John Alfred Butler also charged with attempted murder

IVOR

A Smithfield man is in custody after Southampton County Sheriff’s Office deputies found a pistol under the passenger seat of the car he was in this past weekend.

According to department spokesman Maj. Gene Drewery, on Saturday around 1:31 a.m., a deputy on patrol heard shots coming from the area of the Midway Bar located at 35242 General Mahone Blvd., Ivor. Other units in the area responded and, after receiving information on a suspect vehicle, began checking the area. The vehicle was stopped and detained. While it was being held, the investigating deputies were advised a gunshot victim was at Southside Regional Medical Center in Petersburg.

The victim, Cordezz Blow, 26, Hopewell, had told the hospital he was shot at the Midway Bar. A passenger of the detained vehicle, John Alfred Butler, 32, Smithfield, was taken into custody by deputies after the aforementioned gun was discovered.

Deputies continued their investigation, and through witness statements and evidence collected at the scene, were able to obtain the following charges on Butler: Carrying a concealed weapon; reckless handling of a firearm, attempted capital second-degree murder; firearm use in the commission of felony (first offense); and intentionally damaging any property/monument less than $1,000. The latter charge comes from a car that was shot in the parking lot.

There was another report taken of a different vehicle being hit on Monday. No charges have been placed for the damage to that vehicle.

This incident is similar to one that occurred on March 30, 2017, at the Midway Bar. No one was shot in that incident, but shots were fired in the parking lot and the suspects chased each other down General Mahone Boulevard and crashed into another car.

Since that particular incident, the Sheriff’s Office, Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and the State Fire Marshal’s Office have been working with Franklin/Southampton Community Development to regulate the activities occurring at the bar.

Last Thursday, Community Development authorized the Midway Bar to have a DJ with an occupancy of 80 people. The incident on Saturday occurred as the crowd was leaving after the DJ finished playing.

Butler had an arraignment scheduled today at 1 p.m., according to Drewery.