Violent offender off the streets in Portsmouth with help from Operation Ceasefire

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — A violent offender is off the streets in Portsmouth thanks to the statewide initiative Operation Ceasefire, as 35-year-old Danny Collins is now serving time for having illegal guns and narcotics.

Previously: Man arrested for obstruction of justice, narcotic charges in Portsmouth

Operation Ceasefire was launched in late 2022 to tackle gun violence with rigorous prosecution and community prevention.

“We’re going to prosecute,” said Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares. “We’re going to hold you accountable. We set it up in 12 targeted cities that had particularly high levels of gun violence—Norfolk and Portsmouth are two of those 12 cities that we targeted.”

Miyares told 10 On Your Side that the initiative has already sparked 19 convictions and 81 pending indictments.

“Our goal is to go after those violent, repeat offenders,” Miyares said. “Multiple studies have shown that roughly 3% to 5% of felons are committing over 50% of the violent crime.”

The attorney general told 10 On Your Side that Collins was a repeat offender who was observed by federal agents selling illegal drugs from his vehicle. Portsmouth police found cocaine, crack cocaine, marijuana, two firearms — one of them loaded — and ammunition in his car.

“Tragically and almost too often, so much of the gun violence that is being driven right now is a connection to narcotics, people in the narcotics trade,” Miyares said.

Since participating in Operation Ceasefire, Portsmouth Mayor Shannon Glover said the city’s homicide numbers have gone down in the past year. In 2022, the city had 42 homicides. In 2023, there were 39.

“This is an all-in effort,” Glover said. “Everybody is responsible for helping to maintain safety and security in the city. If folks are not willing to change their habits and behaviors and want to continue to threaten folks in the community, removing them is critical.”

Glover is taking the statewide initiative one step further with the city’s own program, Portsmouth United, which just launched Tuesday.

Portsmouth United is a collaboration of federal, state and local resources to not only fight crime in the city, but give those who want help, the means to better themselves.

“Those grassroot organizations, those violence interrupters, our mental health professionals—all those folks are sitting down at the table bringing their best ideas and best practices to improve in the area of intervention and prevention,” Glover said.

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