Monday, June 11, 2012

Downtown Incident Update


Richmond Police investigators have charged a man in connection with this morning’s incident downtown.

At approximately 5:20 a.m., officers received a call of suspicious persons breaking into vehicles in the parking deck of the Crown Plaza Hotel at 5th and Canal streets. Officers investigated and found a male and a female inside a vehicle and attempted to interview them.

But the male acted as if he had a weapon in a bag and as if he were taking the woman hostage.

Out of an abundance of caution, officers requested SWAT and negotiator assistance. The man surrendered without incident to police at 7:24 a.m.

That man, Jessie I. Whitaker, 28, of the 2300 block of Mill Road, was charged with tampering with a vehicle, obstruction of justice without force and an outstanding warrant.

Though officers initially believed the female was the victim of abduction, the initial investigation revealed the two were acquaintances. The extent of her role in the incident as a whole remains ongoing.