HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) — A 34-year-old Hampton man has been arrested in connection with a commercial burglary investigation following a barricade situation that lasted much of the day Friday at Superior Pawn and Gun, police said.
Hampton Police arrested Kenneth Jones of Hampton and charged him with one count of burglary, three counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, three counts of grand larceny, one count of destruction of property and one count of obstruction.
Hampton Police said a call for a burglary came in around 6:34 a.m. at the shop on West Mercury Boulevard. When officers arrived, they found a person with a firearm on the roof of the business, and then after seeing officers, retreated and barricaded himself inside, police said, and a perimeter was established.
While officers were setting up the perimeter, they notice a brand new Toyota without tags parked behind the business. Officers contacted Classic Toyota Hampton and were informed the vehicle was part of their inventory.
The preliminary investigation revealed, at approximately 3:11 a.m., Jones forced entry into the business. Once inside, Jones took the vehicle which was recovered at the Superior Pawn and Gun commercial burglary.
“Just dropping the kids off at school, I noticed they was out there about 6:30 surrounding the building,” said nearby resident Marice Grandison said. “Pretty much, they were out there all day. It was interesting to watch.”
“I didn’t know if the guy was gonna come out and start shooting with kids around,” said another resident, Shanice Cooper.
A preliminary investigation indicated that the person forced his way into the business, and once inside, “took various items” and tried to leave, but went back inside to avoid officers, police said.
At 2:45 p.m., the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms’ Washington Field Division tweeted that units from its office were assisting in the response. The Hampton Police Division’s SWAT team, as well as the FBI, also responded.
One resident 10 On Your Side spoke to said officers used her balcony to wait out the suspect.
“I was very happy that they had everything under control,” she said. “It was overwhelming for the whole community because traffic stopped.”
It made for a surreal scene in Hampton, wrapped up in four images:
- No traffic on Mercury Boulevard
- SWAT on the roof of Superior Pawn and Gun
- Truck drivers having to turn around, and so many others inconvenienced not able to get where they need to go
- And the last, what appears to be a big hole to gain access in what is Superior Pawn and Gun
There were no injuries to officers or the suspect, Hampton Police said.
Four schools went into a modified lock down due to the barricade situation — Mary Peake Elementary, Patrick Elementary, Barron Elementary and Syms Middle School. Students at those schools were not allowed outside.
“I had to walk up there and get them and then walk back,” Grandison said.
Young students from nearby Mary Peake elementary sharing some insight from their perspective.
“We had inside lunch, and we didn’t go outside for recess,” said student Ava Grandison. “My teacher was calm, and my class.”
Terry Riddick said everything was blocked off near the school.
“You couldn’t even get back there to the school to drop the kids off because they had everything blocked off,” Riddick said, “and now I am trying to get back home. I can’t even get home because you got to go through this way, and they got the whole Mercury Boulevard shut down.”
West Mercury Boulevard eastbound and westbound lanes were shut down between North Kings Street and LaSalle Avenue.
Riddick was just one person who was impacted by the incident, as he wasn’t able to get the money he needed for his rent check.
“They won’t even let us walk up and down the street here because I was to meet my wife at Soap and Suds over here to give her the cashier’s check so she can go pay the rent, so now I can’t even do that, so now I got to wait,” Riddick said.
Businesses in the lockdown area had little or no business, and those such as O’Reilly Auto Parts and a local KFC branch shut down.