The increased patrols come after a drive-by shooting in unincorporated North Richmond Monday that killed 22-year-old Orlando Yancy and a shooting in central Richmond Wednesday morning that left 27-year-old Richmond resident Donald Washington dead, Lt. Bisa French said.
French said Richmond residents can expect a heightened police presence in some neighborhoods through the weekend, if not longer.
Richmond police are working with the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office, which has jurisdiction over North Richmond, to investigate whether the two slayings are related, since North and Central Richmond are home to long-time rival gangs, French said.
"We haven't definitively tied (the shootings) together," she said.
Washington's murder marks Richmond's eighth homicide this year, while Yancy's death is the second murder reported in North Richmond in 2012, according to police.
No suspects have been found in either of the murders.
