Shooting of Jiansheng Chen

Shooting of Jiansheng Chen
Memorial for Jiansheng Chen near the River Walk clubhouse
Date January 26, 2017 (2017-01-26)
Location Chesapeake, Virginia, U.S.
Deaths Jiansheng Chen
Accused Johnathan Cromwell
Charges Second-degree murder
River Walk clubhouse in Chesapeake, VA. Chen was shot in the parking lot of the clubhouse while playing Pokémon Go.

Jiansheng Chen, a 60-year-old grandfather,[1] was shot dead by a security guard in Chesapeake, Virginia on January 26, 2017. Chen was playing the augmented reality mobile game Pokémon Go in a minivan parked by the community clubhouse when the security guard, Johnathan Cromwell, shot him at least five times. He was a Chinese immigrant and spoke little English.[1]

On February 16, 2017, Cromwell was charged with second-degree murder.

Aftermath

According to a notice given to the residents by River Walk community, the contract for the patrol services is for unarmed patrols.[2]

On February 6, 2017, Andrew Sacks, an attorney representing Citywide Protection Services, which employed the security guard who shot Chen, held a news conference. According to Sacks, Chen repeatedly attempted to hit the guard with his van; in response, the guard fired "in reasonable fear for his life and safety". More than 60 people protested in support of Chen outside Sacks' office in downtown Norfolk during the news conference.[3]

According to Greg Sandler, an attorney representing Chen's family, Chen was playing Pokémon Go at the time when he was shot.[4] Police said the guard fired through more than one of the van's windows.[2] The guard, while standing in front of the van, fired between five and ten shots through the windshield.[1] Per Billy Rudolph, a spokesman of River Walk Community Association, there were no surveillance cameras pointing in the direction that recorded the encounter.[5]

On February 14, 2017, 3 U.S. Representatives Donald McEachin (VA-04), Bobby Scott (VA-03) and Grace Meng (NY-06) issued a joint statement concerning the death of Jiansheng Chen. They said they "must know how a game of Pokemon Go turned into a fatal shooting." [6]

On February 16, 2017, based on a news release from the Commonwealth's Attorney Nancy Parr, Johnathan Cromwell, the 21-year-old security guard of Virginia Beach was charged with second-degree murder and use of a firearm. The news release also said Chen's van turned into the parking area of the River Walk clubhouse on January 26, 2017 around 11:00pm. Then "Mr. Cromwell confronted Mr. Chen by stopping his vehicle directly in front of Mr. Chen's. Mr. Chen backed up and turned his vehicle around to the point that it was at the entrance of the driveway facing River Walk Parkway when he was shot. Mr. Cromwell had exited his car and did say "Stop" before he fired his weapon."[7] "Mr. Chen has gunshot entry wounds to his upper body area. The gunshot entry wounds are one in his upper left arm and four in his upper left chest".[7]

Cromwell turned himself in the evening of February 16.[7] At a bond hearing on February 27, Cromwell was denied bond by Judge Stephen Telfeyan.[8]

The second-degree murder charge was upgraded to first-degree murder in July.[9]

Following the attorney switch, a judge granted Cromwell a six-month continuance from his original trial date of Sept. 26, WAVY reported.

Sacks said the trial is now expected to begin on March 8, 2018, and last five days.[10]

As of 6/29/2018 court records show the jury trial is scheduled for 2/19/19.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "60-year-old grandfather killed by a security guard while playing Pokemon Go: lawyer". NBC News. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  2. 1 2 Hafner, Katherine; Daugherty, Scott (February 2, 2017). "Security guard who killed 60-year-old Chesapeake man acted in self defense, attorney says". The Virginian Pilot.
  3. ↑ Hafner, Katherine; Matray, Margaret (February 6, 2017). "Chesapeake man killed by security guard tried to run him down in minivan, attorney says". The Virginian Pilot.
  4. ↑ Hafner, Katherine (January 30, 2017). "Chesapeake man killed by security guard was playing "Pokémon Go," says family's lawyer". The Virginian Pilot.
  5. ↑ "Politicians, Advocates Call for Answers in Fatal Shooting of Grandfather". NBC News. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
  6. ↑ "'Many questions remain': Lawmakers want probe after man reportedly shot while playing Pokémon Go". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
  7. 1 2 3 "Security Guard Charged in Fatal Shooting of Grandfather". NBC News. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  8. ↑ Matray, Margaret (2017-02-27). "Bond denied for security guard charged in Chesapeake "Pokémon Go" fatal shooting". The Virginian Pilot. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
  9. ↑ "Security guard now facing first-degree murder charge in deadly shooting". 2017-07-05. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
  10. ↑ "Man charged in death of Pokemon Go-playing grandfather hires new lawyer". NBC News. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  11. ↑ "Virginia Court Case Information". ewsocis1.courts.state.va.us. Retrieved 2018-06-30.
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