Saturday, in the Near West End, just west of St. Mary’s Hospital, a man broke into a house in the middle of the night while its occupants were asleep. Police say they aren’t sure if the door was locked.

Henrico County police have a reminder in the wake of a pre-dawn break-in that occurred while a family was at home: Check to make sure your doors are locked at night before you go to bed.

Henrico police say an unusual break-in occurred Saturday in the 6500 block of Dustin Drive, just west of St. Mary’s Hospital.

A woman at the house woke up at 2:20 a.m. and saw what appeared to be a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt and jeans inside the house. The woman screamed and woke up her husband.

The suspect ran away, and the husband checked the house and found the rear door ajar. Police said it was unclear whether the door was locked.

There were no signs of forced entry, and it appears nothing was taken.

Police remind you to nightly check not only your doors, but also the windows on the ground level and your alarm system to make sure everything is working properly.

Police also advise residents to use outdoor lighting, including motion-activated lights, as a deterrent.

Police offer free security surveys to residents at their homes or businesses

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Robinson Hogan, 25, of Floyd Avenue will face new charges now that Luke Cockey, 23, of Skipwith Road in the Near West End has died.

Richmond police said Cockey was fatally injured when he fell after being struck during an argument with another man at West Main and Rowland streets about 3:30 a.m. It is unclear what the argument was about.

Cockey’s death is Richmond’s second homicide this year.

A funeral for Cockey will be held tomorrow at 11 a.m. at Bliley Funeral Home, 3801 Augusta Ave.

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Three houses in nearby Tuckahoe Elementary and Maybeury school districts have neighbors on the lookout after cameras, computers, jewelry and other goods were stolen.

The most recent break-in occurred last Wednesday at Barbara Mitchell’s house on Cedarbrooke Lane.

Mitchell said the thieves tried a door to the utility room first, but only broke the glass, not the lock. They then moved on to the door to the den, Mitchell said, which didn’t stand a chance.

“If they really want to get in your house, they’ll get in,” Mitchell said.

The thieves broke in through that door and ransacked the house, Mitchell said, stealing a computer, digital cameras, and jewelry.

Police say this break-in is cause for concern because it was the third to happen within a one-and-a-half mile radius of Henrico County over two days last week. The other break-ins were reported on Turnbull Avenue and Timken Drive.

Neighbors like Sandra and Stephen Peterson say they are helping to alert other residents through a newsletter and e-mails.

“Well, I think we’ve got a really close-knit community here and people generally watch out for one another,” Stephen Peterson said. So when people do get that information, people do get on high alert.”

While police say it’s still unclear if the three crimes are related, they all share some similarities. The break-ins occurred during the day and the criminals always broke in through a back door. Twice, the thieves made off with computers

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Two violent crimes occured recently just North the Near West End in neighborhoods near Staples Mill Road, west of Glenside Drive.

A Henrico man was shot in the chest during an attempted armed robbery. But, it wasn’t the only violent crime in the county Tuesday morning.

In one instance, police say the victim refused to comply with the suspect, a fight ensued — then gunfire.

It’s Tuesday at 7 a.m., a 40-year-old man walks out of his home at Bremner Woods Apartments in Henrico County when the unthinkable happens.

Police say, the victim was getting in his car, headed to work, when he was approached by an unknown man armed with a gun. The suspect demanded money. The victim said, ‘No.’ And, was shot in the chest.

“It’s something to be really concerned about,” says Caroline Glover, who is a neighbor of the victim. “You got to be cautious coming and going out of your own house - that’s terrible.”

Hours before this crime, there were two similar incidents in Henrico County. The first happened around 5 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Steven Moore was parking his Mazada in front of his home on Omega Road when a man with a gun ordered him out of the vehicle. Moore says, “He grabbed my hair and pulled me out … hand full of hair and face full of a gun.”

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Jhade Douglas, who was reported missing earlier this week, has been found.

Henrico County police said today that authorities found a missing 13-year-old girl.

Jhade Alicia Douglas had been reported missing by her mother on Jan. 6. Police put out an alert Friday asking for help in finding the girl.

Police said the girl was located unharmed at a friend’s home in Henrico by school resource officers.

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Jhade Douglas, 13, is missing and she was last seen in the West End of Henrico. If you have any information on her, please call Henrico Police at 501-5000.

