YORK COUNTY, Va. — Authorities on Monday announced a fourth person had been arrested in connection to a shooting in January that resulted in a Virginia Beach man mistakenly being named a suspect.
In the latest announcement, the York Poquoson Sheriff's Office (YPSO) said Malcolm Phillips was taken into custody and booked into Newport News City Jail on Friday.
Phillips and three others — Nicole Loudin of York County, O'Shea Anderson, and Ja-Kema Franklin, both of Newport News — are all facing charges in the January 6 shooting in the area of Penniman and Low Ridge roads. That shooting sent one person to the hospital with what officials said were not life-threatening injuries.
Following the shooting, the Sheriff's Office took to social media where they shared the suspects wanted in the incident — including Raymond Copeland who was mistakenly identified as a suspect.
A spokesperson for YPSO told 13News Now in February that Copeland was no longer believed to be involved in the January shooting.
"He was initially a suspect because he was identified to us by the victim, who had been shot. That turned out to be a case of mistaken identity," the spokesperson explained in an email.
In an interview with 13News Now, Copeland claimed that his stolen wallet was discovered in a vehicle linked to the case, leading to the allegations against him. He said his life was turned upside down when he was escorted off his job and thus missed a week and a half of work as he worked to clear his name.
When asked about the wallet, the YPSO spokesperson said it was "alleged to have been stolen in Newport News" and that the Sheriff's Office had advised him to file a police report with the Newport News Police Department.