In the early hours of a Tuesday morning in Newport News, Virginia, the life of Aaron Paul West, a 30-year-old White male from Gloucester, was tragically cut short. On July 25, 2023, West was found outside of Hoss's Deli on Old Oyster Point Road with a gunshot wound. Emergency services arrived at the scene around 12:46 a.m. and transported him to Riverside Regional Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.
A graduate of Gloucester High School, Aaron was
employed in the Rigging Department at Newport News Shipbuilding. His sudden death left his family and community in mourning. He was a son, a brother, and an uncle, survived by his father, sister, brother, a nephew, and a niece.
The investigation into the shooting moved swiftly. Less than 24 hours after the incident, the Newport News Police Department announced an arrest. Derek Eugene Williams, a 38-year-old man from Newport News, was taken into custody on the same day as the shooting. The quick apprehension was attributed by the police chief to the effective use of technology and the cooperation of citizens.
Williams was subsequently charged with second-degree murder, shooting from a vehicle, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
