Man killed by trooper reported to be Buckingham fugitive

Published 2:39 pm Thursday, June 17, 2021

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The Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Appomattox Field Office is investigating a fatal shooting involving Virginia State Police (VSP) personnel that occurred Wednesday, June 16 in Amherst County.

The News Leader of Staunton is reporting the identity of the person killed as Kendall Jamerson. A story by News Leader Staff Writer Ayano Nagaishi attributes Virginia State Police radio traffic with identifying the victim as the Buckingham County who first eluded authorities Sunday, May 23 and had been on the run ever since.

The most recent law enforcement incident allegedly involving Jamerson, 35 of Dillwyn, began at approximately 5:39 p.m. Wednesday, when state police received a request from the Buckingham County Sheriff’s Office for assistance with apprehending a violent felon wanted on several felony and misdemeanor charges by the county. The sheriff’s office advised that the adult male subject should be considered armed and dangerous, and to be approached with caution.

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According to a press release from the (VSP), state troopers located the male subject and a female passenger seated inside a Chevrolet Tahoe in a parking lot in the 2700 block of West Main Street in Waynesboro.  As the troopers were pulling into the parking lot, the wanted subject began to drive away and struck one of the trooper’s vehicles.

A pursuit of the Tahoe was initiated and continued along Route 250 through Waynesboro into Augusta County. The suspect’s vehicle then went south on the Blue Ridge Parkway and eventually onto Pedlar River Road in Amherst County, where the driver jumped from the moving vehicle. The Tahoe continued off the road and came to rest in a ditch.

The troopers then engaged the male subject, who was armed with a firearm. During that encounter, the troopers fired at the wanted subject. The troopers immediately called for EMS to respond to the scene and administered CPR until the ambulance arrived. The man was declared deceased at the scene.

The man’s remains will be transported to the Office of the Medical Examiner in Roanoke for examination, autopsy and positive identification.

The female passenger was not injured during the shooting.

No state police personnel were injured during the course of the shooting. In accordance with state police policy, the troopers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave pending the ongoing criminal investigation and an internal administrative investigation.

Jamerson was initially contacted by the Buckingham County Sheriff’s Department Sunday, May 23, for 11 different criminal warrants (three misdemeanors and eight felonies) ranging from abduction and strangulation to possession of a firearm by a felon. The warrants date back to February 28.