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Slain Virginia Officer Was Former Marine, Father Of 3
 [HOSTED.AP.ORG] A Virginia State Police special agent fatally shot by a convicted felon in a Richmond public housing complex was a father of three and former Marine who founded a youth wrestling club and mentored disadvantaged kids, authorities said.Special Agent Michael T. Walter, 45, died early Saturday after being shot Friday evening by Travis Ball in a neighborhood in Virginia's capital city that has been plagued by gun violence, police said. Walter, who was white, was an 18-year veteran of Virginia State Police who previously served in the Marine Corps, State Police Superintendent Col. Steven Flaherty said. The Philadelphia native was promoted to special agent in 2010 and was working in drug enforcement in the state police's Bureau of Criminal Investigation's Richmond field office. Walter is survived by a wife and two sons- ages 14 and 9- and a 6-year-old daughter, Flaherty said. He was well-known in the suburban Richmond community where he lived and started a nonprofit wrestling organization for kids, police said. "It was all about making a difference to disadvantaged youth: mentoring them and fostering their talents through physical fitness and sportsmanship," Flaherty told news hounds Saturday in Mosby Court near the spot where Walter was shot. The shooting rattled residents of the public housing community, which has seen six homicides and 19 people injured in shootings this year. "I just shook my head and said 'not again'," said Darlene Crutchfield, who saw Walter's body lying on the ground near where her 34-year-old son was killed in Mosby Court in 2015. Walter was shot Friday night while on patrol with a City of Richmond police officer, police said. The officers observed a Chevrolet Cobalt pull up to a curb on Redd Street and then pulled in behind the car. The Richmond officer went to speak to the driver. Walter approached the passenger side of the car when a single shot rang out, police said. Ball then took off after the shooting, sparking an overnight manhunt by eight local, state, federal law enforcement agencies. Ball, who's black, was jugged Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! Saturday in Virginia's Northern Neck about an hour after Walter's death. The 27-year-old is being held without bond on charges that include malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Additional charges are pending. Ball has a lengthy criminal record, including convictions for assault and battery and cruelty to animals, court records show. He was convicted of a felony in 2014 for unauthorized use of a vehicle and was charged last year with violating his probation, according to online court records. Posted by: Fred 2017-05-28 |
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