Man arrested, suspected of multiple attacks on women around Richmond, Henrico

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - Police in Henrico and Richmond say they now have a person in custody, suspected of carrying out random attacks on women in their jurisdictions: one in Henrico, and three in Richmond.

37-year-old Marvin Maurice Moore was picked up by Henrico Police on Sept. 1 and is now facing charges of malicious wounding in Henrico. Richmond Police says he is also facing a malicious wounding charge in the city, but they are also seeking indictments for other assaults.

Richmond Police say the first attack occurred on July 21 around 3:45 p.m. on a GRTC Pulse bus showing the suspect sitting directly in front of a woman. In the video released by police, the man can be seen leaning back and elbowing a woman in her head and chest.

According to police, the suspect pretends he slipped and fell, then elbows the victim in the head a second time, then exits the bus.

Two more separate incidents occurred on Aug. 31.

Back in Richmond, Sgt. Baldwin says it was the Aug. 31 assault on the elderly woman that originally put the suspect on their radar.

“It’s not common. What caught our attention, originally, was the assault call that came out for the 75-year-old woman who was assaulted by the individual," he said

The first incident happened around 10:15 a.m. and shows an unknown elderly victim using a cane to cross East Broad Street at North 4th Street.

According to police, when the victim reaches the sidewalk, the suspect punches her in the face, knocking her to the ground. The suspect is seen walking away.

The second incident occurred on a GRTC Pulse bus on Aug. 31 at 12 p.m.

The security video shows a victim seated directly behind the suspect. Police say as the suspect rises from his seat and steps toward the back of the bus, he intentionally and forcefully strikes the victim in the head.

The suspect pretends to slip and then slips near the driver, according to police. The suspect eventually exited the bus.

Detectives say they have covered the victim’s face for their safety but would like her to come forward in regards to the incident.

“What we have is an individual, acting in some cases as if he’s falling and then striking, usually what we’ve seen so far, all females,” said Richmond Police Sgt. Charles Baldwin.

Moore was arrested by Henrico Police on Sept. 1, just a day after he is suspected of carrying out three of the four reported incidents.

On Aug. 31 around 11:30 a.m., police suspect that Moore threw a chair at a restaurant worker on West Broad Street, after getting upset over a drink order.

“Why would he do that?” asked Janet Harris, a Richmond woman who rides GRTC buses daily. Harris was concerned to see the seemingly random acts caught on camera.

“It’s getting dangerous here, really terrible," she adds.

Another daily rider, Joshua Parrish of Richmond, believes that the suspect chose specific targets who would likely not retaliate.

“The amount of disrespect that takes, to just lash out and just hit somebody like that - and it’s unexpected for them too. I had never seen anything like that before, and if I did, I would put a stop to that myself," Parrish said.

GRTC said in a statement that they are “actively cooperating with RPDs investigation regarding these assaults,” calling incidents like these “rare.”

Anyone with information or anyone who believes they had been a victim of an assault carried out by the suspect is asked to contact Richmond Police or Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000.

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