A man was expected to survive after being shot eight times during an attempted robbery at a South Richmond housing project. The 39-year-old victim was hospitalized at VCU Medical Center in stable condition after yesterday’s 2:07 a.m. shooting, Richmond police Capt. Linda Samuel said. “He’s pretty lucky,“ Samuel said of the man, who was shot four times in the abdomen, twice in the right leg, once in the right hip and once in one arm.

A King William County man was fatally injured in a single-vehicle crash Monday night on Interstate 295 in Henrico County. Virginia State Police trooper T.M. Howard said Marvin Delano Blake, 42, died at VCU Medical Center early yesterday, several hours after the 10:45 p.m. crash. Howard said Blake was driving south on I-295 when the compact station wagon ran off the left side of the road into the grassy median and struck a support pillar for an overhead sign near the state Route 156 exit.

A woman who was killed Sunday night when her car struck a tree in eastern Henrico County has been identified as Stacy Lynn Hernandez, 45, Henrico police said yesterday. Police said Hernandez was driving on Darbytown Road about 8:15 p.m. when she lost control of her car, spun off the road and struck a tree near Carters Mill Road. Hernandez, who police said wasn’t wearing a seat belt, was traveling alone and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said she lived in the 6600 block of Charles City Road in Henrico.

A Powhatan County man was convicted yesterday of first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the Aug. 29 shooting death of his brother-in-law. Circuit Judge Thomas V. Warren convicted Randolph Szenasy of the slaying of Earl David McCoy during a daylong trial and ordered a pre-sentencing report. Szenasy faces 20 years to life on the first-degree murder conviction and three years on the firearm conviction.

A wintry mix of precipitation could make rush-hour driving hazardous this morning in the Richmond area, the Virginia Department of Transportation said. Transportation officials urged extreme caution. Although forecasts called for overnight temperatures to be well above freezing, a possible dusting of snow combined with overnight rain could affect the morning commute. In anticipation of possible dangerous driving conditions, VDOT and its highway maintenance contractors were on call last night to ensure roads are clear.

If the budget situation for Richmond schools is as dire as expected, 155 employees could lose their jobs and the city could close a school.

Richmond police arrested two out-of-state men in connection with two armed robberies that occurred early yesterday. Kraig Andrew Kiepprien, 21, of New York and Steven Lee Reyes, 21, of California each were charged with two counts of robbery and two counts of use of a firearm during the robberies. A Virginia State Police trooper saw their vehicle at a New Kent County rest stop shortly after 7 a.m., authorities said.

A Melfa man died early yesterday when the vehicle he was driving ran off an icy stretch of state Route 609 and overturned in Accomack County, Virginia State Police said. Clayton W. Kellam, 42, was pronounced dead at the scene of the 1:40 a.m. wreck, about a tenth of a mile north of state Route 638. Police said he was ejected from his vehicle after his car struck a ditch and overturned. He was not wearing a seat belt, police said.

An appreciative audience of several hundred gathered last night at the Richmond Marriott hotel to honor three men who champion religious freedom in Virginia, the nation and the world. The Richmond-based First Freedom Center, formerly known as the Council for America’s First Freedom, made the presentations at its 15th annual awards program.

Henrico County police said yesterday that a body found Jan. 4 in the James River was that of a 36-year-old Hampton man. The body of Tarik X. Cassells had obvious signs of trauma, and police are treating the death as a homicide, Lt. Doug Perry said. Perry said police were looking for anyone who may have known Cassells and anything about him.

A Midlothian woman plans to show off her pig’s painting abilities at a fundraiser in March for the Langhorne House. Fran Martin taught Smithfield, her 11½-year-old Vietnamese potbellied pig, about 10 years ago to pick up a brush with his mouth and stroke colors onto a canvas. The pig has appeared on YouTube, on talk and entertainment shows, and in newspapers and has performed for charities.

CREWE Members of Crewe Christian Church, Disciples of Christ learned much about themselves after church leaders passed out money last fall and challenged the congregation to make it grow. The lessons were no less so for members of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Clarksville, which had undertaken a similar effort a few months earlier.

“I took the course simply to be doing it. It got to be the joy of my life.“ In 26 years of being Poppy the clown, Betsy Lyons Terry spread the joy around.

Looking back at the 10 Virginians who made a difference before they left us.

A Waterbury, Conn., man was killed yesterday when the trailer he was towing collided with a tractor-trailer, causing the truck to overturn, on southbound Interstate 85 in Dinwiddie County, Virginia State Police said. Edmund J. Brucato Jr., 66, was pronounced dead at the scene after the tractor-trailer overturned onto his car and trailer, said state police Lt. Tom Cunningham. The truck driver, Daryl L. Moore, 39, of Emporia, was not injured, police said.