THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 14, 1996 TAG: 9608140317
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 74 lines
A burglary suspect shot by a police officer Monday night has been charged in a long list of cases, including two murders and three shootings, but has not been convicted of any serious crimes.
The victim, Shawnta Lamont Ward, was cited last year by prosecutors and federal agents as an example of Portsmouth's revolving-door justice system.
Ward, 20, is recovering from the shooting, and police are investigating. It was not clear from reports released Tuesday whether Ward was armed at the time. The officer who shot Ward has been taken off the street while the case is being investigated, standard procedure in such cases.
Police identified him as George E. Yates, a 43-year-old officer from the Third Precinct. Yates has been a Beach police officer about 18 months.
The shooting happened about 7:30 p.m. in the A&G Auto Sales lot at Newtown and Baker roads. Yates had stopped the stolen Land Rover that Ward was driving after a citizen identified Ward as a suspect in a nearby burglary Monday evening.
Citizens told police that five to 10 armed men had broken into a home on nearby Summit Arch and that the suspects had fled in cars.
At the used-car lot, Ward got out of the truck and Yates shot him, police said. Early reports that described an exchange of gunfire between police and the suspect were incorrect. Only one shot was fired, police and witnesses said.
Police spokesman Lou Thurston said Tuesday that investigators found a gun in the Land Rover, but Thurston gave no indication that Ward was armed when he was shot. Asked directly if Ward was armed at the time, Thurston said the matter is under investigation.
Thurston also did not say whether the officer believed his life was in danger when he fired.
After the shooting, Ward ran across the street and collapsed. He is recovering in a local hospital.
Ward was released from the Portsmouth jail in April after a murder charge against him was not pursued by prosecutors. He had been held on $1 million bail on charges that he gunned down a man in a restaurant in November 1995.
The high bail was part of a public fight by Portsmouth Commonwealth's Attorney Martin Bullock against criminals who are released on bond, only to commit more crimes.
But without publicity on April 23, prosecutors decided not to pursue the charges. On the day of Ward's trial, a key witness said parts of his testimony were untrue, prosecutor David Dayton said Tuesday.
Ward had already escaped a capital-murder charge in the fatal shooting of a motorist in the Downtown Tunnel on April 24, 1995. Those charges were dismissed two months later.
Between the time of the tunnel slaying and the restaurant murder, Ward was charged with at least three other shootings in Portsmouth. All the charges in those incidents were not pursued, according to General District Court records.
Ward's criminal record in Portsmouth Circuit Court shows only traffic convictions.
This is the fifth time this year that Virginia Beach police officers have shot suspects. Three of the incidents happened in a 30-day period starting in late January. Officials ruled that those shootings were clearly justified because the suspects were armed and because they were threatening the officers. In two of those cases, the suspects fired first.
A fifth case is still being investigated by the state police, whose troopers were also involved in the shooting.
Yates has been placed on administrative duties while the case is being investigated. Thurston said that Ward has not been charged with burglary but that auto-theft charges are pending. MEMO: Staff writer Marc Davis contributed to this story. ILLUSTRATION: Map
MONDAY'S SHOOTING
KEN WRIGHT
The Virginian-Pilot
KEYWORDS: SHOOTING BURGLARY VIRGINIA BEACH POLICE by CNB