Crime and Public Safety
(VDOT) Starting at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 4, the right lane of southbound Interstate 81 at mile maker 138.4 near Salem will be closed for emergency bridge repairs. The lane closure is expected to remain in place overnight. The bridge is over Route 635 (Goodwin Avenue) in Roanoke County and is located within the work zone for the I-81 widening project between exits 137 and 141.
The fugitive who allegedly stole a police car and attempted to run over two police officers is now in custody. The Pulaski Police Department says Jerrod Brown was taken into custody in the 10 am hour this morning without incident. Brown was apprehended after allegedly wrecking the stolen police vehicle and taking off on foot armed.
Below are the live updates from Pulaski Police ahead of Jerrod Brown being arrested
UPDATE 11/4/22 10:17 am From Pulaski Police Department — Mr. Jerrod Brown has been taken into custody without incident. He and everyone else involved is safe and sound.
UPDATE 11/4/22 10 am From Pulaski Police Department — We need everyone in the area of Valley Street and surrounding to shelter in place until further notice!!
All residents in Southside Pulaski should shelter in place. This is from Pulaski County Police after they say a black man stole a police vehicle and attempted to run over 2 officers. Authorities are asking residents to call 9-1-1 if they see Jerrod Brown. See the photo below provided by Pulaski Police.
BoCo photo
(from Botetourt County Sheriff’s Office) – On October 8 Botetourt County Sheriff’s Office Deputies responded to the Glen Wilton Park and Ride along Botetourt Road (Route 220) to find a deceased female lying in the gravel lot from an apparent gunshot wound. Detectives discovered that the victim’s car was found abandoned and burned in a secluded area of Bath County.
The body of the female victim was transported to the Medical Examiner’s Office in Roanoke, VA where an autopsy was performed, and the manner of death was ruled a homicide. The Office of the Medical Examiner has identified the victim as Elizabeth Hensley of Roanoke.
Detectives have been working closely with the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations and the High-Tech Crimes Division to determine the circumstances surrounding Hensley’s death, including following leads that have involved multiple jurisdictions. 47-year-old Matthew Griffin of Roanoke (pictured) has now been identified as the suspect in Elizabeth’s murder.
On October 24, 2022, Detectives from the Botetourt County Sheriff’s Office obtained a search warrant to search a home on Vulcan Street in Clifton Forge. During the search a firearm and ammunition of the same make and caliber used in the homicide was recovered. The warrant was executed, and Matthew Griffin was taken into custody for an outstanding warrant for violation of probation
On November 2 Detectives with the Botetourt County Sheriff’s Office obtained a warrant charging Matthew Griffin with second degree murder for the death of Elizabeth Hensley. He was served that warrant at the Botetourt – Craig Regional Jail and continues to be held without bond.
A local fire station is hosting three artifacts that have traveled the world for the past twenty-one years. Three items connected to 9/11 – dubbed the “Ground Zero Flag Team” – are on display at Roanoke’s fire station #7 on Grandin Road today. WFIR’s Emma Thomas has more:
CENTREVILLE, Va. (AP) — A bus driver for an elementary school in the nation’s capital has been charged with driving while intoxicated after his bus veered into a ditch while returning from a field trip to a farm in northern Virginia.
Nine children were treated at the scene for minor injuries, Fairfax County Police said.
The bus was carrying 44 children and four adults back Thursday to Murch Elementary School in Washington, D.C., after a field trip to Cox Farms in Centreville, Virginia — a popular field trip destination in the region.
Police said the bus hit a rock and veered into a ditch off a road in the northern Virginia county.
The 48-year-old driver from Suitland, Maryland, was charged after police say he failed a field sobriety test and had a blood-alcohol content of .20, more than double the legal limit of .08.
Police say the driver’s license had already been revoked in Virginia from a prior drunken driving conviction.
Officers also said they found a combined 18 safety violations on the two buses carrying children to the field trip and that none of the operators were properly licensed to operate a school bus.
D.C. Public Schools said in a statement that it plans to undertake a review of the transportation vendors it uses for field trips and other extracurricular activities.
Demarco Jackson
UPDATE: Roanoke Police have arrested Demarco C. Jackson, 23 of Roanoke, and charged him with First Degree Murder and Use of a Firearm in Commission of a Felony regarding the death of Demarion Sanders.
Throughout the course of the investigation, Detectives identified Jackson as the suspect in this homicide. Warrants were obtained for his arrest and RPD personnel began searching for Jackson. On September 24th, Jackson was located in Houston, TX and taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service.
He was detained at the Harris County Jail and initially refused extradition. Jackson’s refusal delayed the process of returning him to Roanoke. However, on October 11ththe extradition was signed and we began preparing to bring Jackson back to Roanoke. Roanoke Police traveled to Harris County, TX and took custody of Jackson, then transported him back to Roanoke in the span of approximately 38 hours. Once Jackson was back in Roanoke, the above warrants were served and he was remanded into the custody of the Roanoke Sheriff’s Office.
This remains an active investigation and no further updates are available at this time.
Roanoke Police are investigating a homicide in the 900-block of Marshall Avenue SW. Officials say a man was found dead with critical gunshot wounds on the porch of the residence this morning. A suspect of spotted running inside the home and then barricaded himself inside the attic for a little over an hour. The suspect has been taken into custody without incident.
Full Press Release from Roanoke City Police — On October 28 at approximately 8:25 a.m., Roanoke Police were notified by the City of Roanoke E-911 Center of a person with a gunshot wound in the 900 block of Marshall Avenue SW. Responding officers located an adult male victim with what appeared to be a critical gunshot wound on the porch of a residence in the area. Roanoke Fire-EMS responded to the scene and pronounced the man deceased. His identity will be shared pending proper notification of next-of-kin.
Responding officers were informed by witnesses that the male suspect of this incident ran inside the residence. Officers worked to clear every room of the home, ultimately discovering that the man had barricaded himself in the attic. Officers immediately secured the residence and held the perimeter while requesting assistance from the department’s Tactical Response Team. A Roanoke Police Crisis Negotiator began communicating with the man via phone, who eventually agreed to exit the residence. The suspect was taken into custody at approximately 9:45 a.m. without further issue and transported to the Roanoke Police Department.
(from Roanoke PD) On October 26, 2022 at approximately 9:20 a.m., Roanoke Police were notified by the City of Roanoke E-911 Center of an armed robbery that occurred at a business in the 2200 block of Melrose Avenue NW. Officers responded to the business, confirmed to be a bank, and spoke with witnesses who claimed a man came into the bank, displayed a firearm, and demanded employees give him money. The man left the scene on foot with an unspecified amount of U.S. Currency. Officers have not located the suspect at this time and Detectives are working to gather more details.
(from Roanoke PD) On October 26, 2022 at approximately 12:45 a.m., Roanoke Police were notified by the City of Roanoke E-911 Center of a person with a gunshot wound in the 1600 block of Syracuse Avenue NW. Responding officers located an adult male victim inside a vehicle in the area with what appeared to be serious gunshot wounds. Roanoke Fire-EMS transported the man to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital for treatment. Details about what led to the shooting are limited at this time. No suspects were located on scene and no arrests have been made regarding this incident.