Neighborhood residents and business
owners have rallied to the defense of a
VCU student and ice-cream shop clerk
who police say shot and killed a man
trying to rob the store.
Last week, Commonwealth Attorney
Michael N. Herring referred to a grand
jury the case involving David Fielding,
a 21-year-old student in the School of
the Arts. Herring asked the grand jury
to decide whether Fielding should be
indicted on a charge of reckless discharge
of a firearm.
At about 9 p.m. on Sept. 6 at the
Baskin-Robbins store at 6940 Forest Hill
Ave., Jerome Davis, 43, tried to rob the
business, according to police reports. He
carried what police later determined to
be a BB gun.
Fielding, the store’s shift manager, fired
several times with a pistol, authorities
said. Two of the shots struck Davis – one
in the hand, the other in the back. Shots
also hit a window, shattering glass.
Davis, wounded, left the scene and
was tracked later by a police K-9 team
two blocks from the Baskin-Robbins. He
was found in the yard of his home with
cash that police think had been taken
from the ice cream parlor. Davis died at
VCU Medical Center.
Shell casings from Fielding’s weapon
were found both inside and outside the
store. There is no indication that Davis
used his BB gun.
It wasn’t the first robbery of the store.
Fielding had been on duty when another
man robbed the store Aug. 14. Following
that robbery, Fielding purchased a 9 mm
handgun and took it with him to the store,
investigators said.
The Baskin-Robbins shop is located in
Stratford Hills, about 4.5 miles southwest
of the Monroe Park Campus. The area has
seen a five-fold increase in robberies this
year, according to the community-news
Web site HillsandHeights.net.
On the Web site, many residents have
expressed support for Fielding, saying
he acted in self-defense. They put their
words into action by signing a petition
asking Herring not to file charges against
Fielding.
Richard Diggs started the petition
and circulated it among Stratford Hills
businesses. More than 500 people signed
it. The petition was sent to Herring on
Sept. 14.
Virginia law allows people to use
deadly force in self-defense only when
their safety is threatened.