RICHMOND, Va. -- Police revealed a critical clue that led to the arrest of five people in a shooting killed a mother and her young daughter and left three others wounded at a Southside apartment complex nearly two weeks ago.
The revelation came during a news conference Friday following the arrest of a fifth suspect after police said gunmen sprayed bullets across a courtyard at the Belt Atlantic Apartments Tuesday, April 27, around 6:30 p.m.
Police said 18-year-old Kevon Bynum was arrested Thursday night and charged with conspiracy to commit murder. His arrest came one day after his twin brother was taken into custody on similar charges. Three other men were arrested within hours of the shooting.
"Surveillance video was a key part of solving this crime," RPD Acting Major Rick Edwards said. "So we had three people in custody within hours. And much of that was due to the analysis of the the video surveillance."
But Edwards said one challenge with surveillance footage during the pandemic is that "almost all of our perpetrators are masked."
"So that's been a challenge for all of our cases in involve witness testimony or surveillance footage," he said.
Edwards also credited the public for coming forward with tips that helped officers catch Bynum.
"We were able to make that final arrest last night on Fernbrook... without any incident," Edwards said.
Thirty-year-old Sharnez Hill and her daughter were killed. A 29-year old woman and two girls, ages 11 and 15, were wounded.
Edwards noted that the five victims "were completely innocent" and said that for nine days the police department "hadn't rested."
"All of the 23 murders this year have been horrible, but these cases hit home for us," Edwards said. "So these detectives and these investigators were relentless in their pursuit. None of these guys went home. So even though we did have setbacks throughout our pursuit of these fugitives, we knew that we weren't going to stop until all five were in custody."
Anyone information about the case is asked to call Major Crimes Detective Russell at 804-646-7715 or contact Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000.
