Armed Individuals In Trucks Swarm Lee Circle & Run Over Bicycle

The evening started off with a rain soaked demonstration in the Carytown Kroger parking lot that headed west into the Windsor Farms neighborhood. Demonstrators paraded around the affluent community calling attention to the issues of racism, eviction and gentrification.

After having circled through that neighborhood the demonstration made its way east to Arthur Ashe Boulevard to Monument and then on to Broad Street where they marched east towards the VCU campus.  This march was largely a peaceful event with no arrests or significant clashes taking place. By 11:45 PM the march dispersed and some activists remained in the Lee Circle area.

At 12:25 AM Richmond Police made a routine visit to the circle and requested that demonstrators move their vehicles that were unlawfully parked around the perimeter. According to reports the remaining participants complied without incident, cars were relocated and police left the immediate area.

Around 12:54 AM several pickup trucks arrived at Lee Circle and began driving erratically while engaging verbally with the demonstrators around the monument. Shortly thereafter tempers flared and the situation escalated with a truck jumping onto the curb and knocking a cyclist over. The individual’s bicycle was crushed by the truck. All three trucks fled the scene at a high rate of speed. Nearby law enforcement observed the commotion and engaged in a search for the suspect vehicles.

The victim whose bike was run over refused medical treatment but fire & EMS were brought to the scene anyways.

By 1 AM Richmond Police had stopped a truck on the 2700 block of Hanover Ave and detained the driver. Witnesses observed the driver and passengers wearing tactical vests and carrying ammunition and zip cuffs.

Law enforcement located the two other suspect trucks on the Huguenot Bridge and on Three Chopt Rd near University of Richmond.

Through their investigation of the suspect truck on Three Chopt Rd. police discovered the driver and passenger of this vehicle also equipped with tactical vests, ammunition and multiple weapons. After having detained the suspects police discovered one of the three individuals was a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

According to a statement from the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia:

Matthew Lee Frezza, 37, of Chesterfield, possessed an assault rifle and handgun during the course of a traffic stop during civil unrest. The incident started when Richmond Police Department (RPD) officers observed a caravan of three trucks driving recklessly in the vicinity of the Robert E. Lee Monument. Based on this reckless driving, RPD officers executed a traffic stop on one of the pickup trucks at the intersection of Old Mill Road and Boatwright Road in the city of Richmond. Upon approaching the truck, RPD officers observed three occupants inside, with an individual later identified as Frezza in the front passenger seat of the truck.  RPD officers further observed all three occupants of the truck armed with firearms, including assault rifles.

Based on the firearms and the vehicles prior presence at the Robert E. Lee Monument, RPD Officers requested the three occupants step out of the truck. As Frezza exited the truck, RPD officers took an assault rifle from his possession, removed a handgun and two clips from a holster on his thigh, and removed a ballistic vest from his body that contained six rifle magazines with ammunition. On the scene, RPD Officers determined that Frezza was a convicted felon and placed him under arrest. The firearm possessed by Frezza was a Taurus, Model G3, 9mm caliber, semi-automatic pistol. The assault rifle possessed by Frezza was later determined to be a homemade rifle without a serial number, which contained a loaded, high-capacity magazine.

Frezza pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison when sentenced on December 10.

Read More About This Incident:

• Virginia Public Media - Video: Driver Hits Person in Lee Circle With Truck, Leaves Scene
• CBS 6 - Man arrested after Lee monument incident indicted on gun charge
• NBC 12 - No bond for man charged in Lee monument incident
• Richmond Times Dispatch -RPD: Four guns seized, multiple people detained and one arrested after confrontation at Lee statue early Friday
• US Attorney Eastern District of Virginia - Convicted Felon Pleads Guilty to Possessing Firearms During Civil Unrest