June 9, 2015
While the City has made great strides in Denby Park by purchasing some of the substandard housing and tearing it down, there continues to be a criminal element plaguing that neighborhood. This is why Wards Corner Now and the Wards Corner Task Force continue to support the implementation of the Greater Wards Corner Comprehensive Plan which calls for the acquisition and demolition of the undesirable housing and the replacement thereof with a mixed use development, making use of the Uptown Norfolk concept.
According to the Virginian-Pilot, on June 9, 2015:
Two men burst into a home this morning in the 300 block of E. Little Creek Road and stole a man’s vehicle and other items.
The home invasion was reported at 4 a.m., a police news release says.
The resident suffered minor injuries and was taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
The man’s vehicle is described as a 2002 gray Chevrolet Trail Blazer with Ohio license plates.
No description was given of the two robbers.
Police are asking anyone with information to call the Robbery Division at 664-7032, or Norfolk Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP
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The Greater Wards Corner Comprehensive Plan, Wards Corner Crime | Tagged: crime, Denby Park, Greater Wards Corner Comprehensive Plan, home invasion, Virginian-Pilot | 
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Posted by Martin Thomas Jr.
May 14, 2013
See Tricia’s full article, with photos, on her website, A little Sugar a little Spice.
Where do you want your children to grow up? Somewhere safe? Somewhere that they can ride their bikes to their friends house? Somewhere you can send them out to play and come home when the street lights come on? Where you don’t have to worry about your general safety 24/7?
Not here…. Maybe you haven’t heard of Denby Park or Wards Corner. This is our neighborhood. Where we live, work and play. In fear. The city for the last few years has promised to remove the run down section 8 apartments that even the cops hate going into. Vast mazes of blight and trash create a hiding place for crime.
They tore down 7. They are tearing down 7 more. However due to budget cut’s we are loosing the war on crime in our wonderful little spot in Norfolk. Or what was once wonderful and could be again.
When I took these photos I did not venture far in. It was EARLY in the morning and I was armed with a tazer. You heard right. You don’t go wandering around this area. It was a risk I took with my camera equipment because it needs to be seen. People need to see what the confines of this area are like. I plan to do more as I go. I plan to take shots of the beauty in our little neighborhood also.
This photo series will be special too me. I hope it shows that even in the less then wanted areas of the city, beauty can reside. I also wish to show WHY the city should finish their promise to the residents of Ward’s Corner and the surrounding neighborhoods.
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5 Comments | blight, crime, Wards Corner Crime | Tagged: a little sugar a little spice, blight, crime, Denby Park, Texas Streets, tricia duncan | Permalink
Posted by Martin Thomas Jr.
January 29, 2013
Denby Park properties to be purchased by City of Norfolk. RED highlighted properties are to be purchased in 2013. BLUE highlighted properties were purchased in 2011.
City Council will be voting on January 29, 2013 on the second round of derelict property purchases in the Denby Park neighborhood. The addresses of the properties to be purchases are: 308 E. Little Creek Road, 317 E. Little Creek Road, 319 E. Little Creek Road, 325 E. Little Creek Road, 328 Fort Worth Ave, 334 Fort Worth Ave, and 338 Fort Worth Ave.
These 2013 purchases are in addition to the properties on San Antonio Boulevard which were purchased in 2011 and eventually torn down.
These purchases are in accordance with the 2004 Wards Corner Comprehensive plan.
The full press release is below:
NORFOLK –The City of Norfolk has reached agreements to purchase seven properties located in the 300 blocks of Fort Worth Avenue and East Little Creek Road in the Denby Park section of the city. These acquisitions further the Greater Wards Corner Neighborhood Plan and the city’s ongoing efforts to foster safe and healthy neighborhoods which will sustain future generations.
The agreements include the acquisition of 37 apartments on seven properties for $1.45 million. City Council will vote on the purchase and sale agreements during the Council session scheduled for Tuesday, January 29, 2013.
The property owners are working with their tenants to relocate them. Once the properties are vacant, the city will conduct an environmental impact study then the apartments will be demolished.
In August 2011, the City of Norfolk purchased 68 apartment units on seven properties in the 300 block of San Antonio Boulevard for $2.68 million. Those apartments were demolished in April 2012. The city is working with the community to determine the best use for the open space.
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2 Comments | blight, City Of Norfolk, Wards Corner Crime | Tagged: crime, Denby Park, Texas Streets | Permalink
Posted by Martin Thomas Jr.
October 21, 2012
Virginian-Pilot editorial writer, Michelle Washington, wrote an article about the continuing crime in Denby Park and the KaBoom! park that is so crime ridden that it is considered by some to be unsafe for their children. Read the article here.
But they [LaCrystal Locks and Melissa Torbert] are not willing to accept a Denby Park without a place for kids to play. They focus on a future when the renaissance blooming near them at Wards Corner and further up Little Creek at the Walmart shopping center finally engulfs the streets named for Texas cities that evoke the opposite of its wide open spaces.
When that day comes, they hope Denby Park can once again host a playground, a real park with plenty of green fields for little ones to run, picnic tables for watching parents, and yes, a brightly colored jungle gym.
