A man charged in the 2019 shooting death of Richmond Fire Lt. Ashley Berry has taken an Alford plea and will spend the next 17 years in prison, closing out a case that took nearly four years just to produce an arrest. Darrell Taylor Jr. entered the plea in connection with Berry's killing, which happened on Thanksgiving night in Hopewell as the 33-year-old firefighter was leaving a home with one of her children after celebrating the holiday with friends and family.
According to WTVR, Berry was shielding her 5-year-old son with her own body when she was shot, according to witnesses, and police have said she was not the intended target of the gunfire. The outlet reports that Taylor's Alford plea means he does not admit guilt but acknowledges that prosecutors have enough evidence to convict him, a resolution that still carries a binding 17-year sentence.
A Shooting Aimed at the House Next Door
Investigation details released after the shooting indicated the gunman was actually firing at an adjacent home on Sunnyside Avenue when Berry was struck while leaving her boyfriend's family residence, according to Smithfield VFD. A Hopewell Police Department press release states that officers responded to the 1000 block of Sunnyside Avenue at 11:39 p.m. on November 28, 2019, and found Berry with severe gunshot wounds; she was first taken to John Randolph Medical Center before being transferred to VCU Medical Center, where she died, per the Hopewell Police Department's own account.
Hours before the shooting, Berry had been at the Military Retirees Club in Richmond assembling food baskets for people in need, according to Hopewell Police. Under Rule 3A:8 of the Supreme Court of Virginia, an Alford plea like the one Taylor entered allows a defendant to maintain factual innocence while conceding that prosecution evidence is sufficient to obtain a conviction, according to Roanoke Defense Attorney — a legal mechanism treated like a guilty plea for sentencing, though whether an agreement binds the judge depends on its terms and the judge’s acceptance.
Four Years Before an Arrest
Taylor was not arrested until August 2023, after a grand jury indicted him on murder and firearm charges following nearly four years of investigation, as reported by Head Topics. At the time of the arrest, Hopewell Police Chief Greg Taylor said detectives “never gave up hope” during the lengthy investigation and reaffirmed the city's commitment to solving violent crimes, the outlet noted.
The gap between the killing and the indictment left Berry's three children — who were 20, 14 and 8 years old as of late 2022 — waiting years for answers, according to the Hopewell Police Department. Her youngest child was the one she shielded from gunfire the night she died.
Remembering a Firefighter and Community Organizer
Berry joined the Richmond Department of Fire and Emergency Services on January 29, 2011, and spent eight years assigned to Fire Station 21 on Jefferson Davis Highway, according to Firehouse Magazine. She served on the executive board of IAFF Local 995 and had been promoted to lieutenant in the City Fire Marshal's office earlier in 2019, the trade publication reported.
At her December 2019 funeral at Second Baptist Church in Richmond, Fire Chief Melvin Carter praised her as “the best of the best,” with tributes also coming from local city council members and fellow firefighters, according to WTVR. Berry also founded Ladies of Diversity, a women's group meant to share love and support among local women, according to WTVR.
WTVR reports that Chenice Brown said Berry's friends and family hoped to carry on her legacy following Taylor's arrest, and that they planned to keep supporting the people raising Berry's children and others who shared in the loss. The plea deal brings a measure of legal closure to a case that for years left Hopewell and Richmond communities without answers, even as Berry's family continues to grieve nearly seven years after that Thanksgiving night.
