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3 VUU legends to be inducted into CIAA Hall of Fame
Wronged
VOL. 24 NO. 8
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
www.richmondfreepress.com
FEBRuary 19-21, 2015
sting costs for 2 local men Richmond police interactions pack sting, Retired factory worker he did not commit. Leonard McMillian had his Both men are Africanhome invaded by a police American. squad and spent more than Neither has received an an hour in handcuffs when apology for their ordeals, police responded to calls which appear to be relatively about crimes at his home rare in a city where officers rethat proved bogus. spond daily to dozens of calls. Actor and songwriter Jerome Still, their stories suggest that Arrington spent a miserable things can go dismayingly wrong seven weeks in jail after Richmond even when police and prosecutors believe police arrested him for a street robbery they are going by the book.
Stories by Jeremy M. Lazarus
Mr. McMillian
Phony call results in police invasion of his home, handcuffs Leonard McMillian knows that being a black man in Richmond can bring unexpected trouble. The retired factory worker has never been charged with a crime. But since moving to Richmond 14 years ago, “the greatest threat to my survival has been the Richmond police,” he says. City police officers have stopped him and pointed guns at his head because his vehicle resembled the vehicle a shooter was using, he recalled. Mr. McMillian, 57, also talked about being pulled over by police after he distributed free vegetables in Gilpin Court. Officers jumped into his vehicle and searched it without permission while another officer detained him, he said. In another incident, he said he was stopped and handcuffed by an officer who told Mr.
McMillian he was being detained because the license numbers on the garden equipment trailer he was pulling were “close” to those on a trailer reported stolen. He also has been stopped while walking his dog because the officer said he fit the description of someone involved in a domestic dispute. However, Mr. McMillian said nothing tops Oct. 28, 2014, when city police officers forced their way into his North Side home after being called to investigate what they were told was a violent domestic dispute — even though the complaint would prove to be a malicious prank. “I felt I was dealing with mad men,” he said of the surreal experience — an example of what can happen when police unquestioningly assume Please turn to A4
Mr. Arrington
7-week jail ordeal ends when case against him collapses Most people believe they cannot be arrested if they have done nothing wrong. Jerome Arrington is a lesson in how wrong that belief can be. Before his nightmare began, he appeared to have his life on track. Fresh from earning a two-year degree at a community college, the 41-year-old lanky, bearded Richmond native had found a job at the Amazon warehouse in Chesterfield County, his first steady work in five years. Even better, he was starting to achieve his goals as an actor, songwriter and fashion model. Under his stage name, Foree Shalom, he secured a starring role as the bad guy in a new TV crime drama, “Precinct 757,” airing on Cox Cable in Hampton Roads. And he had started a nonprofit musical association of new
artists called Poor Family to raise money for the less fortunate. None of that mattered Oct. 22, 2014, when Richmond Police Detective P.E. Riddle came to his Chesterfield County residence and arrested him for a robbery. It was an arrest that would turn Mr. Arrington’s life upside down and ultimately prove to have no basis. For Mr. Arrington, whose arrest record shows convictions only for speeding and other traffic offenses, this arrest was completely bewildering, terrifying and scary. So was the charge. “Why would I rob someone for a few dollars?” Mr. Arrington told the Free Press last week in discussing the tumultuous experience he had gone through. “I was working. I had money in the bank. If I needed money, I could
Dr. Bedden leaving?
