A shop full of memories

Aaron Stone walked into the store and looked toward the pictures on the wall.

Hugo Bradby, owner of Noah's T-shirt Shop in South Richmond, asked Stone for whom he was looking. Stone wanted to see his nephew, Jalier Burleigh, who was shot and killed June 10, 2007, at age 19. Bradby pointed to Burleigh's picture.

"The way that he died -- it was uncalled for," Stone said. "Nothing I can do about that."

Some take comfort in searching the memorial wall at the T-shirt shop on Jefferson Davis Highway. Bradby and his wife, Linda, have posted pictures of about 100 homicide victims on the wall and ceiling, usually after printing them on T-shirts for grieving family members.

Bradby, a self-described street minister who uses his business to spread God's word, said about 90 percent of his business consists of memorial items. He prints pictures on shirts, automobile tags, clocks, puzzles, jewelry and glass.

Some of those pictured on the memorial wall died naturally, although many were killed. The wall is dominated by pictures of young men and their nicknames: Tank, Doo-Doo, Boobie, Fatduck, Nutso, Lil' Randy.

Bradby's friend Ashraf M. Alatiyat, co-owner of the Come and Go Food Market next door, was shot and killed in a robbery last month. Bradby is preparing to add his picture to the wall this week.

Bradby recalls the day one woman walked along the wall from picture to picture, praying for each of the mothers who had lost a son. Then she suddenly saw her dead son's picture. She lost her breath and broke into tears.

Some men who were incarcerated when a friend was killed go straight to Noah's when they are released to have a shirt made, Bradby said. He keeps all the images, and much of his business consists of repeat prints for special occasions such as birthday parties for the deceased.

Alicia Rasin, founder of Citizens Against Crime, often sees memorial shirts at her candlelight vigils for homicide victims. "They feel like their loved one's still with them," she said. "That does comfort a lot of families."

Frank Saucier, who said he runs a store called "Bootzilla" out of his home on Berwyn Street in South Richmond, also prints memorial shirts. He said he has about 200 pictures of killing victims but doesn't hang them on the wall. He said Noah's has the largest display of victims he has seen in Richmond.

Owners of some other T-shirt stores in the area say they print memorial shirts upon request but don't specialize in them.

Some of the men on Bradby's wall appear to be flashing hand signs, but Bradby insists they are only pretending to be tough. Eight-year-old children, he adds, stand before the wall and point to the fallen men they knew.

"These kids down here are really not scared of death," he said. "They live with this daily. You get immune to it."

. . .

Bradby, 54, who grew up in Charles City County, said he accepted Jesus as his savior on Sept. 14, 1990, at 2 a.m. at his apartment. Before that, he had shown weakness for drugs, women, fighting -- "anything I was big enough to do."

Bradby, who married Linda 13 years ago, said he opened the store as "Personally U" but changed the name to Noah's because it's a biblical name. Bradby has a husky voice, wears a mohawk haircut and greets visitors with "Praise the Lord." He has walked slowly ever since he had a stroke last year while he was on his knees praying.

He forbids cussing in his store and makes teenagers pull up their pants. He tells them that he will show them respect, but they'd better show him the same.

Bradby and his wife have loudspeakers outside their house on East 18th Street, near Jeff Davis, that constantly play the Bible on tape. A hooker once complained that the good word was driving away customers, Bradby said. "I told her she needs to get saved."

Contact Reed Williams at (804) 649-6332 or rwilliams@timesdispatch.com.