MARTINSVILLE, VA – On Friday night, the Martinsville Police Department arrested a second person in the murder of Antoine Preston.
32-year-old Ricardo Ortiz IV, of Spencer, is charged with the following:
1st Degree Murder
Shooting from a vehicle to endanger persons
Shooting into an occupied vehicle
Use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
MARTINSVILLE, VA – Police in Martinsville have arrested a man for a September murder.
Martinsville Chief of Police Rob Fincher said in a Saturday press release that Delano Tomaz Ross, 46, of Martinsville, has been charged for the homicide of Antoine Preston.
On September 30th, police said they found Preston’s body in a pickup truck that had gone over a guardrail and down an embankment in the 1400 block of Fayette Street.
Fincher said officers found shell casings in the road and that the pickup truck was the intended target of gunfire.
Ross is facing the following charges:
1st degree murder
Use of a firearm in the commission of a felony
Shoot from a vehicle to endanger persons
Shooting into an occupied vehicle
Possession of a firearm and ammunition by a violent convicted felon
Reckless handling of a firearm
He was taken into custody by police officers without incident on Spring Street in Martinsville.
Ross is being held without bond.
Investigators say the case is still under investigation as they continue to interview additional witnesses and collect evidence
If anyone has any further information regarding this crime, they are encouraged to call Sergeant Harley Durham at 276-403-5330 or the Crime Stoppers programs at 276-632-7463.
ORIGINAL STORY
MARTINSVILLE, VA – Police in Martinsville are investigating a homicide after a shooting and vehicle crash on Saturday night.
Authorities were dispatched at 11:43 p.m. to the 1400 block of Fayette Street near Maplewood Apartments for a gunshots call.
When officers arrived, they found three people who directed them to a pickup truck that had gone over a guardrail, down a steep embankment and was upside down.
Officers proceeded down the embankment and police say they found the driver, Antoine Jermaine Preston, 47, of Martinsville, dead inside.
The people who pointed out the vehicle were not involved in the incident, but came upon the scene immediately after the crash, according to officials.
Chief of Police Rob Fincher said officers found shell casings in the road and that the pickup truck was the intended target of the gunfire.
“The shooting definitely caused the crash,” Fincher said. “We have to get the medical examiner [to] say exactly what killed the driver and only occupant of the vehicle.”
No arrest has been made so we asked the Chief of Police about information on a suspect.
“We have a direction that we are looking right now, but I really can't release any information about that,” Fincher stated.
Martinsville Fire & EMS, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office and the Virginia State Police assisted at the scene.
If you have information about this homicide, you are asked to call Sergeant Harley Durham at 276-403-5330 or the Crime Stoppers programs at 276-632-7463.