MICHAEL WOODSON Prosecutor says his fatal shooting by police was justified
SISTER STILL HAS QUESTIONS
Nottoway County’s top prosecutor says she has determined that no charges will be filed in the officer-involved shooting death of Michael Woodson.
It was Woodson who last August led police on an early morning, high speed chase down Rts. 360 and south down Rt. 153. That pursuit ended when Woodson’s pick-up truck ran crossed all four lanes of Rt. 460 and crashed into nearby woods.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Leanne Watrous says that in reaching her decision, she reviewed police body-worn camera footage, dash cam footage, interviews, statements, lab reports, and other evidence including the Chief Medical Examiner’s autopsy.
Ms. Watrous said that despite the pursuit occurring before sunrise — starting at 5:00 a.m. and ending shortly before 5:30 a.m. — “There was enough light for footage to be visible and reviewed.”
Prosecutor Watrous said that while Woodson, 56, of Chesterfield, was outrunning police on Rts. 360 and 153 at speeds in excess of 100 mph, several times he “extended what appeared to law enforcement to be a black handgun out of the vehicle’s window in the direction of law enforcement.”
MASSIVE POLICE RESPONSE — AUGUST 16, 2025 This was the scene shortly after sunrise Saturday morning, Aug. 16th, 2025, on Rt. 460 east at the intersection of Rt. 153, after a high speed police pursuit and shooting of suspect, whom authorities this week say was armed with handgun and had appeared to be pointing it at them during the chase and after he wrecked — claims his sister strongly disputes.
Prosecutor Watrous’ “Summary of Facts” states that after Woodson crashed, “While still inside the truck, Woodson pointed an object which appeared to be a firearm out the driver’s side window toward law enforcement multiple times.”
DISPUTED BY SISTER Woodson’s sister, Tonia Robey of Fluvanna County, said “contrary to whether there was any criminal intent”, there are misleading statements in prosecutor Watrous’ statement. She said, for example, that the driver’s side window was up — not down — after the crash, “and a simple review of live news broadcasts that morning prove it.” Ms. Robey says she and other family members watched some of the footage alongside prosecutor Watrous and investigators. “He never stuck any part of his body outside of any window on his truck when it came to a stop. It was never even suggested that he had done that. It was blatantly clear to us, also, that he never stuck a body part or anything else out of any window of the truck while he was driving 108 mph down the road.” It was Ms. Robey who earlier this year revealed that a private autopsy indicated that her brother was shot eight times, with each deadly wound traveling back-to-front, suggesting he was shot from behind.
FLED ON FOOT Prosecutor Watrous says that Woodson exited the truck from the passenger’s side and fled on foot into the woods. She said all six law enforcement officers pursued Woodson into the woods and “repeatedly ordered him to drop the gun he was holding. Woodson continued running and ignored commands of law enforcement.” While Woodson was running, Ms. Watrous says, he “stumbled and fell to the ground. Woodson adjusted his position in the ground while facing law enforcement, extended his arms, and pointed a firearm directly at the officers.”
METH IN SYSTEM Ms. Watrous continued, “At that point, the five officers who had a clear line-of-sight discharged their weapons, fatally striking Woodson. A firearm was located near Woodson’s hand and was moved out of his potential reach by law enforcement. Officers attempted to provide medical aid; however, Woodson was pronounced deceased at the scene. Toxicology results later showed that Woodson had methamphetamine in his system.”
WHO SHOT DEPUTY? Deputy Chris Joyner was wounded in the hand as a result of gunfire. Prosecutor Watrous said that a review of all available evidence indicates that Woodson did not shoot the deputy. “The shooting injury of the deputy’s hand was unintentional. The law enforcement officers discharged their firearms only after Woodson pointed a firearm at them.” Woodson’s sister, Ms. Robey, said that Ms. Watrous and the investigators confirmed that the gun found near his body was unloaded and was not registered to him. Ms. Robey last year told
the Courier that she was contacted by a reliable source, who told her that a State Trooper’s weapon accidentally fired that morning, striking Joyner in the hand. If so, could that misfire have set-off a barage of gunfire at Woodson?
