Petersburg man’s death investigated

-- Dinwiddie County authorities yesterday continued to investigate the killing of a Petersburg man who was discovered Saturday in a wrecked BMW.

Authorities got a call reporting shots fired about 7 p.m. in the 24000 block of Raymond Road, said Capt. William Knott of the Dinwiddie Sheriff's Office. Shortly thereafter, someone called to report that a car had wrecked at Raymond Road and McIlwaine Drive.

Authorities believe Ervin Jermaine Crowder, 31, of the 100 block of Slagle Avenue in Petersburg was shot at least once in the torso outside a house on Raymond Road and that he then drove the BMW sedan about 100 yards, plowing through a fence and stopping in a yard in a subdivision.

Crowder was unconscious in the car when authorities arrived. He was taken to Southside Regional Medical Center in Petersburg, where he was pronounced dead.

No arrests had been made, and authorities said they were still trying to determine what prompted the shooting.

Saturday's killing was Dinwiddie's first homicide since September 2007, Knott said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at (804) 469-4550 or Petersburg/Dinwiddie Crime Solvers at (804) 861-1212. -- Reed Williams