Richmond Police detectives need the public’s help to find two men wanted in connection with an East End homicide.
At approximately 5:26 p.m. on June 24, officers were called to the 800 block of North 21st Street for a report of random gunfire. They arrived on scene within minutes and found Jay Q. Wood, 47, of the 3100 block of Zion Street, suffering from gunshot wounds. He died at the scene.
Shaquille Juwan Carter, 20, of the 900 block of Mosby Street, and Joevontae Octavian Artis, 20, of the 1300 block of Minefee Street, are both wanted in connection with the crime on charges of conspiracy to commit murder.
A few days after the homicide, detectives arrested and charged Trevin K. Carter, 21, of the 5400 block of Montbrook Circle in Henrico County, with conspiracy to commit murder.
Detectives ask anyone with any information about the whereabouts of Carter or Artis to call Crime Stoppers at 780-1000 or text Crime Stoppers at 274637, using the key word “ITip” followed by your tip. Both methods are anonymous.
26 comments
Shaquille, Trevin and Joevontae. Their parents weren’t good at raising OR naming them. With names like that, it’s not like they would have landed corporate jobs anyway. Sad but true.
they are so young
Thanks for the great investigative work RPD.
Now we at least have an idea of why these young fellows may have targeted Jay Woods.
Shaquille lived in the 900 block of Mosby and may have known Jay Woods was selling drugs in the vacant lot and making money so, he possibly talked to his buddies about robbing the drug man.
Kinda doubt they walked in there expecting to take Jays life, they probably only wanted the cash and drugs. Jay pursued them after being robbed, they shot at Jay, Jay shot at them, Jay’s dead. Now the three of them are going to jail for most of their young lives. Lets be clear, I do have compassion for these young men and their families but they should and will remain behind bars for a long time.
As for us in this section of Union Hill that is always mostly considered undesirable due to our close proximity to Mosby Court . Lets us resolve to avoid having another Jay Woods set up shop in our community and lets continue moving forward as we were prior to this incident.
“Named to Fail” is a coward racist and should not be allowed to post his inflamatory remarks in this publication, in my opinion.
Normally I don’t engage in such activity but I must say, it is obvious that the first comment of this thread was “aimed to fail” as it only speaks of being “named to fail”. The fact that you thought it wise to provide advice for naming a child instead of solutions to prevent another homicide displays not only your bias but a lack of compassion.
I take offense to this because my name is OluShola Walker. I am certain you have a preconceived idea as to whether or not I should succeed or fail but let me just explain this to you first, my name is over 2000 years old, it is derived from the Yoruba language which is spoken in west Africa with a concentration in Nigeria and it means “God has blessed me”. So you see, I am, “named for greatness” but I’m sure for the untrained ear it sounds like something made up…*sigh*
Still my greatness is not merely in my name, it is in my ability to see the humanity of everyone and my desire for equilibrium. So the next time you see my name, and I normally go by Shola, remember greatness is in your purpose not your title.
Now the real question here is does anyone have a relationship with either of these families? And if so how can we end this unfortunate situation with a shred of dignity as a community?
@James T – I was on the fence about letting that comment through, honestly. I dunno that it’s necessarily racist, I’ve heard echo of the sentiment from different folks – but it did make me pause in this situation.
I had a piece written but deleted it, I hoped someone better versed than myself would have a response, and Shola did just that.
Shaq was student of mine 7 or 8 years ago, and I’ve been seeming him around ever since. This is hard one.
Shola Walker…you.are.amazing. Don’t know you but I want to be best friends with you. Thank you for your beautiful words and I love your beautiful name.
I’m trying to think of the ‘whitest’ possible name to rebut “Named to Fail” but that is just too dumb to rebut. Really…?
Before you apologize for these two, let’s not forget the message of opportunity and relief has been spread through the work of black male mentors, black churches, black community outreach as well as general social programs. It’s 2014. These young men made their own choice. They hurt themselves and let down the black community that built this neighborhood. A shame on them.
Further I’m sick of hearing pity on race. If these kids looked like Eminem I’d still think ‘what a waste of youth’. But it wouldn’t make them any less culpable. Wrong is Wrong.
