P’ville Police Apprehend Virginia Shooting Suspect in Village
News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Pleasantville police reported last week arresting a 37-year-old Virginia man a day after he was involved in a shooting near Richmond.
Leif Lambert, of Highland Springs, Va., was arrested and taken into custody in the parking lot of the Pleasantville Diner on Memorial Plaza, said the village’s Police Chief Erik Grutzner.
According to Grutzner, Pleasantville police were alerted at about 4:25 a.m. on July 30 by the Westchester County Department of Public Safety that a 2020 red Toyota Camry, which was connected to a shooting in Henrico County, Va. the previous morning, could be near the Saw Mill River Parkway.
Moments later, the car was spotted traveling northbound on Marble Avenue by Officer Morgan Cole-Hatchard, Grutzner said. When the vehicle pulled into the parking lot of a convenience store on Marble Avenue, Cole-Hatchard activated the police car’s emergency lights, but the vehicle fled the scene.
Cole-Hatchard followed the car, which turned into the Pleasantville Diner parking lot on Memorial Plaza, Grutzner said. There is only one entrance point of ingress and egress to the diner’s lot.
Lambert was arrested by Cole-Hatchard and Officer Esael Rivera with help from members of the Mount Pleasant Police Department.
““I commend Officers Cole-Hatchard and Rivera’s swift action and am thankful to the Mount Pleasant PD for their assistance,” Grutzner said. “The actions of these outstanding officers removed a serious threat to the safety of our community. This also underscores the ongoing need to collaborate with our colleagues in departments throughout the region.”
He said that Lambert has a connection to the area but did not provide further details.
Henrico County police spokesperson Karina Bolster said Lambert was identified as a suspect following a shooting at 10:06 a.m. on July 29 in their jurisdiction. When officers arrived at the shooting scene, they found a woman with obvious signs of trauma. She was taken to a local hospital.
The vehicle that he was driving at the time of his arrest belonged to the victim, Bolster said. Two handguns were recovered from the car during the course of his arrest, police said.
Lambert was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, a Class C felony. He was taken into custody on warrants of malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, police said.
He was arraigned in Village Court and remanded to Westchester County Jail in Valhalla as a fugitive from justice.
Last Friday he was still incarcerated in Westchester, Grutzner said. He will likely answer the charges in New York before being sent back to Virginia, he said.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
