Man shot in Richmond traffic stop still in critical condition

Nathan O. Randolph, the motorist shot Wednesday morning by police during a traffic stop in Richmond, remained in critical but stable condition yesterday at VCU Medical Center.

Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Michael N. Herring said preliminary findings suggest three Richmond officers and one Virginia Commonwealth University officer acted appropriately in defending themselves by shooting at Randolph. Herring said the officers fired more than five shots and that Randolph was hit three or four times after getting out of his car and confronting police with a large knife.

Randolph spent 30 years in prison for murder and other crimes before being released last year.

Several hours after his shooting Wednesday, Richmond police found his fiancée dead at the Barton Heights halfway house where Randolph had been living. Police said Alnita Coleman, 47, had been suffocated, and they are treating her death as a homicide.

Alicia Rasin, victims advocate and founder of Citizens Against Crime, said Coleman worked in housekeeping at Varina High School and VCU Medical Center, where she was employed for 17 years. She grew up in Church Hill and graduated from Maggie Walker High School.

Coleman leaves behind two sons and a daughter, all adults, and 13 grandchildren.

"Her children are hurting and they're in pain," Rasin said. "They lost their mother, a hard-working, caring person."

A funeral for Coleman will be held Tuesday at noon at Chiles Funeral Home, 2100 Fairmount Ave. Burial will follow at Oakwood Cemetery.