Crime and Public Safety
JOSHUA LEMUEL MORROW -FC photo
(from Franklin County Sheriff’s Office) On Wednesday, July 6th at approximately 10:50 pm, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Communications Center received a report of a Breaking and Entering in progress at a building located at 14189 Franklin Street in Ferrum. This three-story building houses two businesses and apartments, on varying floors. Deputies arrived on scene within minutes and observed that an entrance of one business (Crooked Road Mart) had been damaged, as well as a window to the other business (JNI, Inc.) was broken.
Joshua Lemuel Morrow, 22 years old of Browns Summit, North Carolina, was encountered inside of the Crooked Road Mart business and placed under arrest. Morrow was charged with a total of six felonies and two misdemeanors relating to this case and is currently being held without bond.
The Virginia Department of Corrections is making it easier for crime victims to know what’s the status of prisoners who victimized them. WFIR’s Ian Price has more.
FRANKLIN COUNTY, Va. – Virginia State Police is investigating a single vehicle crash, which resulted in a fatality. The crash occurred Wednesday (July 6) at 10:43 a.m. on Jubal Early Highway, just south of Silver Lake Road in Franklin County.
A 2016 Honda Civic was traveling north on Jubal Early Highway, when the vehicle ran off the right side of the roadway and struck a tree. Erin Sheree Jones, 45, of Wirtz drove the Honda. Ms. Jones was not wearing her seatbelt at the time of the crash. Ms. Jones was injured and transported to Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where she later died.
Details from Roanoke Fire-EMS on a late Sunday night structure fire in the 600 block of Orange Ave NE, in a hotel near the Berglund Center. Units arrived to find smoke coming from a first floor hotel room, in a portion of the hotel that was unoccupied, with some rooms boarded up. Fire damage was limited to one room and smoke damage to five hotel rooms. There were no injuries. The total cost of damages is estimated at $15,000. Upon investigation a suspect was arrested on-scene by the Roanoke City Police Department.
(from Roanoke PD) On June 30 at approximately 10:30 p.m., Roanoke Police were notified by the City of Roanoke E-911 Center of a person with a gunshot wound in the 4500 block of Melrose Avenue NW. Responding officers located an adult male victim inside a business with what appeared to be a serious gunshot wound. Roanoke Fire-EMS transported the man to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital for treatment. Throughout the course of the investigation, Officers were able to determine the suspect in the shooting was Sterling D. Whitfield, Sr., 51 of Roanoke. Preliminary investigation indicates a verbal altercation between the two men escalated to the shooting. Whitfield, Sr. fled the scene in a vehicle before officers arrived. Officers immediately began looking for Whitfield, Sr.
A short time later, Officers observed the suspect’s vehicle driving in the area near the scene. Officers were able to positively identify the driver as the offender in the shooting, Whitfield, Sr. Officers initiated a traffic stop, attempting to pull over the vehicle. Whitfield, Sr. did not comply with the traffic stop and began accelerating. Officers engaged in a vehicle pursuit, which ultimately led to Country Club Drive NW. The suspect’s vehicle crashed at that time, and the suspect left the vehicle and attempted to flee the scene on foot. After a brief foot pursuit, Officers took Whitfield, Sr. into custody without further incident. Sterling D. Whitfield, Sr. was arrested and charged with malicious wounding, brandishing, abduction, hit-and-run and felony eluding. He in currently in custody at the Roanoke City Jail. This remains an ongoing investigation and further details are not available at this time.
Graphic taken from Guardian Initiative Botetourt’s public Facebook group.
In the wake of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas last month, an area man is leading the charge to make Botetourt County schools safer for the children attending. WFIR’s Camden Lazenby has more.
Organizers of Roanoke’s 2nd gun buyback event look to capitalize on last year’s success. WFIR’s Clark Palmer has that story.
After debuting last year, another Groceries Not Guns: Gun Buyback event will happen tomorrow in Roanoke and organizers will join us live in studio
Heather Hart
On June 22, 2022, at approximately 9:20 pm, the Martinsville-Henry County Emergency 911 Center received a call that an individual at 695 Pine Valley Dr., Bassett, VA, was hearing voices. The caller reported that the subject was armed with a handgun and was outside the home at an unknown location.
Four deputies arrived on the scene, and as they approached the house, the subject opened fire on them from a wooded area in an ambush-style attack. The suspect fired multiple rounds at the deputies and retreated into the woods. As the deputies sought a position of cover, the suspect moved through the woods and sporadically fired additional shots for approximately 20 minutes.
A tactical team from the Henry County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene. The tactical team located the subject in a wooded area, and she was taken into custody without incident at 11:00 pm.
The suspect was identified as Heather L. Hart, 26, of 695 Pine Valley Dr., Bassett, VA. She has been charged with four counts of Attempted Murder of a Law Enforcement Officer and Use of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony. She is currently held in the Henry County Adult Detention Center without bond.
On June 23, 2022 at approximately 5:30 p.m., Roanoke Police were notified by the City of Roanoke E-911 Center of a person with a gunshot wound near the intersection of Dupree Street NW and Blaney Avenue NW. Responding officers located an adult male with what appeared to be a serious gunshot wound. 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 arrests have been made and this is an ongoing investigation. Details about what led to the shooting are limited at this time. No arrests have been made regarding this incident.