Chesapeake Delivery Driver Will Not Be Charged After Man Blocked His Vehicle In, Attacked Him, Then Came Back With a Knife
A delivery driver who fatally shot a man that police say blocked in his vehicle, assaulted him, and then returned armed with a knife will not face criminal charges, the Chesapeake Police Department announced.
Officers were sent to the 1300 block of Teresa Drive on August 25, 2026, at approximately 2:51 p.m. for a report of an injured person, according to the department. They found an adult male who had been shot. He died from his injuries. Police later identified him as 37-year-old Kenneth Lee Baum Jr. of Chesapeake.
Detectives pieced the sequence together through witness interviews and video evidence. The department says a delivery driver was making a delivery to a residence on Teresa Drive, and that as the driver was leaving, Baum blocked the driver’s vehicle in the street. A verbal altercation followed. Police say it escalated when Baum began physically assaulting the delivery driver.
Then Baum armed himself with a knife. He reengaged the driver. Police say he threatened the driver with serious bodily harm while holding it. The driver fired his handgun, striking him. Officers recovered the knife at the scene.
The release says the driver left the immediate area and then contacted police to report the incident. Leaving a scene is not the problem people assume it is. If you still fear for your safety, you can get clear of it, and what matters is that you call police as soon as you reach somewhere safe. That is what this driver did. Calling it in himself put his account in front of detectives early instead of leaving them with an unidentified shooter to hunt. Investigators then had witness statements and video to measure that account against, and it held up.
Officers were sent to the 1300 block of Teresa Drive on August 25, 2026, at approximately 2:51 p.m. for a report of an injured person, according to the department. They found an adult male who had been shot. He died from his injuries. Police later identified him as 37-year-old Kenneth Lee Baum Jr. of Chesapeake.
Detectives pieced the sequence together through witness interviews and video evidence. The department says a delivery driver was making a delivery to a residence on Teresa Drive, and that as the driver was leaving, Baum blocked the driver’s vehicle in the street. A verbal altercation followed. Police say it escalated when Baum began physically assaulting the delivery driver.
Then Baum armed himself with a knife. He reengaged the driver. Police say he threatened the driver with serious bodily harm while holding it. The driver fired his handgun, striking him. Officers recovered the knife at the scene.
The release says the driver left the immediate area and then contacted police to report the incident. Leaving a scene is not the problem people assume it is. If you still fear for your safety, you can get clear of it, and what matters is that you call police as soon as you reach somewhere safe. That is what this driver did. Calling it in himself put his account in front of detectives early instead of leaving them with an unidentified shooter to hunt. Investigators then had witness statements and video to measure that account against, and it held up.
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