Man who killed state police special agent to avoid death sentence

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) - Travis Ball, the man accused of shooting and killing Virginia State Police Special Agent Mike Walter, will avoid the death sentence, the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney announced Thursday.

“Travis A. Ball entered an Alford plea to one count of capital murder,” the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney said in a press release.

An Alford plea means that a defendant admits that the prosecution has enough evidence to prove that he is guilty.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 11.

Ball previously waved his right to a speedy trial and had been scheduled for a trial in October in Walter’s death.

Walter was killed May 26, 2017, while he was in the 1900 block of Redd Street with a Richmond police officer. The officer and Walter had observed a silver Chevrolet Cobalt pull up to the curb. They pulled in behind the Cobalt and walked up to the car to start a conversation as part of a consensual encounter.

Special Agent Michael Walter died in Richmond in May 2017. (Source: Virginia State Police)

As the Richmond police officer was talking with the driver, Walter approached the passenger side where Ball was seated. Police say that within moments, a single shot rang out and Ball -- who is from Richmond -- was running from the car on foot.

The driver of the car remained at the scene and was detained by Richmond Police.

Ball remained on the run throughout the night and was later arrested at a residence at Northumberland.

According to the documents, a detective interviewed the driver of the vehicle that Ball was in when Walter was shot.

The document reveals that the driver “observed a scuffle between Ball and the special agent. [The driver] then noticed a gun in Ball’s hand near the agent’s head. [The driver] heard a gunshot and noticed the agent was down.”