Parents of young chef slain outside Richmond train station offer reward for justice

RICHMOND, Va (WRIC) — The parents of a 23-year-old gunned down outside Richmond’s Main Street train station are offering a $3,500 cash reward leading to a conviction of their son’s killer.

The suspect, seen casually walking away from the crime scene in the early morning hours of May 21, was seen in security video wearing a light-colored t-shirt, pants, sneakers and a baseball hat as Xavier Brown lay lifeless yards away.

Brown’s mother LaTasha Dodson said her son, a young chef, had just left a nightclub where he had been helping cater, and was found “only a few feet from his [parked] car.”

“He had goals and dreams and aspirations,” Dodson told 8News Tuesday. “He was determined to be, as he would say, the best chef in the 804. Those are his words.”

Circumstances of how the tragedy unfolded are unconfirmed, but police hope the security video may crack the case open.

Visibly holding back emotion during an interview with 8News, Brown’s father, Andre Brown, believes that if someone is holding back crucial information, they’re also culpable of wrongdoing.

“I hold them equally responsible as the person who pulled that trigger, to sit back and not say anything, to not come forward,” he said. “It’s just as equivalent, equivalently bad.”

Richmond Police Spokesperson James Mercante described why the video of the suspect could advance the case, saying, “just the way the person walks, and the way he holds himself, someone can say, ‘I know who that is,’ and detectives want to hear from that person.“

Anyone with information is asked to contact Major Crimes Detective M. Gouldman at 804-646-3915 or Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000.

Meanwhile, Brown’s family is working to start a culinary scholarship in his honor – another family hit with the terror of gun violence in Richmond, wanting to ensure his young life is not forgotten.