly quickly and called the
police. They got here fairly quickly.They drove around and ousted some
campers…I asked them to make sure they made them pack their trash up
too. He said that was his plan and he had been in the area all day
yesterday dealing with them. I just find the whole bunch so self-
centerred and oblivious of any community consciousness/respect.”

I will note that the Overlook was destroyed after Tropical Storm Gaston a few years ago. FEMA money paid for replacing it. It has been tagged by graffiti repeatedly. The Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association has asked for security cameras, because the graffiti situation has also become worse underneath the Lee Bridge.

IMG_0325

A new alley stop sign also got tagged recently.

IMG_0327

I am not sure if this upsurge in damage is related to Best Friends Day this weekend or simply that VCU students are back in town. What I do not know is that the neighborhood association will seek the greatest punishments possible (including expulsion from school) for vandals. This all really puts a damper on a beautiful Sunday.

Mini-Dukes of Hazard

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As usual, I am usually the last person in the neighborhood to hear about things. The following I heard second-hand and only parts of….

The story begins in the alley behind the 600 blocks of Laurel and Cherry. It forms a ‘T’ with entrances on Laurel, Cherry, and Holly, but not China. For a long time after the old cobblestones were taken out, it was an increasingly hazardous, gravel-but-mostly-dirt alley.
It was eventually paved, which lead to more people speeding through it.
lookingnorthonlaurelalley

Citizens begged for some signage or speed bumps, but the City said it was an alley and not a street and therefore would not get additional signage. I found some novelty/party ‘stop’ and ‘yield’ signs at a thrift store and put those up on the utility poles, but then they were taken down when the power grid was worked on. Speeders go up the alley and skid on the brakes when they realize it does not go all the way through to China Street.

Anyway, sometime last week some young men in a mini-van were speeding up the alley and failed to brake. When my neighbor became incensed at yet another invasion of his backyard, the mini-van pilots panicked and drove between houses. Somehow they drove over an embankment that ended in a three and a half foot drop after a brick retaining wall on the front sidewalk on China Street. In the process they damaged the wall as can be seen in this picture:
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I am not clear on what happened after that. I would love to hear some more details. I do know the alley now has a real stop sign. I am guessing the City put it in, or my neighbors “requisitioned” it.
IMG_0261

Student Rental Trash

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The end of July means moving for many people. Unfortunately, for far too many renters and landlords that means pile up your trash on the sidewalk and leave town, and let others deal with their trash. Although I posted before about the problem on Idlewood and Cherry, here is what will greet the Byrd Market attendees this afternoon:
IMG_0199

Again, in the Idlewood situation, an easy solution would be to create a trash containment area along the alley which goes north behind the residences just a few yards away, and make sure residents use it. City trash trucks are supposed to be picking up from the back alleys in the neighborhood.

Unfortunately, this is not the only place where this happening, as the following pictures will attest. In every single case, it involves VCU student renters of absentee landlords. All of these places are repeat offenders. While not every Oregon Hill residence has a back alley access due to the way the lots are laid out, all of these places in the pictures have back alley access. There are other trash problems in the neighborhood, but I find these particularly egregious because they block front sidewalks. Personally, I suggest the City increase fines against the landlords, who are easier to identify and locate. I would be in favor of landlord licenses, not unlike what other university towns have implemented.

In the meantime, I will go out this morning since I have the day off from work and try to at least tidy the sidewalk trash on my block. Maybe this will stop the City from fining me for not mowing along my back alley while I was away on vacation.

614, 616 S. Laurel St.

614, 616 S. Laurel St.


500 block of S. Laurel Street

500 block of S. Laurel Street


100 block of S. Cherry Street

100 block of S. Cherry Street


800 block of Holly Street

800 block of Holly Street

Trash Problem on Idlewood

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From this past Tuesday

From this past Tuesday


From this past Saturday

From this past Saturday

Despite multiple communications over the past year with the City’s Public Works and Community Development, as well as letters to the property owner, this trash pile remains a sore spot. Its right along the sidewalk and its one of the first things people see when they enter into the neighborhood from the west. Visitors to the Tuesday Byrd House Market often have to walk around it. Despite City Code violations, the trash cans are hardly ever taken away from the street back to the residents’ yards. Really, one easy solution would be to create a trash containment area along the alley which goes north behind the residences just a few yards away, and make sure residents use it. City trash trucks are supposed to be picking up from the back alleys in the neighborhood. The owner of these row houses which face the 200 block of S. Cherry, is a man named Hugh Edmunds. He continues to rent to VCU students while he lives over in the Windsor Farms neighborhood.

There have also been multiple noise complaints about these houses over the past few years, with at least one being on the Richmond police CAPS list. Sadly, some of the longtime residents on the 300 block of S. Cherry have moved away in part to the ongoing nuisances.

Years ago, I used to attend parties at 238 S. Cherry when Mike Gangloff lived there. Mike ran his own record label, Radioactive Rat, from that house. Sometimes he would even have bands play there. He made a point of warning neighbors a few days before and making sure the loudness was over before midnight. Then we would QUIETLY hang out while enjoying a few of Mike’s excellent homebrew pumpkin ales.

Sector 413 Police June Newsletter

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Click here to get to the PDF of the newsletter.

Some excerpts:

During the month of June 2009, Sector 413 experienced an overall increase
of crime by 7% as compared to June of 2008.
…
There were 5 robberies to individuals in Sector 413 during June 2009. Two
of these occurred in Oregon Hill.
…
6/16/09-618 Idlewood Ave – 0148 a.m., the male victim was
robbed by 4 b/males. These males were later apprehended in a
taxi cab on the Southside and charged with this robbery.
(Note: This was reported on this site earlier.)
…
06/21/09 – (attempt) – 100 S. Cherry Street, 0315 a.m., the
male victim was walking on Cherry Street when he was
approached by a b/m. The suspect had a knife and demanded
the victim’s money. The victim struck the suspect and ran to his
home.
…
1 house break-in on Laurel Street
…
In the last week the trend has been to remove license plates from vehicles.
2 occurred on Pine Street in Oregon Hill. Monroe Ward and Jackson Ward
had 3 a piece. We feel they are stealing them for the expiration date
sticker.
…
Three individuals were arrested in the Fan district for graffiti. We feel these
individuals are also responsible for some of the tags located in Oregon Hill,
Jackson Ward and Monroe Ward.
…
The homeless continue to bring complaints and are tied into some of the
crimes I have touched on. The detectives and Officers have worked very
hard at identifying these individuals and what areas they may be hanging
around.