On the evening of May 26, 2017, Virginia State Police Special Agent Michael T. Walter, a 45-year-old white male, was shot while on patrol in the Mosby Court public housing complex in Richmond, Virginia. A veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and an 18-year veteran of the Virginia State Police, Walter was working alongside a Richmond Police officer when they approached a Chevrolet Cobalt that had parked on the wrong side of the street.
As the Richmond officer spoke with the driver, Special
Agent Walter approached the passenger side of the vehicle. At that point, the passenger, later identified as Travis A. Ball, fired a single shot, striking Walter. The shooter then fled the scene on foot, prompting an extensive overnight manhunt involving multiple law enforcement agencies. Special Agent Walter was transported to VCU Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries in the early hours of May 27, 2017.
An investigation quickly led to the identification of Travis A. Ball, 27, of Richmond, as the suspect. He was apprehended the following morning in Northumberland County, about an hour after Walter's death. Ball, a convicted felon with a lengthy criminal record, was subsequently charged with malicious wounding, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, with additional charges pending.
Travis A. Ball was held without bond. In October 2018, he was sentenced to 36 years in prison for the capital murder of Special Agent Michael Walter. He later pleaded guilty to a federal charge of possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and received an additional 10-year prison sentence, to be served consecutively with his state sentence. Court documents revealed that two days before the shooting, Ball had sent text messages to his girlfriend stating he would not go back to jail and would 'end up killing something.'
