Five homicides in four months in an area near the Richmond-Henrico County border have led to 18 arrests in a crackdown to "clean out the rat's nest" of drug activity and violence, authorities said yesterday.
Henrico police Chief Henry W. Stanley Jr., flanked by Richmond Police Chief Bryan T. Norwood at a joint news conference, said the county and city joined forces to remove street-level drug dealers who were plaguing the area.
On Wednesday, Richmond and Henrico police, supported by federal authorities, served five search warrants and arrested 18 people on drug and weapon charges, including distribution of crack cocaine, distribution of heroin, conspiracy to distribute drugs, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug transaction.
Stanley called it a "concentrated effort to get in and try to clean out the rat's nest. . . . Further arrests will follow."
Since August, Richmond and Henrico authorities have targeted an area bounded by Laburnum Avenue to the north, Brookland Park Boulevard to the south, North Avenue to the west, and Meadowbridge Road to the east.
The joint response was triggered by a string of homicides that began Aug. 10 with the drug-related robbery and killing of Ricky M. Burton, 16, a Henrico High School student. He was shot in front of the Delmont Village Apartments after arriving home from work.
Burton's death was followed by one killing in Richmond and three in Henrico from Aug. 23 to Nov. 7:
- Ronnie A. Williams, 43, found dead Aug. 23 at Pensacola and Carolina avenues in Henrico. Police believe Williams, who had several disabilities and walked with a cane, was abducted and robbed before he was shot.
- Jermaine T. Saunders, 32, shot Aug. 25 in the 300 block of Hunt Avenue in Richmond. Authorities ruled the shooting justifiable because Saunders first drew a gun on Troy Lee Powell, and Powell shot him in self-defense.
- Michael A. Bowles, 27, shot Oct. 22 inside his girlfriend's Essex Village apartment unit at in the 200 block of Engleside Circle in Henrico.
- Rayvell B. Fitzgerald, 21, shot Nov. 7 at Delmont Street and Engleside Drive in Essex Village. Investigators suspect drugs were involved in all but Saunders' killing, the only case that has been solved. "The folks that are selling the drugs are creating the violence," Stanley said.
"This is not like a gang or group-type of activity," said Richmond police Capt. Roger Russell, head of the department's narcotics unit. "It's primarily individuals acting independently. But we did identify three groups that primarily associate together."
Search warrants suggest the suspects were heavily armed. A warrant for the Essex Village Trafton Street residence of one of the suspects turned up a .357 caliber revolver, a .25 caliber Beretta pistol, and a Mac-11, a compact machine pistol.
Stanley and Norwood commended residents of the Providence Park/Delmont Street communities for their cooperation.
Contact Mark Bowes at (804) 649-6450 or mbowes@timesdispatch.com.
Staff writer Bill McKelway contributed to this report.
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