At Sandston meeting, county officials, citizens discuss recent crime spree

Eastern Henrico residents gathered at Sandston Elementary School Nov. 19 to voice their concerns about recent acts of vandalism in Sandston – including one night during which 34 separate instances occurred. 

Henrico Police officials believe that they have identified a suspect and are continuing to investigate the incidents, Henrico Police Chief Eric English told attendees at the community meeting, which was hosted by Varina District Supervisor Tyrone Nelson. 

“A subject drove around [the] Sandston area, multiple areas in Sandston, and was just shooting out vehicle windows and damaging property,” said English. 

Another vandalism spree in the county last weekend involving 10 incidents appears to be related, English reported, and similar incidents also were reported last weekend in Richmond.

English said investigators need the community's help to bring resolution to the cases. They have released videos online in an effort to generate more evidence and create new leads.  

“We do believe we are going to end up solving this case,” said English. “This is not something you want to rush.”

After the incident, Henrico Police increased patrols in Sandston, become more proactive, increased visibility and leveraged technology, according to English. The division is using license plate readers that it has installed throughout the county and Ring cameras from residents to help with their efforts, he said.

There have been 59 reported cases of vandalism countywide this year to date, as opposed to just 31 all of last year, according to data that English displayed as part of a PowerPoint presentation.

“Out of 24 vehicles that have been broken into in Sandston, 54% of those vehicles were unlocked,” said English. 

He noted that a juvenile was arrested this weekend after breaking into cars in the area but did  not indicate whether the teen was a possible suspect in any of the vandalism incidents.

“I’m just urging everybody to lock their vehicles. Make yourself a harder target,’ said English. 

One woman who lives in the community said she does her best to keep watch on her street.

“I get up in the middle of the night and I walk through the house, and open up my windows and look out because I want to see what's going on,” said the woman, who has lived in the area for 34 years. “Because these kids here and these young adults [are] looking for an opportunity. We need to shut them down.”

She elaborated on the importance of knowing her neighbors and looking out for each other because “the police cannot be everywhere.” 

As they work to uncover leads and develop suspects in the vandalism cases, police officials are dealing with the disadvantage of having 82 vacant police officer positions.

“We truly truly need those extra bodies,” said English. “This is not a Henrico issue, this is a nationwide issue”

English believes this decrease in police officers is related to the events of 2020 and officers being scrutinized in the field, but he is hopeful that recruiting classes will get larger. The division had 14 graduates in its last class. 

The top two priorities in the county, Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas told attendees Tuesday night, always have been public safety and K-12 educaton. He emphasized the importance of police presence in the county and the funding the division receives. 

In recent years, “our county's population has increased by 5% – that's 67,507 people,” he said. “The police department budget has increased by $42.4 million, which is almost 66%.”

Other residents who spoke at the meeting voiced concerns about their neighborhoods, a lack of lightning on county roads, speeding, and minimal help when calling 911. 

A man who spoke and said that the lightning near his home is not adequate ,and he thinks it is contributing to the rise in vandalism. The county’s board of supervisors recently appropriated $1.5 million to provide street lights in various parts of the county, Vithoulkas said, though that effort is expected to be focused primarily on major thoroughfares like West Broad Street, Staples Mill Road, Nine Mile Road and Williamsburg Road, according to Henrico Public Works Director Terrell Hughes.

Vithoulkas also told the audience that the county is working with the Virginia Department of Transportation on a process called devolution, through which the county could gain access to state roads for easier maintenance. He believes it will be another year or so before this effort could come to fruition.

“If you don’t feel safe, that's still something we need to address,” English told the crowd.