Vernon Pope Jr., 51, was found unresponsive inside an apartment at the Belt Atlantic Apartments on the 4000 block of Midlothian Turnpike in Richmond on the evening of January 29, 2022 after a report of a person shot at about 6:33 p.m. He had sustained an apparent gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Pope, known as Man to family and friends, was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served during Operation Desert Storm and was honorably discharged in 1991. He was a father and son, a stage-4 cancer survivor, and worked as an independent contractor and certified electrical engineer.

The Richmond Police Department opened a homicide investigation; detectives from the Major Crimes unit are handling the case. No motive has been released, no suspects have been publicly identified, and no arrests have been announced. Anyone with information is asked to contact Major Crimes Detective J. Crewell or Crime Stoppers.

Did anyone in the Richmond area know Vernon or have information about what happened that evening?