Your pain is our pain John M. You see or saw these young people on a daily basis and know just how perilous their day to day existence was based on their home lives and future choices. It is irresponsible of some to assume their names should have any bearing on their achievements or lack of achievements, The man currently serving as president of our nation’s first name is Barrack, a very fine scholar and politician who was able to maneuver through this system and rise to the highest office in the land.
Sorry the last paragraph caused you grief, I still stand by it.
I am reserved to add a comment here too but I believe the naming issue questioning is basically a lack of education just like people are afraid of what they don’t know about.
One website about African naming of children rambles on quite a bit in various directions but here are a couple of takeaways from it:
” The ’60s were a time of massive black protest from which emerged an accentuated separatist strain in black thought, epitomized in the Black Power movement. Blacks became increasingly interested in Africa and eager to show pride in their roots. (Indeed, “Roots” — Alex Haley’s book as well as the TV miniseries based upon it — itself had a remarkable effect on naming practices. According to Harvard sociologist Stanley Lieberson, the name Kizzy, which belonged to a “Roots” character, skyrocketed from oblivion to become the 17th most popular name for black girls in Illinois in 1977.) Islam began in these years to have a clear influence, too, most visibly with Cassius Clay adopting the name Muhammad Ali in 1964. Others followed suit, including two fellows named Lew Alcindor and LeRoi Jones, whom you know as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Amiri Baraka. ”
But even African Americans can be critical about names such as actor/comedian Bill Cosby a few years back ranted at the NAACP about blacks “with names like Shaniqua, Shaligua, Mohammed and all that crap and all of them are in jail.”
Many commenters call the unusual names “ghetto,” and Cosby’s jeremiad was essentially an attack on the black poor. His assertion that “all of them are in jail” is, to say the least, dubious; an economic study by “Freakonomics’” Levitt and Roland G. Fryer showed several years ago that distinctively black names in themselves do not cause a negative life outcome — vivid evidence of which is seen on the Olympic roster and at the Democratic National Convention.
And that the census data show that whites, too, are increasingly looking for distinctive names with Mormons ahead of the curve.
I am not sure if this only muddies the water but at least give you a little food for thought.
John, you can delete if you think this is not post worthy.
Named to fail,
Oprah started her career as a TV reporter. Her first news director asked her to use a different name on the air telling her it was “too ethnic” to difficult to pronounce and because “no one would ever remember it”. So I think it’s pretty safe to say people with uncommon names can do just fine themselves.
Hateful, thoughtless comments don’t contribute to a dialogue and can be extremely hurtful to those involved and their families. The anonymity of the internet allows for people to say things they would never say face to face. Families of those involved read this stuff and it can hurt. My brother in law was murdered in Wichita, KS a few years ago. He was no saint, had a criminal record as did the man that shot him. People that didn’t know him or us said a lot of awful things. I watched my husband get angry when people said his little brother “got what he deserved”. I watched my mother in law cry her eyes out when strangers called it a “public service”. My brother in law made a lot of mistakes, chose the wrong paths and with the life he was living it could have easily have been him with a gun in his hand, but none of that makes it hurt any less and none of that matters to the nephew we have been raising since. He was 4 when his father died for him it doesn’t matter that he had a record or made his own mistakes that lead him there, all he knows is that his dad is gone. I don’t think any of those strangers would have said those things to that boy or a grieving mother. They wouldn’t be able take the hurt it would cause if they actually had to see it. Just because you type something from behind a screen doesn’t mean it doesn’t have the same outcome, you just don’t have to look at it.
Mindy, well said and I am so sorry for you loss… such a sad story how people can be so heartless and just plain stupid. I have been coming here for around 10-years now and I had thought this forum required at one time people posting to use their real names but John said this is not so – yet I do.
My stepfather who I grew up with as my father, was very prejudice and his own father was in the KKK back in the 1930’s but eventually left the organization. Being poor, we had to live in mixed race low income housing neighborhoods so I grew up around African-Americans. My taste in music ran towards Motown rather than the Beatles and though I am about as white as anyone can be (need sunglasses to view me in the sun), one of my black female secretaries at work says that I am more black than she is. And our black receptionist who is a little older than me… we talk openly about race and history issues very comfortably. It is just a matter of education or rather the lack of it. And no matter what people say, there are still prejudices so when it comes to names that sound to many like someone shook a bag of scrabble tiles and used what fell out to name their child, actually do have meanings. Here is a link that gives the meanings to African names.
