The Virginian-Pilot is reporting that La Botica in the 7500 block of Virginian Drive was robbed today.
Robbery at Wards Corner business
March 24, 2011
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Credit Union at Wards Corner robbed
August 20, 2010
The Virginian-Pilot is reporting that the Langley Federal Credit Union at 7420 Granby Street was robbed Friday, August 20, 2010 shortly after noon.
The man received an unknown amount of money and fled, Amos said. Shortly afterward, a dye pack with the money exploded.
The description of the man was vague. Police were looking at surveillance camera images to get a description of the man.
Anyone with information can call Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP (562-5887).
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Nutty Buddy’s is closed
August 10, 2010
The above sign is taped on the door of Nutty Buddy's
The problematic gay bar, Nutty Buddy’s, at Wards Corner has closed.
Nutty Buddy’s was detailed in an article, excerpts below:
The Nutty Buddy [sic] in Norfolk’s Ward’s Corner neighborhood has become a nightly source of criminal activity, which often spills-over into the streets of the working-class neighborhood.
The club is now a gathering spot for the area’s black transvestite community. Drag queen shows or ‘pageants’ are regularly held at the Nutty Buddy, drawing hundreds of drunken celebrants. Excessive noise, public urination, and fighting are commonplace when the club is open.
During 2008 alone, Norfolk Police records report no less than 50 assaults occurring within a one block radius of the club.
In addition to the usual rowdy behavior seen outside many bars, prostitution has become a major problem for the neighborhood. On any night, scantily-clad transvestite prostitutes can be seen waiting for their next date in front of the closed sub shop next door to the club. Often, they ply their trade in parked cars in the parking lot, and throughout the surrounding neighborhood.
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Robbery suspect who shot at police in Monticello Village sentenced to 49 years
July 31, 2010
Jervod Simmons
According to the Virginian-Pilot, Jervod Contae Simmons plead guilty to attempted capital murder in February and was sentenced on Friday to 49 years in prison for shooting at a police officer in Monticello Village.
[The police officer] spotted Simmons in the parking lot of an apartment building in the 500 block of Ashlawn Drive. Simmons ignored several orders to stop and get on the ground, according to the court record.
Simmons ran around a corner, stopped, and turned his weapon on [the police officer].
Simmons was captured that night in an apartment in the 500 block of East Little Creek Road.
See also:
Robbery suspect shoots at police in Monticello Village (September 28, 2009)
Jervod Contae Simmons charged with attempted murder (October 1, 2009)
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ICE busts fake ID ring running out of Wards Corner area
January 26, 2010According to the Virginian-Pilot, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have investigated a fake ID ring at least partially being run out of a house in the Wards Corner area. Three suspects are being charged in relation to running the “document mill”.
They are alleged to have produced hundreds of bogus identifications, Social Security and green cards enabling illegal immigrants to live and work here.
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Denby Park murderer pleads guilty
January 22, 2010
Alton Joe “AJ” Lacy, pictured to the right, was first reported on by WardsCornerNow back on September 13, 2009 and September 18, 2009 when he was wanted for the murder of Troy A. Booker.
Booker, who was 22 years old, was murdered in the 300 block of Fort Worth Avenue in Denby Park.
The Virginian-Pilot now reports:
A dispute and threats among street cocaine dealers led to a September 2009 fatal shooting and a guilty plea to second-degree murder and a firearm charge Thursday in Circuit Court.
Alton Joe “AJ” Lacy Jr,, 30, admitted to shooting twice at Troy Booker, 22, on Fort Worth Avenue in Denby Park. Booker died at the scene; a bag containing crack cocaine was found on him, according to facts stipulated to in court.
Lacy told police he had been selling cocaine in the area and that, after threats and attacks on previous days, he believed it was “him or me,” according to the stipulation.
Sentencing was scheduled for March 26, according to online court records.
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Raze the Apartments
October 5, 2009Revonna Bieber of Monticello Village writes in with the following:
According to the NRHA Fall 2009 issue of “Neighborhood Patterns [PDF]” On Wednesday morning, April 15, a blighted 16-unit apartment building at 9430 First View Street was razed. In its place, three single family homes will be built, bringing about a much needed change according to local residents and West Ocean View Civic League members. NRHA purchased the property in July 2008 when 13 of the 16 units were occupied.
The property will be divided into three lots for homes ranging from 1,600 to 1,800 square feet with projected price ranges of $175,000 to $250,000. Construction is expected to be complete for all three units by spring 2010.
So why aren’t these improvements being made in our neighborhoods? Blight is quite apparent, especially in the apartment complexes, in the areas of Denby Park, Monticello Village, and Oakdale Farms. Why can the city buy and raize apartment buildings in Ocean View, Lamberts Point,on Hampton Boulevard, and Broad Creek but not in Wards Corner?
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Jervod Contae Simmons charged with attempted murder
October 1, 2009The Virginian-Pilot is providing an update to a story we previously reported on here.
Police have identified a 22-year-old man as the one accused of firing shots at officers Monday night while they were searching for a robbery suspect at an apartment complex on Ashlawn Drive.
They arrested Jervod Contae Simmons within minutes of the shooting on nearby East Little Creek Road, and charged him with attempted capital murder, use of a firearm in a felony, and possession of a firearm by a felon, said Master Police Officer Chris Amos, a department spokesman.
The above info can be found on the newspaper’s website here and here.
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Robbery suspect shoots at police in Monticello Village
September 28, 2009The Virginian-Pilot is reporting:
Police officers searching for a robbery suspect at an apartment complex in the 500 block of Ashlawn Drive were fired upon after spotting the man they were looking for, said a police spokeswoman.
