CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Charlottesville mayor Juandiego Wade praised the police work that led to the arrest of Anthony Hopkins in the Fourth of July shooting that wounded five people, including two children.
The investigation is ongoing and Wade echoed chief Michael Kochis, saying there could still be more arrests to come.
“It’s very comforting to the families,” Wade told Cville Right Now. “It’s good old fashioned police work. I know that it may be frustrating to maybe the public that it wasn’t done sooner, but these things have to be done in a very deliberate manner so that further on down the road if it comes to prosecution in court and things like that that they have all their ducks in a row. I understand that there are still potentially some arrests to be made but I’m happy with the work of Chief Kochis and Joe Platania.”
Wade urged community members who have information to come forward and work with the police, though he acknowledged that isn’t always something people are willing to do.
“I understand. I’m involved and connected in the community. I hear different things,” Wade said. “Let the police do their work. They asked for witnesses and input and things, certainly chime in there.”
Hopkins, a 20-year-old Charlottesville man, was arrested on Aug. 7 and charged in both the Fourth of July shooting on Orangedale Ave. in the city and a May 24 shooting at Brookdale Apartments in the county.
It remains unclear if those two shootings were related. Wade said he could not say if they were.
Albemarle Commonwealth’s Attorney James Hingeley declined to comment on the possible connection between the two.
Hopkins is being held without bond at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.
For the county shooting, Hopkins was charged with attempted malicious wounding, shooting from a vehicle, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and gang participation.
In the city, Hopkins was charged with two counts of attempted malicious wounding, two counts of using a firearm while committing a felony, two counts of reckless handling of a firearm – all felony charges – and two counts of willful discharge in a public place, a misdemeanor.
He does not currently face gang charges in the city, the way he does in the county.
“There’s definitely some difference in the way people view it,” Wade said, when asked about the gang charge being present in the county but not the city.
Platania, the city commonwealth attorney, said he isn’t too quick to label neighborhood disagreements as being gang related, in general.
“I am very uncomfortable using the term gang,” Platania said during an appearance on WINA Morning News last month. “I think it carries with it a connotation that may be applicable in some instances and may not be in others. … There is definitely neighborhood related organization and conduct by groups of individuals going back and forth with other groups. Now, some people might say, ‘Well Joe. That’s a gang.’ I don’t know.”
