Crime and Public Safety
NEWS RELEASE 1: On September 11, 2020 at around 3:20pm, Roanoke Police were dispatched to the 2000 block of Indian Village Lane SE in reference to a person with a gunshot wound. Responding officers located an adult male with a gunshot wound. Roanoke Fire-EMS transported the man to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital for treatment of what appeared to be serious injuries. Details surrounding this incident are limited. No arrests have been made at this time. This is an ongoing investigation.
NEWS RELEASE 2: On September 11, 2020 at around 7:00pm, Roanoke Police were notified of a shooting in the 1100 block of Loudon Avenue NW. Responding officers located an adult male with what appeared to be a non-life-threatening gunshot wound outside of a residence. He was transported by Roanoke Fire-EMS to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital for treatment.
A short time later, officers located a car in the area of 5th Street and Campbell Avenue SW that was believed to be involved in the shooting. A female victim with minor injuries was inside the car. She was also determined to be a gunshot victim. She was also transported by Roanoke Fire-EMS to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
On a day when many are remembering the hundreds of first responders who lost their lives at the World Trade Center on 9/11, State Amusement Company in Roanoke enlisted several local restaurants to send free meals to 13 local Fire & Rescue stations. Danny Switzer says Queen of Virginia Skill & Entertainment – State Amusement is the local distributor for their gaming machines – is paying for those first responder meals, from Buffalo Wild Wings, Don Ho’s Restaurant, W.R. Brews and Bob’s Restaurant in Vinton.
Photo: RoCo Fire & Rescue
UPDATE from Roanoke County Fire and Rescue: The cause of the structure fire is undetermined. The fire originated in the space above the ceiling and the structure is a total loss with a damage estimate of $65,000. Two adults and two young children were home at the time the fire was discovered and are displaced. There were several cats rescued; however, there are some still missing.
PREVIOUS: Roanoke County Fire and Rescue responded at about 12:10 a.m., on Wednesday, September 9, 2020 to the 5500 block of Indian Grave Road, which is located in the Clearbrook area, for the report of a residential structure fire. First arriving crews from Station 7 (Clearbrook)found heavy fire and smoke showing from the roof of the single story, wood frame structure. The fire was brought under control in about three hours.The home was occupied by two adults and two children who all evacuated safely. They will be displaced and staying with family in the area.The American Red Cross is assisting the family. Three kittens were rescued from the home. The home is estimated to be a total loss. The Roanoke County Fire Marshal’s Office is on scene to investigate a cause and estimate damages.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Law enforcement authorities have arrested a Minneapolis man charged with vehicular homicide at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia as he attempted to catch a flight to Turkey.
The 34-year-old man, Said Sharif Maye, has been accused of intentionally killing a 31-year-old man, Idris Ali Yussuf, in Minneapolis on Aug. 24, the Star Tribune reported. he two men allegedly got into a dispute at a bar.
A witness told police that Maye ran his vehicle into Yussuf and pinned him against another vehicle, according to a criminal complaint. Maye crossed a lane of traffic and appeared to intentionally hit Yussuf, the witness said.
Yussuf was taken to the hospital and died of head injuries the next day.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers arrested Maye at the airport’s departure gate on Aug. 28. He was headed to Somalia, according to the agency.
Maye will be returned to Minnesota, where prosecutors said they will add a second-degree murder charge if the case proceeds to trial.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) — An attorney in Virginia is facing state bar accusations that he tried to get a jailed client to have a three-way sexual relationship with him and another female client.
A Virginia State Bar subcommittee certified the allegations against Virginia Beach attorney Scott A. Lehman last month, the Virginian-Pilot reported Friday. Lehman, who has been a member of the bar since 2009, was given 21 days to respond and provide available dates for a hearing. He didn’t reply to a request for comment from the newspaper.
The jailed woman told sheriff’s officers that she met Lehman on the website Seeking Arrangement, which bills itself as a way for wealthy “sugar daddies” to meet women known as “sugar babies.” When she was jailed for a probation violation in 2019, she asked him for help, according to the 13-page certification document.
Two months later, she told sheriff’s officers Lehman was representing her for free with the understanding that she would have a sexual relationship with him after she was released from jail. She also told them they had had sexual conversations using the facility’s video visitation system.
The officers reviewed footage of the video conversations and said they saw Lehman’s attempts to establish the three-way relationship. The newspaper reported the other woman was also his client and was out on bond while awaiting trial.
The jailed woman denied to a Virginia State Bar investigator that she had said Lehman offered his services for free in exchange for sex. Lehman told the investigator he only agreed to represent the woman for free during a bond hearing.
The bar suspended Lehman’s law license in December after he did not fully comply with an order to turn over case records of the two women.