Authorities say 13-year-old Jhade Douglas was reported missing by her mother Sunday. Her mother is concerned because Jhade is in need of medication, and because Jhade may be in the company of some older teenagers possibly involved in criminal activity.

She was last seen in the vicinity of the Cloisters Apartments in the West End of Henrico around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. She was seen walking with a Hispanic female, and may also be hanging around a 16-year-old Hispanic male. Authorities say Jhade may also be driving around, though she is not old enough to hold a license.

Police said that Jhade could be in or near a number of Henrico County apartment complexes, including The Cloisters, Nottingham Green Apartments, Hunter’s Ridge Apaprtments and some apartments on Staples Mill Road.

Jhade was last seen wearing a black Baby Phat jacket with fur trim, blue jeans, a white, graffiti-style Powder-puff Girls tee shirt, and white, orange and red Nike sneakers.

Jhade is a black female, about 5 foot 4, weighing 125 pounds. She also goes by the names of Elmo and Jay-D-Boo.

Anyone with information is asked to call Henrico Police at 501-5000 or Crime Stoppers at 780-1000

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The West of the Boulevard News reports on a crime spree targeting cars in the in the Museum District and Carytown. If you check out the crime location map they’ve provided, you’ll see that 3 of the 21 break-ins and other crimes include cars that were west of 195, in the Near West End.
Some basic safety tips from the site:

1. Don’t leave valuables in your car

2. If your car is broken into, report it to police

3. If you see any suspicious activity, report that to the police as well (emergencies - 911, non-emergencies - 646.5100)

For Henrico, the non emergency number is 501-5000.

A standoff on the 6500 block or Stuart Avenue yesterday required closing off streets but was resolved without incident.

A peaceful end to a three hour standoff in Richmond west end. Richmond police arrested a man who barricaded himself in his west Richmond home this afternoon.

Police went to the home in the 6500 block of Stuart avenue around 3:45p.m after the man’s family called them saying they were worried about his safety. They found the man they describe as a mental patient in his home refusing to come out. Police considered him a threat to himself and others, and asked neighbors to remain in their homes.

They closed four streets around the home which is located near the university of Richmond. Police have not released the man’s name, but say he’s in his early 20’s and was having an emotional breakdown. He had recently broken up with his girlfriend and lost his job.

Police say he was a hunter and were worried that he may have access to guns. But police wouldn’t say whether the man was armed when the SWAT team went in the home.

The man would not answer the phone and the police negotiator used a bull horn to try to coax him to respond to them.

Police tell us the SWAT team negotiated with him and entered the house around 6:45 p.m. And arrested the man without incident. They say he is now being evaluated by mental health workers.

Police spokeswoman Karla Peters says police are happy that the man wasn’t hurt and is now getting the help that he needs.

Daniel Berlinerman, was caught near Willow Lawn back on September 18th. Yesterday he pleaded guilty to 3 counts of robbery.

JAMES CITY - A serial bank robber who eluded local authorities for more than a year pleaded guilty Friday in Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court to three counts of robbery.

Daniel Berlinerman, 38, pleaded guilty to robbing banks in Williamsburg in September 2006, May and August.

As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors won’t pursue two other robbery charges and five grand larceny charges.

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Berlinerman was captured during a traffic stop in Henrico County on Sept. 18, almost immediately after the robbery of Village Bank on Willow Lawn Drive in the Richmond area.

He faces four robbery charges in Henrico in bank heists there in June, July and September. He also faces a charge in York County in a November 2006 bank robbery.

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I knew when I first drove by the intersection at 5:55 p.m. on Thursday that it was a bad accident. Directly across from Panera Bread on West Broad Street were many, many flares and about 5 police cruisers. I couldn’t really see what had happened, except a dark colored SUV had its front end banged up. As I drove back down Broad Street after my workout at 8:15 p.m. the scene hadn’t changed much. All the flairs had burned out. And the car looked like it was going to be impounded. Officers were spraying orange spray paint on the street and on the tires of the car and measuring exact distances for their police report. I figured it was a grim situation if they were going to all that trouble….and unfortunately, I was right. Crossing the street (especially Broad Street) is more dangerous than it looks.

A Richmond man hit by a sport utility vehicle Thursday while trying to cross West Broad Street near Willow Lawn Drive in Henrico County died yesterday at VCU Medical Center.

Dwayne Keith Felder, 37, of the 1200 block of St. Paul Street was jaywalking when the SUV hit him about 5:15 p.m., state police said.

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