June 25--VIRGINIA BEACH -- Three police officers who fired at and fatally wounded a 33-year-old man after a robbery and chase in March were justified in their use of deadly force and will not face criminal charges, Commonwealth's Attorney Harvey Bryant has decided.
Bryant announced his decision in a letter last week to Virginia Beach Police Chief Jim Cervera and City Manager Jim Spore. Bryant's office reviews officer-involved shootings.
Three officers opened fire on Daniel Guy Newcomb the afternoon of March 17 in the parking lot of the Restaurant Depot on Virginia Beach Boulevard, according to Bryant's letter. Newcomb wielded what appeared to be a rifle but later was discovered to be a toy gun.
After two officers fired 23 shots at Newcomb and missed, a third shot him in the chest, and he died on the way to a hospital, according to the letter. An autopsy also found cocaine in Newcomb's system.
The incident was Newcomb's second serious confrontation with police. Norfolk officers shot and injured him three years before, after he falsely reported he'd killed his girlfriend and then brandished a blank-firing starter pistol at officers who arrived to investigate.
For more details, return to PilotOnline.com later and read tomorrow's Virginian-Pilot.
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