Forrest Fielder (Photo; FCSO)
NEWS RELEASE: On September 5, 2020 at approximately 12:00AM Pittsylvania County Communication Center advised their deputies were responding to a residence on Burton Lake Road in Chatham for a white female with a gunshot wound. They advised they received a call of a shooting incident that had occurred at Barbour Lane in Franklin County at the home of the female victim. The 58-year-old female victim was transported to the hospital with a life-threatening injury. At approximately 12:15 AM, deputies with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office arrived on scene at Barbour Lane in Franklin County and located a white male deceased from an apparent gunshot wound inside of a mobile home. Investigation led to the arrest of 58-year-old Forrest Christopher Fielder of Chatham for second degree murder of the deceased white male. The victim is identified as 54-year-old Ricky Lee Southern of Reidsville, NC. This investigation is still active but is an isolated incident with no further threat to the public.
Christopher Kimberling
From Roanoke County Police: Roanoke County Police conducted a search warrant Friday afternoon in the 4300 block of Garst Mill Rd. in connection with Monday’s investigation of explosives recovered in that area. They were determined to be improvised explosive devices and other materials. They were removed from the area and rendered safe by Virginia State Police. Further investigation led Detectives to conduct the search warrant at the same location Friday for additional evidence. Detectives are now searching for a suspect identified as Mr. Christopher Kimberling, 31, of Roanoke County. Warrants have been obtained for Kimberling for Manufacture, transport, distribute, possess, or use a firebomb or explosive material or devices (18.2-85). No arrests have been made at this time. Please contact the Roanoke County Police Department Dispatch at 540-562-3265 with any information as to his whereabouts. This investigation is still ongoing. ###
(from Roanoke PD) On September 3, just before 6:15pm, Roanoke Police were dispatched to the intersection of Salem Turnpike and Calvary Road NW regarding a motor vehicle crash involving a pedestrian. Responding officers located an adult male just off the roadway with what appeared to be serious injuries. Roanoke Fire-EMS transported the man to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The victim has been identified as Albert Cager Jr, 55 of Roanoke. No vehicles were located on scene. Witnesses advised that they saw a vehicle traveling East on Salem Turnpike NW. The victim was crossing the roadway when the vehicle struck Mr. Cager. The vehicle did not remain on scene and continued traveling East on Salem Turnpike after it collided with him. Fatality Investigators are seeking the public’s help locating this vehicle. Witnesses state that the suspect was driving a cream or white colored older model four door sedan. Anyone with information about this incident or vehicle is asked to call (540)344-8500 and share what you know. You can also text us at 274637; please begin the text with “RoanokePD” to ensure it’s properly sent. Both calls and texts can remain anonymous.
Photo: TSA
(TSA News Release) ROANOKE, Va. – Transportation Security Administration officers stopped a Salem, Virginia, man from carrying a .22 caliber handgun onto an airplane at Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport on Thursday, September 3. It was loaded with five bullets. TSA officials detected the gun in the man’s carry-on bag. They immediately alerted the airport police, who responded to the checkpoint and confiscated the weapon.
Guns are prohibited in the cabins of airplanes. It is a law that has been in place long before TSA even existed,” said Chuck Burke, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “Our TSA officers are very skilled at detecting firearms and other prohibited items. I strongly urge passengers to be certain they don’t have any prohibited or illegal items in their carry-on or checked bags before arriving at the airport. It’s always a good idea to start with an empty bag when packing to make sure that you haven’t accidentally left something inside that is not permitted past a checkpoint.”
State police are investigating two fatal accidents within one mile and one hour of each other Saturday on I-81 in Montgomery County. Troopers say in the first, 29-year-old Chelsea King of Christiansburg was pronounced dead at scene when her vehicle caught fire after rear-ending a tractor trailer near mile marker 119. State Police are also investigating a second accident that claimed the life of a California man, 28-year-old David Tucker. Police say Tucker died after his vehicle rear-ended a tractor trailer near mile maker 120.
NEWS RELEASES: Virginia State Police Trooper T.E. Semones is investigating a two vehicle crash which resulted in a fatality. The crash occurred Saturday, (Aug 29), at 6:19 p.m. on the southbound side of Interstate 81 at the 119.2 mile marker in Montgomery County. A 2014 Jeep Cherokee was traveling south on Interstate 81, when the vehicle changed lanes from the center lane to the right lane, and struck a 2014 International tractor trailer in the rear. The Jeep then caught on fire.The driver of the Jeep was identified as Chelsea Rae King, 29, of Christiansburg, Va. Ms. King died at the scene.The driver of the tractor trailer was not injured.
Virginia State Police Trooper R. Kenley is investigating a two vehicle crash which resulted in a fatality. The crash occurred Saturday, (Aug 29), at 7:05 p.m. on the southbound side of Interstate 81 at the 120.4 mile marker in Montgomery County.A 2006 Infinity was traveling south on Interstate 81, when the vehicle struck a 2019 Mack tractor trailer in the rear.The driver of the Infinity was identified as David Thomas Tucker, 28, of Ca. Mr. Tucker was wearing his seatbelt and died at the scene.The driver of the tractor trailer was not injured.