In the early hours of April 6, 2015, the life of 23-year-old Charles Xavier Ridgeway was tragically cut short in Norfolk, Virginia. The incident unfolded around 2:30 a.m. near a BP gas station on East Brambleton Avenue. It was there that Ridgeway sustained a fatal gunshot wound. Though found by police at the intersection of Chapel and Dungee streets and quickly transported to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, his injuries proved to be too severe.
Despite initial reports that he was in stable condition, Ridgeway succumbed to his injuries later that day.
The investigation into the shooting moved swiftly, and within days, authorities had identified two suspects in connection with the homicide. On April 10, 2015, the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, in conjunction with the Norfolk Police Department's Fugitive Unit, apprehended two men. Aldin Mitchell, 25, was taken into custody in downtown Norfolk, while 22-year-old Santono Barnes was arrested at an apartment complex in the Berkley area of the city.
Both Mitchell and Barnes faced serious charges for their alleged involvement in Ridgeway's death. They were each charged with second-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. The case then proceeded through the legal system to address the violent act that ended a young man's life and to seek justice for Charles Ridgeway and his grieving family. A funeral service was held for him on April 16, 2015, at the Metropolitan Funeral Service's Granby Chapel.
