CHESAPEAKE
Lonnie Andrews Jr. was sweaty and smiling the last time the owner of Janelle's Center for the Youth saw him.
It was just before 2 a.m. Tuesday, and Andrews was leaving a dance that had filled the teenage hangout to capacity. The 18-year-old Oscar Smith High School graduate, who had a football scholarship to Virginia State University, was shot to death less than an hour later and nearly five miles away.
Zina Rawlins, a Navy officer who opened Janelle's in June 2006, said there were no problems at the youth center that night. She does not believe trouble followed him from there, calling what happened later "something separate and distinct."
Chesapeake police on Wednesday would not release or verify the name of the 17-year-old charged with first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of the crime. The victim's older brother, Antoine Spencer, said the suspect had been one of Andrews' classmates at Oscar Smith.
The teenager was set to be arraigned Wednesday morning in Chesapeake Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court but asked for more time to get an attorney. Commonwealth's Attorney Nancy Parr was unavailable to comment on whether the teen could be tried as an adult.
Police released no details about the case and would not say whether Andrews knew his shooter or if his death was connected to a second homicide that occurred in the city later the same day, in which Dontrell Whitehurst, 26, of the 1400 block of Oliver Ave., was killed. No arrest has been made in that shooting.
Andrews' family was working on funeral arrangements Wednesday and felt a little better knowing an arrest had been made, Spencer said.
Rawlins, the owner of Janelle's, was one of the last people to see Andrews. She said the promising athlete had been coming to the center on Kempsville Road since it opened two years ago.
Janelle's has a game room and an Internet cafe and offers tutoring, job placement and help with scholarship applications, Rawlins said. "It's an alternative to the mall and the streets."
She said she runs the place with military-like standards: no miniskirts or short shorts allowed, no bandannas or bare stomachs, no rowdiness or disrespect. All must present photo identification before they're allowed in and are scanned with a medal detector wand.
They also have to empty their pockets, Rawlins said. "Anything that could be used as a weapon - a pen, a pencil, comb, chains on jeans, lighters - it's confiscated."
Rawlins said uniformed Chesapeake sheriff's deputies are on hand for the late-night dances, which are usually held on Saturdays. She opened Janelle's Monday night because the center had been rented out the previous two Saturdays.
Rawlins said some people would argue that teenagers shouldn't be out so late. But Janelle's, she said, offers adult supervision, and at least half of the teen s are dropped off by their parents. Many are 17- and 18-year-old high school graduates, she said.
A city ordinance that sets an 11 p.m. curfew for those under 15 and a 12:30 a.m. curfew for 16- and 17-year-olds includes some exceptions, including activities where adults are present.
"The kids that come through there, they're just like Lonnie," Rawlins said. "I'm thankful that the last time I saw him... he had a big grin on his face."
Kristin Davis, (757) 222-5208, kristin.davis@pilotonline.com
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Johnjan
(Also, sterotypes are based on facts)
Could you provide us with some of those facts?
Kid Club
It's nice to know that there is a positive hangout for our youth, one that provides structure and limitations. BZ to you madame. It is sad that they have to go through a screening process to enter, but that's the price we have all been paying in this post 9/11 world. In any event, it's a shame that the life of a promising young man was taken despite the motives of the killer. Unfortunately, since my graduation from Oscar Smith in 1997, the school has become gang territory over the years. The school now is no better than the old Smith high was in South Norfolk. Teachers I know who work there tell me the school has to dismiss students in thirds in an effort to minimize gang activities and fights on school grounds. I don't think it was supposed to be like this...
Johnjan
Whoa, buddy! Do you want to be judge, jury, and prosecuting attorney for only this crime or for all of them involving black people? Must be wonderful to be so all-knowing that you can see inside everyone's soul and know their motivations. My goodness, have you never heard of a random act of violence? God help you if you're ever gunned down in the street while entering a restaurant in Ghent and get judged as harshly as you are judging this crime victim, Lonnie Andrews. Cheers, MGM
johnjan1945
johnjan1945, are you serious?! Lonnie was NOT "frontin'", did NOT have a "thug mentality" and was NOT an "ego gone wild." It's obvious you didn't know Lonnie at all and are on here spewing a bunch of unsubstantiated stereotypical opinions. Instead of questioning the actions of the young man who lost his life, how about questioning the "thug mentality" of the 17 year that pulled out a gun and ended a life?! Lonnie was a wonderful young man, a true joy, and a gifted athlete that's been taken from a community that loved him very much. If you "keep hearing what a nice kid this kid was" it's because HE WAS!!!!
A story a day...
Is the VP going to do a different story on this guy everyday? This has got to be at least the fifth in a matter of three days. Why not this many stories on everyone who dies? It's sad it took this young man's death for the VP to care so much about him.
The father of the 17 year old said...
...not to judge, but to wait until the facts come out. This sounds liek a father who is in total denial! What possible justification is there for this action?
17 with a gun
(but When a 17 year old is out at 2am with a gun the parent just dont care what he is doing.)
His parent(s), guardian or whatever he has raising him should also be locked up. They can't release the thugs name, but they can sure release the person raising him.
It's a shame
two more young lives lost forever, and I bet it was over something small and stupid. I know some here don't think the parents are to blame, but When a 17 year old is out at 2am with a gun the parent just dont care what he is doing.
I'm afraid I have to disagree
(Kind of reminds me of the security required at SOME clubs in the Tidewater area. Out of control!)
It's sad clubs have to go to this extreme, but I think it's a good thing that they do. In this day and time, you can't be too careful.
At This Point..
"The victim's older brother, Antoine Spencer, said the suspect had been one of Andrews' classmates at Oscar Smith".
At this point in time, after reading this? I would bet that this was motivated by pure jealousy. This thug took his life because he was "breaking" into what was possibly percieved as "the big time"! College scholarship, girls, fame, possible NFL deals...it would not surprise me, because that is a thug mentality! This is a real tragedy for family and friends of this fine young man. Again, my most sincere condolences to family and friends.
If you read the article...
You'll see he was shot to death an hour later, 5 miles away; not leaving the facility. No need to draw false inferences.
sad for the community.....
All must present photo identification before they're allowed in and are scanned with a medal detector wand.
They also have to empty their pockets, Rawlins said. "Anything that could be used as a weapon - a pen, a pencil, comb, chains on jeans, lighters - it's confiscated."
It's a shame when you can't have a dance without all these regulations!!! After reading these lines is it a surprise that someone got shot leaving the Center that late at night? Kind of reminds me of the security required at SOME clubs in the Tidewater area. Out of control!