A review of court records shows that Woodson had a prior record — mostly traffic violaning tions and probation violations from more than 30 years ago. He was convicted in Chesterfield in 2024 on two counts of Drug Possession with all jail time suspended. He also has a misdemeanor conviction of Violating a Protective Order and prior Petty Larceny and Bad Check charges from the 1990s.
Ms. Robey said her brother on the morning in question was returning to a customer’s home to complete a construction project and that he was expected to arrive at 6:00 a.m.
Ms. Robey said her family expected to learn from Ms. Watrous and investigators exactly why her brother was pulled over at 5 a.m., but they didn’t.
Ms. Robey recalls, “An investigator read out loud a statement from an Amelia County Deputy, who claimed he was traveling in the opposite direction of Woodson’s truck around 5 a.m., and did a U-turn to follow him because ‘something felt off.’ He indicated that he followed the truck, passed the truck, and even turned down a side road before returning to Rt. 360 to follow the truck further. He stated that the truck eventually pulled into the gas station, which he thought ‘was odd’ — but he could not find any reason to pull the truck over.
Ms. Robey added, “The Amelia Deputy reportedly shared that information with a State Trooper in the area, who exchanged ‘Hello’s’ with Woodson at the gas pump before Woodson returned to his travels, and was later pulled-over by the Trooper.”
Ms. Robey said, “According to Ms. Watrous and the investigative team from BCI, their job was to investigate the shooting only and they ‘cannot speak for Amelia County Deputies or any other agency.’ They also said there is no video or audio available from agency cameras or otherwise, during that timeframe.”
‘FAR FROM OVER’ Ms. Robey takes strong exception with Ms. Watrous’ claim that her brother extended his arms toward police. “You know his arm was not extended,” she told Ms. Watrous in an email provided to the Courier-Record. “You saw the same thing we saw. Why would you say such a thing in a formal statement? You also conveniently failed to mention that Michael never fired his weapon and that his weapon was not loaded. There was no weapon pointed out of the truck window while driving 100+ mph down the road. Not one single officer appeared or sounded fearful for their lives. Why would you continue runfrontoffice@
toward someone who is causing you fear without taking cover?”
CAMERAS AT STORE Ms. Robey also said that investigators claimed there was no video camera footage at a BP station near the initial traffic stop in the Jetersville area of Amelia. “But they do in fact have cameras, and the employees confirmed they are all in working condition. This challenges the credibility of what we heard today — the untruths put quite the spin on things.” Ms. Robey says she believes “there’s an underlying reason for the investigators and Commonwealth to fabricate parts of the story.” Ms. Robey says body cam footage suggests that Deputy Joyner’s weapon fired first — after the deputy standing behind him tripped — and it was that blast that caused the barrage of gunfire at her brother, who was on the ground, as well as Deputy Joyner’s own injury.
UNANSWERED Prosecutor Watrous declined to answer several Courier-Record follow-up questions, including: How many shots total were fired at Woodson? What make and caliber of gun did Mr.
Woodson have in his possession? To whom did it belong? How many bullets struck Mr. Woodson? Was Mr. Woodson shot in the back as his sister claimed a private autopsy concluded? Was the Nottoway Deputy shot in the hand by another officer, or did the Nottoway Deputy’s own gun misfire and wound his hand?
FIRST IN 46 YEARS The fatal Aug. 16th, 2025 incident was the first time a law enforcement officer had killed a suspect in Nottoway County since September 1979 — when a Crewe officer fatally shot a shoplifting suspect who pointed a gun and fired a shot at one of two officers trying to detain him. Efforts to determine the last time an on-duty officer in Nottoway County was wounded by gunfire — prior to Deputy Joyner last August — have been unsuccessful. On Nov, 28, 1936, Town of Burkeville Sgt. L. D. Cole, 48, was shot and killed while pursuing two subjects on First Street near Agnew Street. One of the suspects also was killed, and the gun used to kill Sgt. Cole had been used two years earlier in the murder of a restaurant owner.
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