In his 20-plus years as an officer, Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards has seen his share of heartbreak.
People are also reading…
Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards speaks at police headquarters on Friday. Edwards said he was not surprised by the guilty plea that abruptly ended the prosecution of Amari Pollard. “As the trial progressed and (the defense’s) position got more challenging, I assumed they would come back and agree to a plea.”
Warning: Graphic Content The Times-Dispatch obtained this video from the Richmond Circuit Court on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. It was prepared by the FBI in the case against Amari Pollard, who was accused in the double fatal shooting outside the Altria Theater in June 2023. The Times-Dispatch is not releasing a portion of the video showing medical personnel working to resuscitate one of the victims.
Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards said the Huguenot High School graduation shooting case is a good example of how important it is for family members and loved ones to intervene when conflicts like the one between Amari Pollard and Shawn Jackson begin to escalate.
Pollard
Officials on Thursday released a video prepared by the FBI showing the moments before and after the shooting outside the Altria Theater in June. VCU Security Ambassador Denise Smith.
5 things we learned during the Amari Pollard trial
Pollard's case hinged on self-defense
Amari Pollard's lawyers tried to make a case that the 20-year-old thought his life was in danger. But Judge W. Reilly Marchant didn't agree, citing witness testimony, including the medical examiner and Pollard himself, who said he'd shot Shawn Jackson in the back. “There is no evidence of self-defense when the victim is shot six times in the back while walking away,” Marchant ruled. According to Richmond-based defense attorney Steve Benjamin: "Once the judge denied the self-defense instruction, the defense had virtually no opportunity for acquittal."
Pollard didn't deny shooting Jackson
“I just killed someone. Even if I do get out, I’m done for,” read a transcript of Pollard talking to himself in a cell. Pollard said he purchased a $500 Glock 43 from a street dealer for protection. He also recounted pulling the Glock pistol from his waist and firing “at least four to five times.” “Do you think you hit Shawn,” a detective asked. Pollard replied: “Yes”
Renzo Smith's killer unidentified
Ballistics evidence ruled out Pollard as Renzo Smith's killer. Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette McEachin repeatedly declined to comment on who may have shot and killed Smith and injured the five other bystanders. “There are still ongoing investigations,” she said. A forensic examiner found at least 30 bullet cartridge casings, most of which were not fired from Pollard’s gun.
Bystanders didn't realize gunman in their midst
A 90-minute video prepared by the FBI and presented in court shows security camera and police body-camera footage from the day of the shooting. A long section of it shows Pollard laying a handgun on the ground in the VCU parking deck near the Altria Theater and turning himself in to a VCU police officer. Throughout this exchange people are seen driving and walking by; some just a few feet from the murder weapon on the ground.
A sad day for everyone
“Before Shawn Jackson was murdered, the Defendants knew the dangers that Shawn Jackson faced with his family,” Tameeka Jackson-Smith's complaint reads. “But the defendants did nothing to protect them or other graduation attendees.”
Samuel B. Parker (804) 649-6462
