Michael A. Minor, a 44-year-old Black man, was closing out the night at the Black Tie Social Club on Nine Mile Road in Richmond’s East End when the early-morning routine turned into a killing. Police were called to the club’s parking lot at about 2:08 a.m. on July 30, 2016, and found him down, unresponsive and not breathing, with what investigators described as an apparent gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
To the people who loved him, the loss hit like a door kicked in. His mother, Stephanie Stratford, told reporters it felt surreal, the kind of moment you never imagine arriving at your family’s doorstep. She said he had been working at the club and was simply closing up, “business as usual,” when the gunman shot him in the head. Family members said witnesses believed the shooter didn’t approach as a stranger—he called out to Minor by name before firing, as if the two men already shared a history.
Detectives said they believed the motive was robbery, but the encounter wasn’t a quick snatch-and-run. According to investigators, the suspect demanded Minor’s personal belongings and a physical altercation followed. In the struggle, Minor was shot and killed; the suspect grabbed what he wanted and bolted on foot toward Nine Mile Road, disappearing into the dark as the club’s lot and surrounding roadway emptied out.
Police later released a description meant to turn a face in the crowd into a name on a warrant: a Black male in his mid-30s, around 6 feet tall, with a medium-to-heavyset or stocky build, a round face, and short hair. They said he wore a white T-shirt, dark-colored jean shorts, and Nike-style street or hiking boots. Investigators also said he didn’t flee alone for long—he was picked up by a white Chrysler 300 sedan that headed eastbound on Nine Mile Road toward Interstate 64, a vehicle captured on nearby surveillance footage.
Behind the headlines was a life stitched into the city’s neighborhoods. In his obituary, family described him as “Coach Mike,” a mentor who poured himself into youth football and became a steady presence for kids who needed one. They wrote that he had lived in Richmond’s Fulton community for years and worked in construction, known for a giving nature and loyalty to his family—someone who would “give his last” to help another person.
As months stretched into a year, his relatives kept pressing for answers, saying they still didn’t understand why he had been targeted and pleading for witnesses to overcome fear and speak plainly about what they saw. In July 2017, coverage of the case stated that police had made no arrests. By August 2018, detectives were still asking for the public’s help, saying they had leads but not enough to take the case to prosecution, and the family continued to hope someone would finally name the person who walked up that night and ended Minor’s life.
