Franklin man dies in hospital following gunshot wound

FRANKLIN
The Franklin man accused of shooting Martinez D. Hill on Friday night is in custody after turning himself in to the police, said Capt. Tim Whitt, Franklin Police Department spokesman.

After being formally charged, Joseph McDonald Lynch Jr. was remanded to Western Tidewater Regional Jail without bond.

Lynch, also known as “Chunk,” has been charged with murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, shooting into an occupied vehicle and discharging a firearm in public resulting in death.

Hill, also known as “TT,” suffered a gunshot wound to the head while riding in a vehicle that night. The shot came from outside of the vehicle, Whitt said. After Hill was struck by a bullet, the people in the vehicle dropped him off at the emergency room at Southampton Memorial Hospital before fleeing. Hill later died at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.

He was shot in the 1400 block of Rosewood Avenue, near where police were earlier Friday night responding to a call of gunshots fired in the area of Rosewood and Washington Street.

The Franklin Police Department extends thanks to those in the community who displayed the courage to come forward and assist with this investigation, Whitt said. In the beginning of the search, Franklin police were having trouble getting cooperation from the community.