The State Medical Examiner’s Office in Roanoke has confirmed to AFP the identity of the man who was shot by an Augusta County sheriff’s deputy Wednesday night west of Staunton.
Dustin Griffin, 42, was apparently the subject of an investigation by the Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit dating to this past October, though he was, according to a family member, unaware that he was the subject of an investigation until the attempt at service last night.
ICYMI
We learned this about Griffin not from authorities, but from the family member, who reached out to us this morning to ask us to look into the details of the shooting that took place at the home of another family member in the 800 block of Parkersburg Turnpike.
Griffin, we were told, was living with that family member.
Griffin had a lengthy rap sheet, dating back to 2012, from our review of the online Virginia court system database, but it appears his most recent issue with the criminal-justice system stemmed from an April 23, 2019, arrest on a drug-distribution charge.
According to the online court database, he was convicted in 2020 and sentenced to 10 years in prison, with eight years of that sentence suspended.
Since his release from prison on that charge, we find a speeding charge in 2022, an improper lane change charge in 2023, a failure to stop/yield charge in 2024, and then a vehicle registration charge from this past Oct. 25 that was due to be heard in Augusta County General District Court next week.
Getting back to what happened last night, per the reports that we received from the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office and Virginia State Police, three deputies assigned to the Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit showed up at the residence of the family member around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday night to serve an arrest warrant, we now know involving Dustin Griffin.
The wording of the press release from the sheriff’s office leaves a lot of room for interpretation as to what happened next:
“Augusta County Sheriff’s Office deputies were attempting to serve an arrest warrant on a suspect in the 800 block of Parkersburg Turnpike. When the deputies arrived, they encountered the wanted suspect, and a physical altercation occurred. A deputy was shot in the upper arm area during the altercation.”
There’s also room for interpretation on what happened from the release from the Virginia State Police:
“Preliminary information indicates three deputies assigned to the Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit were attempting to take a subject into custody when shots were fired. One deputy was struck in the arm and was transported by medical helicopter to the University of Virginia Medical Center for treatment.”
Per both releases, the deputy was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
As for how things went down, I’ll go ahead and say it:
- We don’t know the nature of the charge(s) against Griffin, though we can guess, given that we’re told that it was the Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit involved in the operation.
- It’s not being made clear in either release who fired the shot that injured the deputy.
The family member reached out to me to try to get answers, and to that end, we’ve put questions on what happened to the ACSO and the State Police, but no one is talking.
The sheriff’s office is deferring to the State Police, which has assumed primary responsibility for the investigation, at the request of Augusta County Sheriff Donald Smith.
The word from a VSP spokesperson, in response to our email inquiry:
“We have released everything we can at this time. Additional information will be released as it becomes available and appropriate for public dissemination. An updated release will be sent to all media via email.”
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Chris Graham