Despite all of the great news lately about the redevelopment of Wards Corner, we must continue to focus on the substandard housing in Denby Park that breeds and attracts crime. That is why the recommendation of the Wards Corner Taskforce continues to be that the City Manager purchase and demolish more of the apartments in the 300 blocks of E. Little Creek Road, Fort Worth, and San Antonio.
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7 Comments | crime, Virginian-Pilot, Wards Corner Crime, Wards Corner Now | Tagged: Denby Park, KaBOOM!, lacrystal locks, melissa torbert, michelle washington | Permalink
Posted by Martin Thomas Jr.
February 28, 2012
Alert neighbors on Maycox Ave, Burleigh Ave, and Ruthven Road in Wards Corner alerted the police to a burglary in progress on Maycox Ave last Thursday, February 23, 2012. The victim has placed the below sign in his yard as a reminder that it pays to know and look out for your neighbors.
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2 Comments | crime, Neighborhood Watch, Wards Corner Crime | Permalink
Posted by Martin Thomas Jr.
June 18, 2011
The following is from a follow-up report by Andy Fox of WAVY TV 10:
Click here for Video
Norfolk, VA – Residents of an apartment complex want better security after one of the residents was killed.
Residents say they heard gun shots Tuesday night. Police found 77-year-old Louis Daniel Jr. dead on Wednesday in his home on Cromwell Parkway. His neighbors hope his death was not in vain.
“I heard the gun shot, and it didn’t sound that close,” said Joanne Knight who lives above the apartment where Daniel died.
He would sit in his window and read in the sunlight. Tuesday night, darkness visited Daniel – a robber in the night with a gun.
“We all are praying. We are on shells walking because we have to watch our backs. We have to do that. We shouldn’t have to that Mr. Andy. We need help,” said Knight.
Cromwell House Apartment residents are scared, and they want better security.
“They are breaking into cars, breaking down doors when they are not home,” said Knight.
They want trees cut that are around lights, and they want surveillance cameras.
“If you look at the light, how bright will it be behind the trees,” said Laura Davis who is also a neighbor.
Apartment complex management told WAVY.com there is security at the complex, but two residents talked over each other to say security is nearly non-existent. Management has arranged for police to visit on July 28 to give residents tips on staying safe which is more than a month away.
“We need a meeting tomorrow, tonight,” said Knight.
In memory of Daniel, residents will have a candle light vigil, but more importantly they called up because they want better security. Apartment management did not return our phone calls for a response, and told us Wednesday they do have security, but as you have read, residents say it’s not nearly enough security.
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3 Comments | Wards Corner Crime | Tagged: wards corner, Wards Corner Crime | Permalink
Posted by Wards Corner
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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Posted by Wards Corner
March 27, 2010
Alton Joe "A.J." Lacy
Alton Joe “AJ” Lacy was sentenced on Friday to 50 years in prison. He received 20 years for second-degree murder, five years for the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and 25 years for probation violations.
Lacy, who is 30 years old, plead guilty in January to shooting Troy Booker on Fort Worth Avenue in the Denby Park neighborhood of Wards Corner. The murder occurred on September 13, 2009.
This story was previously reported on by Wards Corner Now on September 13, 2009, September 18, 2009, and January 22, 2010.
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Posted by Wards Corner
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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3 Comments | blight, crime, Virginian-Pilot, Wards Corner Crime | Tagged: AJ, AJ Lacy, Alton Joe Lacy, crime, Denby Park, homicide, murder, Troy A. Booker | Permalink
Posted by Wards Corner
October 28, 2009
Received from the Suburban Acres Civic League:
Yesterday [10/27/09] around noon time there was an attempted burglary at 223 Glen Echo Drive. The Police were very quick in their response to the alarm company alert. Residents were not at home. The would be robbers attempted to kick in the back door. No further details available at this time.
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1 Comment | Wards Corner Crime | Tagged: crime, suburban acres | Permalink
Posted by Wards Corner
October 28, 2009
Received from the Talbot Park Civic League:
Good morning Talbot Park:
Please be advised that we a had a home invasion yesterday [10/27/09] afternoon sometime between 12:30 and 3pm in the 200 block of Oak Grove Ave. No one was home at the time and no one was injured. The police are investigating this.
We will have a civic league meeting next Tuesday at the Royster Memorial Church- 7pm start time.
Please make every effort to attend.
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Posted by Wards Corner
October 1, 2009
The 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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Posted by Wards Corner
September 28, 2009
The 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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3 Comments | blight, crime, Wards Corner Crime | Tagged: crime, Monticello Village | Permalink
Posted by Wards Corner
September 18, 2009
The 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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Posted by Wards Corner
September 13, 2009
According 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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4 Comments | blight, crime, Virginian-Pilot, Wards Corner Crime | Tagged: crime, Denby Park, homicide, murder | Permalink
Posted by Wards Corner
While the City has made great strides in Denby Park by purchasing some of the substandard housing and tearing it down, there continues to be a criminal element plaguing that neighborhood. This is why Wards Corner Now and the Wards Corner Task Force continue to support the implementation of the Greater Wards Corner Comprehensive Plan which calls for the acquisition and demolition of the undesirable housing and the replacement thereof with a mixed use development, making use of the Uptown Norfolk concept.
Wards Corner Now - Wards Corner, Norfolk, Virginia 