Sunday, March 31, 2013

Commercial Robbery Arrest

Commercial Robbery Arrest

The Richmond Police Department arrested a man during a commercial robbery this morning.

At approximately 6:13 a.m., a male entered the McDonald’s restaurant at 821 Hull Street, brandished a gun and demanded money.

Employees struck the suspect, detained him and called police.

Within one minute of being called officers arrived and arrested Keith S. Henderson, 39, of the 600 block of Arizona Drive and charged him with robbery.

His photo is attached.

Henderson was transported to VCU Medical Center for minor injuries he received in the scuffle.

Anyone with any further information about this crime is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 780-1000. Citizens can also text Crime Stoppers at 274637, using the key word “ITip” followed by your tip. Both Crime Stoppers methods are anonymous.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Fink's Jewelers Robbery Surveillance Photos





March 27, 2013

Fink’s Jewelers Robbery Surveillance Photos

The Richmond Police Department needs the public’s help to identify and find the men in the attached photos who robbed a business at gunpoint Monday night at Stony Point Fashion Park.

The Department is working to be able to release surveillance video in the coming days.

At approximately 7:45 p.m., three males entered the Fink’s Jewelers store at 9200 Stony Point Parkway, and robbed the business at gunpoint.

The robbers are described as:

·        #1  A black male in his early 20's, 5'-7", average build, full beard, who was last seen wearing a yellow baseball cap and a waist length coat
·        #2  A black male in his early 20's, 5'-7" average build, who was last seen wearing a dark colored baseball cap and dark colored jacket and pants
·        #3  A black male in his 40's, 5'-10", above average build, who was last seen wearing a dark baseball cap.

Detectives do not believe this robbery is connected to the one that occurred at the Stony Point Foot Locker on March 23.

There will be increased patrols in that neighborhood.

Anyone with any information about this crime is asked to call Detective William Cutshall at 646-1028 or Crime Stoppers at 780-1000. Citizens can also text Crime Stoppers at 274637, using the key word “ITip” followed by your tip. Both Crime Stoppers methods are anonymous.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Restaurant Burglary Surveillance Video

Richmond Police Department
E-mail Advisory            3/19/13
Restaurant Burglary Surveillance Video

The Richmond Police Department is investigating a burglary that occurred this month at a restaurant in the 5000 block of Forest Hill Avenue.

On Thursday, March 7, at approximately 3:40 p.m., two suspects entered a storage area behind the business and stole several cases of alcoholic beverages.

They are seen in the attached surveillance video.

The two suspects loaded the cases into a red Chevy pickup truck with an extended cab.

The first suspect is a black male approximately six feet tall and weighing 175 pounds. He has a goatee and is wearing a striped shirt.

The second suspect is a black male approximately five feet, nine inches tall and weighing 150 pounds. He also has a goatee and is seen wearing a grey shirt.

Anyone with any information about this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 780-1000 or text Crime Stoppers at 274637, using the key word “ITip” followed by your tip. Both methods are anonymous.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Statement on Arrests Made at Shamrock the Block

The Richmond Police Department is in the early stages of reviewing the use of force incident that occurred during an arrest Saturday afternoon at the Shamrock the Block event.



The Department is aware of the YouTube video and it will be part of the investigation, as it would in any other situation where a complaint is made.



Richmond Police officers go through six months of very detailed training when it comes to dealing with and arresting individuals in a variety of different situations.



“Though I cannot comment on the specifics of this incident, the public should rest assured that our officers are well-trained and that all use of force incidents are reviewed by Department supervisors to ensure the officers acted appropriately,” Operations Area 1 Major Scott Booth said.



There were five misdemeanor arrests made during the entire Shamrock the Block event. Four of those were made in connection with the incident captured on video. Three of those were for public drunkenness and one was for obstruction of justice. The fifth charge was for disorderly conduct.





Friday, March 15, 2013

Richmond Police Join Agencies for Global Tweet-a-Thon

Richmond Police will join more than 100 law enforcement agencies across six countries next Friday in the first ever Global Tweet-A-Thon!

This means the Department will take citizens for a virtual ride along via the Department’s Twitter account--@RichmondPolice--with Fourth Precinct Master Patrol Officer Al Joyner from noon to 4 p.m. on Friday, March 22.

“I look forward to giving citizens a realistic idea about the types of things we encounter and deal with on a regular basis,” Officer Joyner said. “I may be more of a Facebook person than a Twitter person, but I believe social media is key in helping to keep our community informed about what we do.”

Officer Joyner has been with the Department for 18 years and has patrolled in Fourth Precinct for more than a decade. His most recent assignment is Sector 413, which includes the neighborhoods of Jackson Ward, Oregon Hill, City Center, VCU and Oregon Hill. He loves the area because of its diversity, challenges and growth.  Public Information Officer Dionne Waugh will ride with Officer Joyner and do the tweeting this time so he can focus on his immediate tasks.

Deputy Chief Eric English believes the Department’s first TweetAlong will further community policing efforts by keeping the community informed in real time.

“We are already nationally known for our leading social media efforts on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and others. By participating in this Global Tweet-a-Thon, we will improve upon that knowledge and expand the Richmond community’s understanding and experience of what our officers do,” he said.

The goal of the Global Tweet-a-Thon is to bring attention to the use of social media by law enforcement agencies. Agencies will tweet using the same hashtag, #poltwt, to create awareness about police work and issues police face as well as to promote the use of social media in policing.

"We are excited to bring together police agencies around the world in this first of its kind social media event," said Lauri Stevens, founder of LAwS Communications and organizer of the Global Police Tweet-a-Thon. "We hope it sends the message to non-law enforcement that their police officers are up to speed with social media, and that they should use the channel to talk with police officers and to be stewards of public safety."

There are currently more than 100 agencies participating from the U.S., Canada, UK, Sweden, Iceland, and Australia. Any agency can join the Tweet-a-thon and tweet any portion of the 24-hour period. For a list of participating agencies, please visit: https://twitter.com/ConnectedCOPS/police-tweet-a-thon-2013/members <https://twitter.com/ConnectedCOPS/police-tweet-a-thon-2013/members> .

 For a Google map of participating agencies, please see http://goo.gl/maps/Hqkgf <http://goo.gl/maps/Hqkgf>



Monday, March 4, 2013

Hull Street Hit and Run Victim Identified

Richmond Police Department
E-mail Advisory            3/4/13
Hull Street Hit and Run Victim Identified

The Richmond Police Department has identified the victim of Saturday’s fatal hit and run as Armando E. Ramos, 51, of the 5100 block of Old Warwick Road.

At approximately 1:43 a.m., officers received a call for a man down on the sidewalk in the 5200 block of Hull Street. Officers were on scene within three minutes and found the male victim dead at the scene.

The Department’s Crash Team Unit is investigating the death and asks anyone with any information about this incident to call Crime Stoppers at 780-1000 or text Crime Stoppers at 274637, using the key word “ITip” followed by your tip. Both methods are anonymous.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Hull Street Death Investigation


The Richmond Police Department is in the early stages of a death investigation on the city’s Southside.

At approximately 1:43 a.m. today, officers received a call for a man down on the sidewalk in the 5200 block of Hull Street. Officers were on scene within three minutes and the victim, a Hispanic male in his early 50s, was declared dead at the scene.

Right now Major Crimes investigators, Hit and Run detectives and the Forensics Unit are processing the scene to determine exactly what happened. The Medical Examiner’s Office will determine cause of death.

They are also working to identify the victim and notify next of kin.

Anyone with any information about this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 780-1000 or text Crime Stoppers at 274637, using the key word “ITip” followed by your tip. Both methods are anonymous.