DINWIDDIE COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) – A former Hopewell police officer has been arrested following a nearly 90-minute standoff with the state police in Dinwiddie County Wednesday.
Virginia State Police said 41-year-old Bobby CoPenny Jr., of the 5000 block of Moody Drive in Petersburg, was arrested after he holed up inside a home and refused to come out.
The standoff started around 11 a.m. when special agents with the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation tried to service an indictment on CoPenny.
Police said CoPenny barricaded himself inside the home and refused to come out when they tried to serve the warrant.
Virginia State Police said after successfully negotiating with CoPenny, he surrendered and was arrested without incident.
CoPenny was taken to the Dinwiddie County Jail for further processing and was held without bond pending his arraignment June 27 in the City of Hopewell Circuit Court.
The indictment comes after the Hopewell Police Department asked Virginia State Police to investigate an abduction allegation involving CoPenny.
The abduction occurred on January 13, 2012 in the 1500 block of Piper Square Drive involving an 18-year-old female. CoPenny was indicted on one felony count of abduction with the intent to defile by the grand jury on June 12, 2012.
“The Hopewell Police Department immediately responded and conducted a preliminary administrative investigation when informed of this allegation on January 17, 2012 involving CoPenny,” said Hopewell Police Chief John Keohane.
Virginia State Police said CoPenny was an officer with the Hopewell Police Department since 2003, but was suspended without pay on Jan. 26, 2012 — and later fired on Feb. 3, 2012 after policy violations.
Virginia State Police’s investigation into the incident is on-going.
