At 2am this morning at Mel’s on West Main, 24-year-old Lamonte Carter of Fluvanna was murdered, WINA reports. Details are limited, but the suspect is Robert Leroy Martinez, and he is wanted by police. He’s also charged with the malicious wounding of a 22-year-old woman.
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Sideblog
Police announced this afternoon that their investigation into what was initially believed to be a fatal fire on Rugby Avenue is now a homicide investigation. #
The Virginia Supreme Court has denied George Huguely’s appeal. His second-degree murder conviction will stand, WRIC reports. #
In a carefully worded story, and not citing specific sources, WTVR reports that forensic evidence belonging to Jesse Matthew Jr., the main suspect in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, matches forensic evidence collected during the investigation of Morgan Harrington’s 2009 murder. #
In the wake of Hannah Graham’s disappearance, and the evidence that came from private security footage, city officials are revisiting the question of installing security cameras on the downtown mall. #
Both Charlottesville Registrar Sheri Iachetta and former Electoral Board member Stephanie Commander have turned themselves in to the police on
foursix and four felony counts of embezzlement, respectively. #Ten years ago, the National Institutes of Health budget doubled and schools like the University of Virginia built massive new research facilities. A decade later, those buildings remain largely underutilized. NPR visits UVA in this story on the effect of federal binge and spurge spending in the sciences. #
In 2012, Council approved a new student housing complex on West Main—now some council members are questioning whether what they were shown matches what was built. #
The Architectural Review Board has approved a bike-themed mural on West Market, below the McGuffey Art Center, although at least one member expressed concerns that it might look like the bicyclists were riding away from Charlottesville’s downtown. #
City Police Chief Tim Longo is meeting with city leaders to work on protocols regarding the use of military surplus police weapons in Charlottesville. #
A 100-year-old Colonnades resident received military honors for her service in the WWII Women’s Army Corps #
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as many of ya’ll realize, mel’s is next door to the starr hill music hall. this nasty example of charlottesville crime took place right about the time a packed house was filing out after the lake trout show. even scarier: when starr hill management asked city police to have a squad car present the following night, they declined, saying they were too busy. funny how they managed to get six or seven units there after shots were fired in less than five minutes, and couldn’t spare one for saturday. yes, it was a game day, and town was hopping, but we’re talking 2am, you’d like to think they’d be willing to offer some peace of mind. and that they’d want to support and protect what will hopefully continue to be a positively developing stretch of main street, ya know?
gee, this is a shock! A murder at Mel’s on a friday night??? We saw this coming a mile away!
gee, this is a shock! A murder at Mel’s on a friday night??? We saw this coming a mile away!
I didn’t. Mel’s is a nice place. I was actually one of their first customers, some years ago. Good burgers. Anyhow, if there’s some kind of a crime trend at Mel’s, I sure don’t know about it.
Come on Waldo, you need to get out more! Take a ride on a friday night and be sure to stop into Mel’s about 2am for a burger and you’ll see what I mean..
Just that…what’s going on at 2am at mel’s?
the streets out in front of Mel’s filled with people fighting, cursing, gunshots. I’m scared to ride throught here on a friday night around 2AM. (friday night seems to be the only bad night)
The last time I walked by it was daylight, and some police shooed me away as they approached a deranged man with a knife.
what’s going on at 2am at mel’s?
Shootings, apparently. ;)
I’ve been there many a time in the early hours of the morning and have never once feared for my safety.
that’s absurd. i’d only be as afraid there as in front of o’neills at the same time. drunk people are obnoxious and dangerous wherever you go.
see now that’s when you really have to be leery of a place, at those times when there is a deranged man with a knife.
that i can get on board with.
i think other people would agree. i once ran a small record shop out west that wasn’t taking off at all. eventually somebody told me they thought business was probably poor because of the rabid monkey chained to the front door handle. turns out they were right, i got rid of the monkey and business improved twenty-fold.
if mel’s is guilty of anything it’s just business ignorance. next time they will know better than to allow a murder.