In the late hours of a Wednesday evening in Lynchburg, Virginia, a life was tragically cut short, setting in motion a homicide investigation that would lead to a resolution in the courts. On June 1, 2022, officers from the Lynchburg Police Department were dispatched to an upstairs apartment at 4540 Golf Park Drive following reports of a shooting. Inside the residence, they discovered 25-year-old Anthony Dewayne Colden II, a man from South Carolina, suffering from a gunshot wound to his torso. Despite the efforts of first responders, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The initial investigation into the death of the male victim began immediately, with detectives canvassing the area for evidence and appealing to the public for any information. They specifically requested that anyone with security or doorbell camera footage from the vicinity share it with the police to aid in piecing together the events that led to Colden's untimely death. The case was officially ruled a homicide, and the search for the person responsible commenced.
More than a month after the fatal shooting, a significant development occurred in the case. On July 15, 2022, the Lynchburg Police Department arrested 22-year-old Londell Thompson, Jr. in connection with the murder of Anthony Colden. Thompson was taken into custody and faced several charges, including second-degree murder, malicious shooting, and felony child abuse.
The legal process culminated in a guilty plea from Thompson in January 2025. In a turn of events, the charges against him were amended due to changes in witness testimony. The second-degree murder charge was lessened to voluntary manslaughter, and the malicious shooting charge was amended to unlawful shooting. Thompson pleaded guilty to these amended charges as well as the felony child abuse charge. Following his plea, he faced a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison and was scheduled for sentencing in May of the same year.
