In the early hours of Thursday, January 7, 2016, the life of 19-year-old Mark Jackson-Silver was tragically cut short in a Southside Richmond motel. Police were called to the 6500 block of Midlothian Turnpike around 1:00 AM where they found Jackson-Silver suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. He was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, marking the third homicide in the city of Richmond in the first week of the new year.
The investigation into the death
of the young man, a resident of the 1300 block of Jennie Scher Road, moved swiftly. On the same day of the shooting, Richmond Police arrested 25-year-old Alvin Ruffin, Jr., of the 1200 block of E. Marshall Street. Initially, Ruffin was charged with shooting in the commission of a felony.
As the investigation progressed, the charges against Ruffin were updated. On January 11, 2016, he was formally charged with voluntary manslaughter in connection with the death of Mark Jackson-Silver. The community mourned the loss of the young man, with a public viewing and funeral service held in his memory later that month, followed by his interment at the Historic Evergreen Cemetery.
