Police: Chesapeake killings not connected; suspect arrested

CHESAPEAKE

Police made an arrest Thursday in the shooting death of Dontrell Whitehurst, 26, one of two men killed within 12 hours and 4 miles of one another on Tuesday.

Corey Raynard Woodson, 22, has been charged with first-degree murder, possession of a firearm by a felon and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony in Whitehurst’s death. Woodson lives in the 3000 block of Villreid Court.

Only hours earlier Tuesday, recent Oscar Smith High School graduate Lonnie Andrews Jr. was shot less than four miles away. A 17-year-old has been arrested in Andrews’ death.

Because of the proximity in time and location of the crimes, police did not immediately dismiss speculation of a connection. But Thursday, police spokesman Gus Mojica said the two shootings do not appear to be related.

Related to Andrews’ shooting, the state medical examiner said Thursday on Andrews died from a gunshot wound to the pelvis.

Andrews, who was headed to Virginia State University on a football scholarship next month, was found near his South Norfolk home around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday and was later pronounced dead at Chesapeake General Hospital.

A 17-year-old classmate arrested later that day could be prosecuted as an adult on charges of first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Chesapeake Commonwealth’s Attorney Nancy Parr said she will ask that the teenager be certified as an adult after a preliminary hearing in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.

The suspect, whose name is being withheld by The Virginian-Pilot because of his age, has been given a week to hire a lawyer .

State law automatically allows children over the age of 14 who are charged with murder to be prosecuted as adults. The case would be transferred to Chesapeake Circuit Court, if a juvenile judge finds probable cause.

Friends and family of Andrews are planning a candlelight vigil at 7 p.m. Saturday near 1520 Clark Court, where a makeshift memorial of teddy bears, balloons, handwritten messages and flowers , has gone up.

Andrews’ funeral is set for 11 a.m. Tuesday at Deep Creek Baptist Church on Mill Creek Parkway in Chesapeake, said his older brother, Antoine Spencer.