Newsletter Early Week

P&Z nixes zoning for new project

December 24, 2024

Bill Spinks wspinks@cherryroad.com Meeting for the first time inside the new City Council chambers, the Midlothian Planning and Zoning Commission last Tuesday unanimously denied a zoning change to allow for a single-family residential planned development off Ashford Lane. The 48.59-acre property, previously zoned Agricultural, was to be rezoned to a planned development called Ashford Estates that would include 36 one-acre-minimum lots with two common area lots. City assistant planning director Colby Collins said the application for the rezoning was filed before the City Council updated Midlothian’s comprehensive plan in October. Therefore, the developer will be held to a one-acre minimum lot size standard under the “country module,” rather than the two-acre minimum under the new plan. An emergency gate was proposed for the west end of the project, but Collins said the city received about two dozen letters of opposition to that, mostly from the adjacent Rolling Wood subdivision. Staff’s main concern about that, Collins told the commission, was traffic connectivity. Planner Trenton Robertson told commissioners he saw restricted traffic as a plus. Robertson said the intent of the emergency gate was to limit traffic through the neighborhood to and from Rolling Wood while still allowing access to emergency vehicles. Two commissioners spoke against the project from different perspectives. Commissioner Jackie McDonald was concerned about the existing 90-degree turn on Ashford Lane on the northeast corner of the proposed project, citing a traffic hazard. McDonald was also against the 1,900-foot straight main road. Commissioner Dan Altman said he wasn’t opposed to letting traffic flow freely through the new neighborhood because traffic will follow a better option in the area. While McDonald said she was OK with the lot sizes, Altman favored larger lots, up to two acres. Five nearby residents spoke against the development, citing the possibility of the gate […]

MPD busts pharmacy burglary ring

December 20, 2024

Bill Spinks wspinks@cherryroad.com The Midlothian Police Department announced Monday it had made two arrests and has warrants out for five additional suspects in a burglary ring that had hit pharmacies in Midlothian and other cities at least four times since July. On July 8 and again on Sept. 21, patrol officers from the Midlothian Police Department responded to a report of a burglary at All Care Pharmacy located at 1441 South Midlothian Parkway. Upon arrival, they found that unknown suspects broke the window and entered the building. Once inside, the suspects took controlled substances from the location. On Sept. 25 and Sept. 26, Ropheka Pharmacy at 340 Hawkins Run and Midlothian Pharmacy at 2021 South 14th Street were burglarized in a similar manner. Investigators determined that comparable pharmacy burglaries had occurred around the same dates in other cities. Working with those other agencies, officers arrested Demetrius Wines for his involvement in the burglaries. After interviewing Wines, a second suspect, Alfred Echols, was identified and arrested by a partner agency. “Our officers were able to identify five additional suspects, but only by their nicknames,” MPD stated in a release. “Investigators utilized social media, cell phone and cell tower records, FLOCK cameras, and facial recognition software to accurately identify the additional suspects.” MPD has obtained warrants for the following men for their involvement in the pharmacy burglaries: Jerry Collins, 35; Christopher McCoy, 30; Kaylon Roland, 31; Remond Williams, 27; and Bradford Wines, 23. The warrants are for multiple counts of Burglary of a Building Where a Controlled Substance is Stored (3rd Degree Felony) and Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity (2nd Degree Felony). A total of 26 warrants were issued with a bond amount of $2.6 million. If you see any of the listed individuals, please call 911 immediately. If you have any […]