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Mother charged in Southside Plaza shootings, heard arguing day before

Posted at 1:23 AM, Apr 17, 2014
and last updated 2014-04-17 01:23:20-04

CHESTERFIELD, Va. (WTVR) -- A neighbor said he witnessed shooting suspect Jodi Hope arguing with two men in her Chesterfield apartment complex parking lot Monday night.

We don't know if they were the same men who police say were shot at a South Richmond shopping mall the next day.

Less than 24 hours after that shooting incident, the members of Girl Scout Troop 105 say they debated on whether or not to sell their last few boxes of Girl Scout cookies there.

"After seeing it on the news, we hesitated," said Valerie Wilcox, a Scout mother.  “But the young lady was caught.  Plus, we are in front of a church: god is behind us."

Richmond police announced Hope’s arrest Wednesday.  She’s accused of shooting the two men in the parking lot of the ABC store in Southside Plaza and has been charged with malicious wounding and a firearm violation.

According to circuit court documents in Chesterfield, Hope also has an assault and battery charge from August of 2013.  Neighbors say that happened at her Goolsby Court apartment complex.

One neighbor who asked  CBS-6 to hide his identity says that’s the same place he heard an argument between Hope and a man Monday night.

"She was in the window between the blinds and the guy and her were yelling back and forth,” said the neighbor. “He said ‘Let me in!’ and she was yelling, ‘I'm not letting you in!’"

Police sources tell CBS-6 Hope who was wearing nursing scrubs in her mug shot, is a hospital worker on assignment from a temp agency.

Neighbors say she's also a mother who's well-known in her Chesterfield apartment complex.  "It kind of weirds me out,” said the neighbor.  “I didn't really think much of it, I just thought it was a lovers’ spat."

Sources tell me a witness got a description of Hope’s car leaving the scene, and that's how police were able to make a quick arrest.

One victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries and police say the other victim has been upgraded to serious condition.

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