Burlington man arrested in downtown stabbing that left 23-year-old dead
Burlington Police arrested Von C. Simmonds, 40, on Thursday on the suspicion of murdering 23-year-old Abubakar Sharrif early Sunday in a stabbing incident.
Simmonds was arraigned Friday morning and pleaded not guilty. His attorney Josh O'Hara said via email he had no comment.
Earlier coverage:Burlington police investigate stabbing death, the year's 5th killing
The stabbing took place inside Peisanos, a pizzeria on Main Street between Honey Road and Muddy Waters, around 3 a.m. According to police reports based off interviews with witnesses and security camera footage, Sharrif was trying to break up a physical fight between other men in their twenties that he knew when Simmonds got involved, took a 7-8 inch kitchen knife from behind the restaurant's counter and stabbed Sharrif in the chest. The knife went through his lung and severed the left ventricle of his heart which caused his death, according to assistant medical examiner Sarah Mariani. Sharrif had shallow breathing and did not have a pulse when police reached him.
Police say the Sunday incident was the fifth homicide in Burlington this year.
Acting Chief Jon Murad of the Burlington Police Department expressed condolences to Sharrif's loved ones in a press conference Friday.
"Nothing we do here can bring back a lost loved one," he said. "All we can do is try to make certain that the person who does it faces justice, appropriate justice and that that hopefully sends a message to prevent these things from happening again."
Because of the late hour of the stabbing, downtown patrol officers who were stationed along Church Street for bar closings had already left the immediate vicinity of the incident. Murad said officers usually leave the Church Street area around 2:30 or 2:45 a.m. and then patrol the city in their cruisers. The City of Burlington is still offering to pay state troopers to work overtime shifts to help patrol downtown during bar closings but Murad said not many troopers have taken the city up on the opportunity.
Murad said that police currently believe Simmonds was not involved in the initial fight that broke out between the young men in Peisanos and was not associated with any of the young men. Simmonds also tried to hit the fighting men with a table and chairs before stabbing Sharrif according to police descriptions of the security camera footage. One of the men involved in the fight said he knew of Simmonds but said he did not know his name. Murad said police do not know why Simmonds got involved in the fight.
Police stated in the affidavit that Simmonds was on federal probation at the time of his arrest.
Police arrested Simmonds without incident at homeless shelter ANEW Place on North Street, where he lived according to Burlington Police. He is being held without bail at Northwest State Correctional Facility.
Contact Urban Change Reporter Lilly St. Angelo at lstangelo@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @lilly_st_ang
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Burlington crime: Police arrest man in relation to stabbing death
