Chesterfield County

4800 block Burnt Oak Drive

Blunt force

Unknown

Guard in Chesterfield found slain / Body found at Ivy Walk Apartments; he was hit on head
By Mark Bowes
Times-Dispatch Staff Writer

Friday,July 10, 2009

A security guard described as dedicated and thorough was found slain early yesterday in the Chesterfield County apartment complex he protected, killed by a blow to the head.

The body of Damion L. West, 28, was discovered shortly after 4 a.m. near a retention pond at the Ivy Walk Apartments in the 4800 block of Burnt Oak Drive, near the intersection of Iron Bridge Road and Chippenham Parkway, police said.

Officers found West’s body after finding his abandoned marked security vehicle near the complex’s office, across the road from the pond about 150 feet away.

West was unarmed and had been on duty Wednesday night.

“He worked there on a routine schedule,” said John W. Hall, president of American Security Group in Richmond, West’s employer.

“Our hours and days of coverage there varied, but he was a permanent officer assigned to that complex.”

“The property management there knew him and loved him a lot,” added Hall, who said West had been employed about six months. “He was very dedicated and very thorough.”

West died of blunt force trauma to the head, said a spokesman for the state medical examiner’s office. His death is Chesterfield’s first homicide of the year.

Police originally were called to investigate an auto accident, but officers found West’s white sport utility vehicle abandoned near the office on Burnt Oak Drive, the only road leading into and out of the complex. The vehicle was “up into the grass area, kind of stopped at the wood line,” said Chesterfield police Capt. Terry Patterson.

He said when they didn’t find anything immediately, they expanded their search and found the man’s body by the retention pond

Members of the Chesterfield Fire & EMS dive team searched the water, but no useful evidence was found.

Patterson said police are exploring several leads. He declined to speculate on a motive. About 10 detectives are working the case.

Police spent much of yesterday at the complex, near the southwestern tip of Falling Creek, and planned to return last night, Patterson said. Police believe West lived in the 6400 block of Lovey Court in Varina.

Hall said his security firm had no idea about what might have happened. “Obviously at this point, our concern and thoughts go to his family,” Hall said. “Hopefully Chesterfield will catch those responsible for this tragic event.”