
DATE: Friday, July 11, 1997                 TAG: 9707110643

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ANGELITA PLEMMER AND JANIE BRYANT, STAFF WRITERS

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: 81 lines

TWO CHARGED IN BASKETBALL-COURT SLAYING

A 23-year-old man and his teen-age brother were arrested and charged Wednesday with the fatal shooting of a teen-ager after a dispute over a basketball game last month.

Anthony Lamaine Hill and Elliott Hill, 15, are charged with first-degree murder in the death of 19-year-old Michael L. Hedge. He was shot several times with a 9mm handgun on the basketball court behind Simonsdale Elementary School on June 15.

Debra Miller, Hedge's mother, said police called her around midnight Wednesday with news of the arrest. Earlier that day, Miller made fliers that she and friends were going to distribute in the hope that someone with information would come forward.

``I'm glad they have them, but then I go right back to the reality that . .

During an interview at the Portsmouth City Jail on Thursday, Anthony Hill denied shooting Hedge. Hill said he was at a block party in Prentis Park with his 3-year-old daughter at the time of the slaying.

``I did not kill Michael,'' said Hill, who added that he did not know Hedge. ``They've got the wrong guy, and the shooter is still out there.''

Hill, who lives with his motherand brother, said hundreds of people fit the description of him and his brother.

Anthony Hill, who according to court records has been convicted of marijuana possession, several minor traffic offenses and a weapons offense, said he does not have a violent criminal history. He has no felony convictions.

``I'm not a violent person,'' Hill said. ``I didn't commit this murder.''

According to one witness, four strangers came to the basketball court on the evening of the shooting. Two appeared to be 14 or 15, the others slightly older. They came in a small black car with a sunroof.

Amber Whittaker, a police spokeswoman, said authorities arrested Anthony Hill at the intersection of Deep Creek Boulevard and Elliott Avenue in Fairwood Homes. Elliott Hill was arrested shortly afterward at his mother's home in the 2800 block of Shady Lane.

Police have released few details concerning what led to the arrests, but court documents show police have also charged Anthony Hill with possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm with drugs, and possession of stolen goods. Police found cocaine and a gun inside the Shady Lane home.

Anthony Hill is being held in the Portsmouth City Jail without bond, and Elliott Hill is being held in Tidewater Detention Home, according to Lt. Sherry Welch of the Criminal Investigations Unit.

``The investigation will continue until we know that we have any and all parties that were involved,'' she said.

Residents of the middle-class neighborhood located near a park and golf course were stunned by the violence.

Since the shooting, a neighborhood watch has begun, and meetings drawing residents from several surrounding communities have addressed safety in the recreational area.

Earlier this week, residents and friends of the Hedge family came to a City Council meeting, divided on the issue of whether lights and a telephone booth would enhance safety or encourage crime.

Karen Jordan, president of the Simonsdale Civic Club, said residents were relieved to hear of an arrest.

``I was nervous and I was concerned, but I still had confidence in the Police Department,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by Beth Bergman/The Virginian-Pilot

Anthony L. Hill, who is being held at the Portsmouth City Jail, says

that he's innocent and that he did not know the victim.

Graphic

THE SUSPECTS

Anthony L. Hill, 23, right, and his brother Elliott Hill, 15, are

charged in the shooting of Michael L. Hedge after a dispute over a

basketball game last month in Portsmouth.

NEIGHBORHOOD ACTION

Since the shooting, a neighborhood watch has drawn residents from

several surrounding communities to address safety in recreational

areas.

Police are continuing the investigation. KEYWORDS: SHOOTING MURDER ARREST