RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Both men arrested in connection with an alleged Fourth of July mass shooting plot in Richmond are expected in court Monday morning.
Rolman Balacarcel, 38, is scheduled for an arraignment tomorrow at the Manchester General District Court. He’s charged with possessing a gun as a non-United States citizen.
Balacarcel’s arraignment is planned for 9:05 a.m. and he’ll appear virtually in court.
The man he was living with, Julio Alvarado-Dubon, 52, is also facing charges for gun possession by a non-U.S. citizen.
His bond was set at $15,000 last week. He’s set to appear in a Richmond Circuit Court Monday morning, court records show.
Richmond police held a press conference Wednesday, July 6. Chief Gerald Smith said they were tipped off about an alleged mass shooting plot that was set to take place on Independence Day.
Police revealed it was their investigation that concluded that Dogwood Dell was the intended target of the alleged shooting plot.
Officers responded to Balacarcel and Alvarado-Dubon’s home and found several assault-style weapons and rounds of ammunition.
Alvarado-Dubon and Balacarcel– both originally from Guatemala– were taken into custody on July 1 and 5, according to Richmond police.
Alvarado-Dubon was arrested at a residence on Columbia Street in Richmond by police, while Balacarcel was taken into custody in Charlottesville and transported to the Charlottesville-Albemarle County Regional Jail.
At this time, neither man has been charged in connection with the alleged mass shooting plot. Chief Smith spoke about the help police received from other agencies in the investigation.
“The FBI was very important and very critical in this investigation because we had to be sure that the scope of the plan only included those who we were looking at and did not exceed that. In other words, we did not want to miss anything,” he said.
