RICHMOND —

A Richmond man is in jail after striking two vehicles while intoxicated Friday, according to a Richmond Police Department press release.

Friday afternoon, officers were dispatched to a traffic accident on the Eastern Bypass near Commercial Drive.

Upon arrival, officers discovered a vehicle operated by Alfred J. Hairston, 39, of Foxhaven Drive, had crossed the concrete median and struck the driver’s side of a vehicle in the opposite lane that was waiting to make a turn, according to the RPD release.

Hairston’s vehicle spun across the traffic lanes, collided with a guardrail and fled the scene toward Big Hill Avenue.

As Hairston approached Big Hill Avenue, he struck a stopped vehicle three times in the rear until his vehicle gained enough room to turn right on to Big Hill Avenue, the report said.

Witnesses saw Hairston driving recklessly after the turn and guided police to Saddlebrook Apartments where Hairston had parked his vehicle and was attempting to walk away, according to the news release.

Hairston was arrested and officers determined he was intoxicated. He was charged with driving under the influence, leaving the scene of an accident, three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, no operator’s license, no registration receipt and possession of an open alcoholic beverage container in a motor vehicle.

In addition, 10 bench warrants from the Madison District Court were served on Hairston for contempt of court, police said

Hairston remained Monday eveing in the Madison County Detention Center on a $25,000 cash bond and $1,408 in unpaid fines. However, he must serve 360 days for a theft by deception charge, according to jail records  



Armed robbery arrest

Sunday morning, police responded to the area of O’Roark Avenue to investigate a robbery report.

Officers met with three victims who said they were stopped on O’Roark Avenue in front of an apartment when they were approached by four armed men, according to the RPD release.

The victims said the men pointed handguns at them and stole several items.

One victim reported a small box containing two handguns and $1,100 in cash was stolen. Another victim said her black and silver Coach wristlet purse containing $22 in cash had been stolen.

During the investigation, officers identified Justin L. White, 20, of Edwards Avenue, as a suspect in the robbery. White was questioned at the police station and charged with first-degree robbery, according to police.

White remained in jail Monday under $25,000 cash bond.



Three forgery cases

Anthony W. Johnson, 32, of Lester Street in Berea, was already in jail charged with theft by unlawful taking and two counts of second-degree forgery when he received additional charges Sunday, according to the RPD report.

In January, the owner of Yesterday’s Antiques, 1409 Lexington Road, reported her personal checkbook and several other items had been stolen from the store Jan. 21.

The victim had been notified by her bank that two personal checks had been written in Berea for $550.13 and $720. The victim knew she had not written those checks and discovered her checkbook had been stolen from the business along with a silver Sony Cybershot digital camera, serial #3420750, model DSC-P52, 3.2 MP, and a silver Canon PowerShot digital camera, model A2000 IS.  

The victim suspected the theft occurred on Jan. 21 when two customers were observed near the business’ office.

An investigation led police to Johnson, who was charged after being interviewed at the police station.

Investigators said they discovered Johnson had passed two of the stolen and forged checks at business in Richmond for $609.50 and $539.

Police added more charges Sunday for three additional checks that had been forged at Kroger in early February totaling $596.43.

The charges, two counts of second-degree forgery and second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, were served on him at the detention center.

According to jail records, Johnson remains incarcerated under eight bonds totaling $14,200. However, he must appear in court for a parole violation before he can post bail.

In a separate forgery case, police charged Michael C. Shoopman, 29, of Bratcher Lane in Berea, in connection with the passing of a counterfeit payroll check, according to an RPD release.

On Friday, an officer was dispatched to Pally’s on Water Street to investigate a reported forgery.

The officer discovered that on Feb. 19, the store had taken a counterfeit check purporting to be a payroll check from Hitachi in the amount of $238.14.

The check was returned from the bank as a fake and Shoopman was identified as the suspect that had passed the forged check.

Shoopman had previously been arrested and charged for passing similar checks at other stores, according to the police report.

Shoopman was charged with second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and theft by deception under $500 in connection with the Pally’s incident. The charges were served on him at the jail where he was being held on related charges under a $5,000 cash bond.

In yet another separate forgery case, police charged Patty A.Wagaman, 48, of Sycamore Drive in connection with 21 bogus checks.

On Feb. 22, police charged Wagaman for attempting to pass a check at a local bank for $400.

On Friday, the investigating officer received further documentation indicating that between December 11 and February 19, Wagaman had forged and passed an additional 21 checks. All but one of the checks were passed at a local bank, resulting in a total loss of $5,045, according to the RPD report.

Wagaman was charged with 21 counts of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, 21 counts of second-degree forgery and one count of theft by deception under $10,000.

She remains in jail on a $5,000 bond.



Burglary charge

On Friday, police charged Sonya R. Gibson, 32, of Peach Tree Drive in Berea, with receiving stolen property in connection with a burglary that occurred in December.

A resident in the 200 block of Keeneland Drive reported several items had been stolen from his unsecured apartment. The items included several video gaming systems, a Kindle reader and a portable DVD player. The total estimated loss was $1,125.

The follow-up investigation identified Gibson as a suspect after police discovered she was in possession of one of the gaming consoles and video games and transferred them to another party shortly after the theft, the news release stated.

Gibson was charged with receiving stolen property under $500 and theft by deception under $500.

The stolen property was recovered and returned to the owner.

Gibson is in jail on a $500 cash bond related to these charges, but must remain in jail on charges of conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamines, according to jail records.  

Anyone with information regarding the above listed cases is asked to contact the Richmond Police Department at 623-1162.