On June 14, 2020 at 8:30 pm deputies with the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office responded to the area of Whelan Ridge Estates, a private subdivision.
Five individuals were waiting for law enforcement at the beginning of the subdivision. During the investigation, it was determined the men had pulled off into the subdivision which is posted “Private Road No Trespassing”. The men stated they did not see the sign when entering the subdivision and drove to the area of the 5500 block of Whelan Way.
It was there they were confronted by a man who was later identified as Dennis Lee Berry. Dennis, while standing on his property began pointing an AR15 rifle at the subjects stating that they were trespassing. Both Dennis and at least one of the individuals called into Emergency Communications for law enforcement to respond. Upon the deputies arrival, the group of men waited at the beginning of the subdivision for Law Enforcement. Both Berry and the group of individuals recorded the interaction.
Dennis was subsequently arrested for Brandishing a firearm. He was taken to the Magistrate’s Office where he was released on a $5000.00 unsecured bond. The rifle was seized as evidence in the case.
Brandon Foster, a biker who took this video said on Facebook, “I was the one that recorded the video. First and foremost, I want to say thank you to the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office for their handling of the situation. They handled the situation admirably in every way. They were professional and thorough. We were on a road that was private and it did have a no trespassing sign at the beginning that we did not see. 3 of the 5 of us grew up in a home in the neighborhood and we were driving/riding by so they could see their old home. We stopped at the end in the cul-de-sac to plan our route home and to stretch. We were there for a few minutes. The video that has been seen was started after he walked the entire length of his driveway with the weapon at the ready position. We were honestly just surprised and shocked on why we would be staring down the barrel of a weapon. The video ends as dispatch told us to leave if we could without risking our safety and meet the deputies at the end of the street which we did. We want to make it clear that we DO NOT condone any violence towards the suspect or his family. We do want justice served, but in the right way. We put the video out because we wanted people to see our story on what happened to us. Again, thank you to the Spotsylvania Sherriff’s Office for everything!”