At 7:39 p.m., police were searching the complex when they saw the suspect and he reportedly fired a gun at officers, said Karen Parker-Chesson, police spokeswoman. She did not know whether officers returned fire.
The man then fled on foot to East Little Creek Road and headed west but was apprehended by police a few minutes later in the 500 block of East Little Creek, she said.
His identity was being withheld because he is a person of interest in several other incidents, including the robbery that police were initially investigating.
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WANTED: “AJ” Lacy for Denby Park murders
September 18, 2009The Virginian-Pilot is reporting that Alton Joe “AJ” Lacy is wanted on murder and firearms charges.
Lacy is accused of killing Troy A. Booker, 22, in the 300 block of Fort Worth Avenue in Denby Park on Sunday night.
Police described Lacy as a short-haired, dark-skinned black man, 5-feet-7 and 210 pounds, with at least two tattoos: “wisdom, beauty, strength” on his left arm, and “M.O.B.” on his right bicep. He frequents Denby Park, Berkley and Tanners Creek, , but his last address wasn’t known, Amos said.
Police asked anyone with information to call Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP (562-5887).
Wards Corner Now previously reported on this murder on September 13, 2009 in “Homicide in Denby Park“.
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Homicide in Denby Park
September 13, 2009According to the Virginian Pilot:
Police are on the scene of a fatal shooting in the 300 block of Fort Worth Ave.
Police were called to the neighborhood shortly after 9 p.m. for reports of shots fired and when they arrived found a 22-year-old man who had been shot, said Karen Parker-Chesson, Norfolk police spokeswoman. Medics pronounced the man dead at 9:11 p.m.
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City has no plans to buy land in Wards Corner
May 17, 2009The following was in the Sunday, May 17, 2009 edition of the Compass (Virginian-Pilot):
MOST CITY LAND ACQUIRED WAS IN DOWNTOWN
City Councilwoman Theresa Whibley represents the city’s affluent west side, including much of downtown, but you can’t say she’s not interested in other parts of the city.
Commenting on the city’s land acquisition revolving fund, from which the city has spent nearly $13 million in recent years acquiring 13 properties, Whibley said:
“It disturbed me that all of the acquisitions are in the downtown area. None of them are in Ocean View or Wards Corner. It’s frustrating that we can’t do more at Wards Corner.”
From the former St. Mary’s Infant Home to the Red Carpet Inn side on Tidewater Drive, 12 of the 13 properties were indeed in or near downtown. Another was a tire store on Hampton Boulevard near Old Dominion University.
Purchases from the revolving fund are paid for by land sales, such as the recently authorized sale of $2.9 million of city land around a Norfolk reservoir in Virginia Beach to the Beach. Once the check from the Beach clears, the fund will have a balance of $4.8 million.
City officials said they have no current plans to buy more land in Wards Corner or anywhere else.
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Denby Park murderers arrested
June 19, 2008According to the Virginian-Pilot, Deonte L. “Tay” Mayfield and Donte “Tay” White, who had been charged in connection with the June 8th shooting-turned-murder of Cleavonne Tynes, have been arrested.
Donte “Tay” White
Deonte “Tay” Mayfield
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On Wednesday police arrested Deonte Mayfield, 19, and Donte White, 21, both of Norfolk. Mayfield faces charges of murder, malicious wounding, robbery and using a firearm; and White faces charges of murder and using a firearm, police said.
Virginian-Pilot: Norfolk police make two arrests in Little Creek Road homicide
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Norfolk Police need help finding Anthony M. Scott
February 11, 2008Norfolk Police need help finding Anthony M. Scott, who has been charged with malicious wounding and using a gun during a felony. He is wanted in connection with a Feb. 2nd shooting in the 300 block of San Antonio Blvd.
Scott, 32, also uses the nickname “Ant.”
He is described as black, 5 feet, 7 inches tall, the release says. He weights [sic] 200 pounds and wears his hair in corn rows. He could be driving a gold or silver Mazda MPV.
He is known to visit the San Antonio Boulevard area, the release says.
Virginian-Pilot article here.
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Message from Wards Corner Civic League President, Jim English
February 6, 2008Jim English is the president of the Wards Corner Civic League. February’s Wards Corner Civic League newsletter includes the following message from Mr. English:
Dear Neighbors,
Two articles in the Virginia Pilot dated February 6, 2008 really raised my frustration level with our city and state elected leaders to the point where I almost think our government “for the people, of the people and by the people” is indeed broken. I already believe that it is broken at the federal level. Article one says that SB 162, SB 163 and HB 119 which would give localities more power to deal with blighted vacant property is on hold this year to be studied by the Virginia Housing Commission prior to next years general assembly session. Once again the general assembly has clearly dodged their responsibility to give localities more tools to revitalize blighted areas showing once again they lack the political will to represent the citizens of Virginia in lieu of yet another “study”. The second article “city to acquire 11 homes in blighted area” is about the city councils approval on February 5th to buy homes in the Berkley and Campostella neighborhoods for $1.3 million. HELLO!! What about the blighted properties in the Greater Wards Corner Partnership area. We have 11+ houses and properties that should be acquired such as the blighted shopping center in the Northeast corner of Wards Corner!! Where are the council members representing our area? Out to lunch? Or out of town? Where is the political will to deal with the decline of the Wards Corner area that has been going downhill for way over 15 years? I am sure that those properties in Berkley and Campostella are blighted and that area needs attention but what about our area. Is help on the way??Well, last week Mayor Fraim delivered his State of the City address. The following are quotes from that address. Read the rest of this entry »
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Wards Corner Now - Wards Corner, Norfolk, Virginia 