Former Va. first lady learns her fate Friday
Free Press staff report
By Joey Matthews
to prison Feb. 9, but the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Mr. Will Maureen G. McDonnell be McDonnell can remain free on bond the first former first lady of Virginia while he appeals his conviction. to be sentenced to prison? Mr. McDonnell is the state’s first U.S. District Court Judge James former chief executive to be convicted R. Spencer will determine that Friof a felony and sentenced to prison. day, Feb. 20, when Mrs. McDonnell Mrs. McDonnell’s sentencing appears before him for sentencing in hearing begins 9 a.m. in room the federal corruption case that has 7000 in the federal courthouse in gained the national spotlight. Downtown. Courtroom doors are to Mrs. McDonnell She and her husband, former Gov. open at 8:15 a.m. and an overflow Bob McDonnell, were convicted in September room with a video feed also will be open on for taking gifts and loans of more than $177,000 the sixth floor. from former Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams Prosecutors have recommended Mrs. McSr. in exchange for access to the Executive Man- Donnell be sentenced to 18 months in federal sion and state officials to promote his dietary prison, a recommendation falling on the lower supplement Anatabloc. end of federal guidelines. Mrs. McDonnell was convicted on nine felony They have argued she deserves prison time counts, but one was later dismissed. because she “was a full participant in the bribery In early January, Judge Spencer sentenced scheme” and that she “repeatedly attempted to Mr. McDonnell, who was convicted on 11 cor- thwart the investigation through false repreruption charges, to two years in federal prison sentations.” and two years of supervised probation after Mrs. McDonnell’s lawyers have argued that his release. she should be sentenced to probation and made The former governor was scheduled to report to perform 4,000 hours of community service.
Please turn to A4
Snow angel Kimani Winston, 3, transforms the snow into a whirlwind as she plays Tuesday in the 5700 block of Walter Birch Court in Henrico County. She and thousands of others enjoyed the first big snowstorm of the season in the Richmond area, with accumulations ranging from 4 to 11 inches. Forecasts call for the big chill to continue through Friday.
Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Dana T. Bedden may be on his way out. The Free Press has learned that he is competing for a higher paying superintendent’s job in a larger school district outside of Virginia. Should he be chosen and take the position, it would be a jolt to the School Board, which hired Dr. Bedden him just 14 months ago to turn around the city’s failing schools. Dr. Bedden and the School Board currently are working to craft a new budget and are initiating academic improvePlease turn to A4
Trust fund Historic City Council celebration at Hippodrome pushing affordable housing Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press
By Jeremy M. Lazarus
African-Americans took control of the levers of city political power almost 38 years ago and changed Richmond. It was 1977, and for the first time in the city’s history, five of the nine members of City Council were African-Americans. And as a result, the new majority was able to elect one member, Henry L. Marsh III, as Richmond’s first African-American mayor since the city’s founding in 1782. Mayor Dwight C. Jones wants to celebrate that historic moment that he believes paved the way for him. Earlier this month, he won unanimous support from City Council to create commemorative street signs that will go on the blocks where the homes stand of Mr. Marsh and the four other African-American members of City Council at the time — Willie J. Dell, Walter T. Kenney, the late Claudette Black McDaniel and Henry W. “Chuck” Richardson. Mayor Jones plans to hold a special reception next week to celebrate the people who comprised
By Cindy Huang and Jeremy M. Lazarus
Mr. Marsh
Ms. Dell
Mr. Kenney
the first African-American majority on council. Open to the public, the event is scheduled to start 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25, at The Hippodrome Theater on Second Street in Jackson Ward. The celebration will follow a private reception for the honorees and their invited guests. “We thought there should be a special event held for the honorees rather than the street signs just being installed,” said Tammy Hawley, the mayor’s press secretary. The Hippodrome holds about 670 people, according to its website. But only about 400 people comfortably fit in the space when the mayor held
Ms. McDaniel
Mr. Richardson
his 2011 State of the City address there. Asked why the mayor had his staff rent an expensive space with tax dollars rather than holding the event at City Hall, Ms. Hawley responded that the city was “just trying to have a nice event for the honorees.” “We felt The Hippodrome was an appropriate venue,” she said. This spring, the mayor plans to lead another public ceremony to formally rename the Manchester Courthouse on South Side for Mr. Marsh and his Please turn to A4
Cleveland Washington is typical of many working people these days in Richmond. Instead of having a home of his own, the 35-year-old shares an East End apartment with an aunt. Mr. Washington said he is hard-pressed to find a place of his own he can afford. His job working with a moving company just doesn’t bring in enough to pay rent that can run $800 a month in Richmond for a one-bedroom unit or the additional cost of utilities. Please turn to A4