The Shadow
Members of the Covington Police Department and the family of the late Steven Seams, along with residents of the 300 block of Walnut Street, held a community meeting Wednesday evening.
The community meeting took place after Seams was stabbed early Saturday morning and a suspicious fire occurred at 323 E. Walnut St. on Tuesday.
Seams died Saturday afternoon at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital and James Bryant, who is being held at the Alleghany Regional Jail, has been charged with first-degree murder in Seams’ death.
Bryant’s residence on Walnut Street was burned Tuesday night in a fire that local police officials have labeled as suspicious.
According to Covington Police Chief J.B. Broughman, several topics were discussed Wednesday night, including increased communication and mutual respect, as well the reason behind a quicker response time for the fire call on Tuesday than for the call on Saturday morning.
“Patrol officers were already in the 300 block of Walnut Street when the arson incident began,” Broughman said in a press release this morning. “On the Saturday incident, officers responded to the call for help in just over a minute.”
Broughman also said that other issues discussed during the meeting included medical training for police officers as first responders, the basic steps in the court process and future meetings.
Both the murder and the arson incident remain under investigation.
Anyone who might have seen any unusual activity or have information related to this incident is asked to contact Detective Sergeant Kenneth Duncan of the Covington Police Department at 965-6332, the Emergency Dispatch Center at 965-6333, or by e-mail at kduncan@covington.va.us.