http://www.behindthename.com/names/usage/african
Now to be fair, there are people who do make up names from various other names or sounds they like which have no particular meaning whatsoever but that doesn’t mean their parents didn’t give it to them out of love. Think back to the 1960s when hippy parents named their children while on their psychedelic trips. Yes, it was a trend and we my see the return of traditional names in the black community but I don’t think so any time soon. During one of my disaster Survivor Day participations (sponsored by CERT and is free coming again in September) at Chimborazo Elementary, the children names posted on artwork read like being in a foreign country so all I can say is “get use to it” because there are generations of these names coming your way! And if you thinking a person’s name influences their life’s outcome then we are in for a bumpy ride because of your own prejudices.
Also, just to be fair, in response to katzen jaamer, I’m not certain the person who wrote the “named to fail” comment is white so I think it would belittle the point to cast yet another blanket of blame on our lighter brethren by using the “whitest name” one can think of to rebut this lack of tact. (whispering) It would actually be just as racist…????…
Regardless of racial identity whoever posted it should think twice before making quick judgements.
Wow, after all the moderation “posts” yet another “racist” topic this has begun…
Sam, true and I have said my piece. Just that there are still ignorant people in our community who want “change” in Church Hill but their mindset is in “negative” change mode rather it be buildings or people.
I’m not a fan of Made-Up Name Syndrome either–and trust me, it’s not a racial thing, people are giving their babies some bad, bad names these days–but I work for a very large corporation where there are plenty of young people with names similar to the suspects here. A “bad” name does not automatically mean the person will fail at life no matter what that latest HuffPo article said.
Thank you Shola!
Yes, Shola, you are wise and gracious. I don’t know you but I am very impressed. 🙂
Thanks to James T, Shola Walker, and others for posting insightful comments in response to NamedtoFail’s callous remarks. Sidestepping the issue of naming that this post has generated, the actual event in question does shed light on the real damage that drug dealing can cause. As a resident of Church Hill, I remain baffled that drug dealers openly operate without fear in vacant lots, corner storefronts, and known stash houses. While I do not hesitate to call the police if I witness drug dealing, I’m incensed that some of my fellow neighbors dismiss it as a simple inconvenience of East End life. This thread has thoroughly shamed NamedtoFail. Is it not possible to use similar outrage to shame drug dealers? As this murder and subsequent search for two young men show, drug dealing is an extremely destructive element that should not be condoned and passively accepted. Following up on one of James T’s early statements, how do we avoid having another drug dealer set up shop in our neighborhoods?
And Shola, your name is as beautiful as your words! I wish my parents had put even a little thought behind my name instead if naming after a damn 70s sitcom! I agonized over my sons names for that very reason.
It’s important to distinguish between “ought to” and “is.” http://www.nber.org/digest/sep03/w9873.html
@Mindy Ha! my fiancée was named after the same 70s sitcom as you. No more thought went into than that.
East End Living. I am not sure how long you have lived in Church Hill? We have been here 15 years and have seen a LOT of changes, all mostly for the good considering that during that time and not long before most of it was boarded up after becoming slums. This brought in bad elements.
The house next door to me was owned by well-know slumlord Stanley Smith, and it was eventually condemned but the family living there when we moved here were dealing drugs from the house. We could not even sit on our front porch or get into our cars without being harassed. We even saw an attempted murder in the street by them.
A neighbor remembered walking her dog around the corner and people were dealing guns out of a van sitting outside of the barber shop and them saying something to her.
I think there was a thread on here years ago mentioning Smiley’s Market – the empty building for lease across from WPA and Dutch, where illegal activities were happening including cigarette smuggling.
During the holidays it sounded like a battle in Vietnam with every kind of gun being fired and shooting of power transformers causing power outages while this was going on. We even have a gun hole in a living room window but never found the slug.
None of that happens now with all of the restorations but we North of Broad are still tagged with this which has caused a barrier of sorts.
@Sean
Awesome! I’m sure she has had to deal with all the “nanu-nanu!” And “Hey, where’s Mork?!”…..so not funny after the first 15 YEARS of hearing it. Ive just started telling people that he died when Robin Williams got off cocaine. And for whatever reason everyone always wants to call you “Mandy”. Why?
Joevontae Artis is off the streets.
Thanks RPD.
@24, Thanks, Lt. Dan!