Prosecutor: Officers involved in shooting fired in self defense

Four police officers who fatally shot a homicide suspect at the Oceanfront earlier this year will not face criminal charges because they fired in self defense, Virginia Beach’s top prosecutor ruled in a report released Friday.

Among the evidence reviewed by Commonwealth’s Attorney Colin Stolle and his investigators was body camera video recorded by multiple officers on the scene, including at least one who fired at 23-year-old Alvin Lamont Baum II.

Stolle released some of the body camera video with his five-page report.

“It is clear that the officers returned fire after being fired upon by Alvin Baum II,” Stolle wrote. “Based upon the law and the substantial evidence in this matter, it is my opinion that the officers were within their legal authority and were justified in the use of deadly force in the situation as it presented itself.”

The four officers were identified as Norfolk SWAT team members Sean Garrison and Lake Maizel, and Virginia Beach Warrant and Fugitive Squad Detectives Jason Mann and Nicholas Wengler.

Attempts on Friday to reach a relative of Baum’s for comment were not successful.

The shooting occurred March 20 in the 200 block of 35th Street, near Pacific Avenue.

Norfolk police had identified Baum as the primary suspect in two homicides, including a drive-by shooting the night before, the prosecutor’s report said. He also had outstanding warrants for violating his probation and failing to appear in court.

Police obtained video of the red SUV used in the drive-by shooting and identified it as a Mitsubishi Outlander that belonged to a

“female associated with Baum,” Stolle’s report said.

Police got a search warrant for cellphone location data for Baum’s phone, and got an active location ping from his phone the day of the shooting. The data showed he was in the area of 35th Street in Virginia Beach.

Norfolk’s warrant and fugitive squad detectives and SWAT officers — coordinating with their counterparts in Virginia Beach found the SUV parallel-parked on 35th Street in the resort area that morning. The license plate on it matched the one of the SUV used in the Norfolk drive-by shooting, the report said.

Shortly before 11:30 a.m., police saw Baum approach the vehicle. He was inside and starting the engine when the Norfolk officers stopped their vehicle next to his rear, left tire, according to Stolle’s report.

Four Norfolk SWAT officers

— clearly marked as police — got out and ordered Baum to show his hands and put the car in park, the report said. Some officers had their body cameras turned on, but not all.

“Video footage from those cameras show officers gave repeated verbal commands to Baum for approximately ten seconds,” Stolle wrote. “Baum did not comply with the verbal commands ... Instead, he drove the Outlander forward, ramming the parked civilian vehicle in front of him in an attempt to flee the scene.”

As the SUV continued ramming the car in front and squealing its tires, a Norfolk officer drove his vehicle into the Outlander’s left, rear tire in an attempt to stop him, while a Virginia Beach detective stopped his vehicle in front of Baum’s.

Baum is seen bending toward the vehicle’s center console and pointing a gun toward the officers, Stolle wrote, before firing his gun one time. The officers returned fire simultaneously.

Garrison, who was on the passenger side of the SUV and saw Baum point his gun at Maizel and another officer, fired 11 times. Maizel fired 13 times, Mann four times, and Wengler once.

An autopsy later showed Baum was struck between 11 to 13 times. He died at the scene.

A Glock 27 .40-caliber handgun with an extended magazine was found next to his right hand in the SUV, the report said. The Department of Forensic Science later determined that four cartridge casings recovered from the Norfolk drive-by shooting came from the gun Baum used to shoot at the officers, the report said.