A Richmond prosecutor on Wednesday told a judge during a hearing for two Guatemalan immigrants charged in connection with an alleged July 4 mass shooting plot that he had no evidence that it was planned for Dogwood Dell, as the city’s police chief and mayor had noted during a July 6 news conference.
Shortly after the hearing, during which it was disclosed that federal authorities will now prosecute the two suspects, the Richmond Police Department issued a statement that Chief Gerald Smith “stands behind the investigative work done by Richmond Police Detectives to stop a mass shooting planned for July 4th.”
Federal court documents show that Rolman Balcarcel-Bavagas, 52, was charged Monday in a federal criminal complaint with re-entering the U.S. after being previously deported and was indicted on the same charge Tuesday; and Julio Alvarado-Dubon, 38, was charged in a criminal complaint Tuesday with possession of a firearm by a person illegally and unlawfully in the United States.
People are also reading…
The issue of whether Dogwood Dell was specifically targeted for the mass shooting arose Wednesday after Richmond General District Judge David Hicks asked Assistant Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Clint Seal about the targeted location.
Hicks noted in comments from the bench that two of his three sons had been at Dogwood Dell on July 4, and if there was evidence the shooting was planned for that location, he would have a conflict of interest that would require him to recuse himself from hearing the case.
“Mr. Seal, I’m asking as an officer of the court based off what I just told you, does the Commonwealth have information that either of these individuals were involved in something that could have potentially affected Dogwood Dell on the Fourth of July where my children were present,” Hicks asked from the bench. “I need to know that before I do anything else on this matter.”
To that, Seal replied, “No.”
But Hicks pressed, asking if it was Seal’s representation “that the commonwealth has no information that either of these individuals were involved in a potential shooting, a planned shooting at Dogwood Dell on Fourth of July here in the city of Richmond.”
Seal replied that he believed “there is evidence to support the potential for a shooting” but not at a specific location.
Hicks also noted that when he granted bond to Alvarado-Dubon on July 6, it was represented to him at that time that “there was a potential for an unspecified shooting at an unspecified location.” Prosecutors appealed the decision to circuit court, and a judge revoked Alvarado-Dubon’s bond July 11 in an agreement signed by both the prosecution and defense.
During a news conference later on July 6, Smith hailed the actions of a “hero citizen” tipster whom he said helped police thwart the mass shooting planned for Dogwood Dell. An officer in the 2nd Precinct received the tip, police said.
Without mentioning Dogwood Dell, Richmond police quickly responded to Wednesday’s court developments.
“Following up on a tip from a concerned individual who heard a plot of a mass shooting planned for July 4th, the Richmond Police Department began an exhaustive investigation to determine its validity,” police said in a statement. “Based on the initial information and subsequent investigation, investigators recovered firearms and several hundred rounds of ammunition from the suspect’s residence.”
Later Wednesday, Smith and Mayor Levar Stoney spoke to reporters outside Creighton Court to address the new developments.
“I think the best thing to say about the case is that the same case that was presented to the state has been presented and accepted by the federal government right now,” Smith said.
Smith stood by his officers’ investigation, which pointed to Dogwood Dell’s Fourth of the July celebration as the intended target, citing the department’s internal knowledge and experience.
“It comes from just your police department knowing what it’s doing and just the high probability that would be it,” said Smith. “Our organization looked hard and long at that, to the point where we actually put surveillance on the ones that we didn’t have in custody yet.”
Smith commended his officers for their hard work leading up to the arrest of Balcarcel-Bavagas and Alvarado-Dubon, saying he’s glad that those officers recovered hundreds of rounds of ammunition as opposed to having to comfort the families of hundreds of victims.
Stoney also thanked the Richmond Police Department for their work leading up to this point, and that he remains confident in the department’s investigation as it moves to federal court.
“I have confidence in the chief of police and I have confidence in hard working men and women of the Richmond Police Department — bottom line,” Stoney said.
The Times-Dispatch submitted Freedom of Information Act requests to Stoney and the Richmond Police Department seeking emails and other correspondence related to the July 6 news conference, where both the mayor and chief announced a mass shooting plot planned for Dogwood Dell had been thwarted.
Stoney declined to release several documents, citing a portion of the state FOIA law that allows elected officials to withhold documents that are for “personal or deliberative use.”
During Wednesday’s hearing, Hicks withdrew state firearm charges against both men after Seal disclosed, and their attorneys confirmed, that both men now face federal charges.
The state charges that were withdrawn Tuesday accused both men of possession of a firearm by a non-U.S. citizen.
In an affidavit in support of the federal complaint against Alvarado-Dubon, a special agent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security noted that Richmond police officers who responded to a tip at the house where he was living in the 3100 block of Columbia Street, located two firearms in his bedroom and a third in another part of the house. They included a Radical Firearms RFS-15 rifle; a Glock 26 9mm semiautomatic pistol; and a third unidentified rifle.
Alvarado-Dubon confirmed he had purchased all three firearms, and he had purchased the two rifles from a yard sale near Fredericksburg in March , according to the affidavit.
Police then contacted federal immigration authorities to determine Alvarado-Dubon’s legal status to determine whether he could legally possess a firearm. A federal record check showed that he had last entered the U.S. on a B2 nonimmigrant visa on Aug. 31, 2014, “and overstayed his visa by more than seven years.”
The affidavit in support of the criminal complaint against Balcarcel-Bavagas say he was previously removed from the U.S. and returned to his native Guatemala on two occasions — in October 2013 and August 2014.
Balcarcel-Bavagas made an appearance Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Richmond. Alvarado-Dubon is set to make his initial federal court appearance on Friday.