DATE: Tuesday, April 29, 1997               TAG: 9704290444

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Public safety

                                            LENGTH:   68 lines

CRIME LINE

Portsmouth

Shortly after midnight on March 18, Clifton Artis II, 22, was in his home with a friend when someone knocked on the front door. When Artis and the friend went to answer the door, they were both shot when someone fired a shotgun through the door. Both victims were taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where on March 22, Artis died as a result of his wounds. Police are searching for a suspect in the shooting.

Virginia Beach

On April 10, shortly after midnight, a man was trying to start his car near the intersection of Bowsprit Circle and Tug Boat Road. Three men drove by in a late-model white Mazda MPV van with 30-day tags and offered to jump-start the man's car. Two men got out of the van. One may have walked into some apartments and the other shot the victim in the chest and removed his gold necklace. The victim was taken to a hospital and is recovering from his injuries.

The gunman is described as black, 23 years old, 5-foot-10, 165 pounds, with a light complexion, short black hair and a slight beard. The other two men were black and in their 20s.

Suffolk

A gunman entered the Holiday Food Store in the 600 block of Carolina Road at about 9:50 a.m. on April 23 and fired several shots. A female clerk was struck in the face by one of the bullets. The suspect ran out of the store and headed toward Nansemond Square Apartments, where he met a second suspect. They left the area on Dill Road in a white car, thought to be a Pontiac, possibly a Trans Am.

The gunman is described as a thin black male, 5-foot-7, wearing a ski mask and dark clothing.

At about 9 p.m. on April 24, two men entered DJ's Music and Video Store in the 800 block of West Constance Road and robbed the clerk at gunpoint. The suspects entered and browsed as if shopping. After some time, one of the suspects went to the counter, pulled a handgun from under his coat and pointed it at the clerk. The clerk backed away from the counter and the second suspect reached over and took money from the register. After taking an undetermined amount of money, the two males fled on foot toward the Be-Lo Store and possibly left the area in a white minivan similar to an Aerostar.

The suspects are described as black males, 18 to 21 years old. One of the suspects was wearing a brown leather jacket and tan baseball cap. This suspect is described as being light-skinned, about 5-foot-11 and having goatee-style facial hair. The second suspect was wearing a black leather jacket and a stocking cap. He is dark-skinned, about 5-foot-10, 130 to 140 pounds, and was brandishing a black semi-automatic handgun.

Norfolk

Norfolk police are still searching for clues that can solve the following homicide cases:

On Jan. 11, Emma Finney-Carter, 57, was killed in the 700 block of Johnson Ave.

On March 1, Derrick Boone, 21, was murdered in the 4100 block of Killam Ave.

On April 15, Ronald Watson, 38, was murdered in the 3300 block of Kimball Terrace.

On April 17, Tyrone Pace, 29, was killed in the 5600 block of Breckell Road.

On April 17, Arturo Cerdenola, 44, was killed at Bay Seafood in the 1300 block of E. Princess Anne Road.

On April 19, Cedric Cochran, 23, and Antonio Shoulders, 20, were killed in the 3000 block of Rialto Place.

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