DANVILLE, Va. – Danville police have arrested dozens of individuals wanted in connection with a variety of violent crimes.
In the early part of 2021, Danville experienced an increase in firearms-related offenses compared to previous months of historic lows, according to police.
Members of the department’s Violent Crimes and Gang Unit recognized that several of the incidents may have been linked to several repeat offenders and along with others in the department, worked together to find and arrest these individuals, according to police.
On Tuesday, police announced that Operation Mousetrap, the three-month focused effort to arrest wanted violent offenders connected to firearms-related offenses, yielded the following results:
- 33 individuals arrested on charges ranging from murder, robbery and weapons offenses to probation violations and burglary
- 336 grams of K2 (synthetic marijuana) seized
- 54 grams of cocaine seized
- 13 firearms seized
- 8 grams of heroin seized
Capt. Richard Chivvis provided a list of names and charges connected to this operation. 10 News chose not to disclose all the names and charges provided to us, and only included those whose charges may have affected the Danville community.
Here’s a breakdown of the names and charges from the police department:
- Nygeria Brandon - malicious wounding
- Avion Burton - second-degree murder
- Marc Calloway - robbery and multiple counts drug distribution
- Ketasha Fuller - malicious wounding
- Iyshon Jones - use of firearm in felony (4 counts), attempted malicious wounding (4 counts), and shooting at a vehicle
- Jaquan Jones - burglary
- Tony King - distribution of marijuana
- Trayrek Lipscomb - possession of a stolen firearm
- Majusty Miles - second-degree murder
- Anthony Slade - robbery and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony (2 counts)
- Anthony Traynham - use of a firearm in the commission of a felony (2 counts), intent to distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm by a felon, shooting from a vehicle, concealed weapon violation, throwing a missile at moving vehicle, shooting from a vehicle, and reckless handling of a firearm
- Stevie Wallace - intent to distribute cocaine
- Damion Wells - larceny and malicious wounding
- Raekwon White - grand larceny
An unnamed 16-year-old, who police say was arrested at 106 Cambridge Drive, was also involved in this operation. The teen is facing the following charges:
- Malicious wounding
- Attempted malicious wounding
- Use of a firearm in the commission of a felony
- Shooting from a moving vehicle
- Discharge firearm in a public place
- Reckless handling of a firearm
- Possession of a firearm by an underage person
Police said that the arrests led to additional cases being developed in relation to drug and weapon offenses that are ongoing investigations at this time.
The police department praised this operation as an example of its focused deterrence model to reduce violence through proactive and predictive policing by using data-driven activities and accountability through the stratified model of policing.
“Our experience over the last few years have shown that when you get those violent offenders off the street, it has an effect on your violent crime numbers. We’ve seen continued downward trend since 2018,” said Capt. Steve Richardson.
Anyone with information on any of these cases is asked to contact police at 434-793-0000 or use the department’s crime tips app CARE at https://www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=818#.