Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times

Officer R.A. Robinson, a member of the Roanoke Police Department since 2009, helped catch a suspect in October by chasing his car on foot for four blocks in Old Southwest. He has been named the city’s officer of the year.

Officer R.A. Robinson was steering his Dodge Charger on a freezing mid-January weeknight when his radio chirped with an alert of a burglary alarm sounding in south Roanoke.

He parked his Roanoke police cruiser on Crystal Spring Avenue and speed-walked two blocks to a house where he and other officers found the back door busted open.

In the life of an overnight patrol cop, there can be drunken crowds, neighbors worried about a sex offender next door and thieves looking to snatch from easy targets. But for Robinson, a 27-year-old proud of serving one of the region's busiest beats, his job is more about keeping peace than it is about pursuits.

"This is one of those few jobs where if you go to work and you do it well, you know it because you've helped someone," Robinson said. "I love my job."

Yet confront he will, if a robber shows his face.

Robinson grew up in Maryland wanting to be a teacher, studied music and history at Bridgewater College in Virginia and graduated in 2007. He wound up following the route of his grandfather, a retired cop, and was sworn in in Roanoke in 2009.

This month, Roanoke Mayor David Bowers recognized him as officer of the year, in part because he helped track a suspect with a lengthy criminal record. It was in a pursuit in October, just a few months after being assigned to a section of southwest Roanoke that includes the downtown and Mountain View neighborhoods. He was walking down Old Southwest's Janette Avenue when he heard gunfire.

He raced to the Sixth Street intersection, where he found a man on the ground and saw another man run behind a nearby apartment building and get into a silver-blue car.

Robinson, who likes to run after his 12-hour shifts, chased the car on foot, trailing up and down hills for four blocks until he saw it turn right on Walnut Avenue. He radioed his supervisor a description of the car, and ran back to Janette Avenue, where he found the fallen man, he said. The man was unhurt.

About six blocks away, a sergeant stopped the suspect vehicle and charged three men with robbery and other charges. The case was dismissed for two of them. Deonte Reshawn Coletraine, 24, of Roanoke is scheduled for trial in Roanoke Circuit Court on Feb. 27.

"Robinson is always out there," said his supervisor, Sgt. James Bowdell. "He knows when to be aggressive, and he knows when to help a lady cross the street."

On that recent frigid Wednesday night, Robinson started his 8 p.m.-to-8 a.m. shift with a daily patrol meeting, stopped into a 7-Eleven store where the clerk greeted him by name, and drove through Old Southwest, where a woman in an SUV who said she recognized him from seeing him on patrol asked him about a sex offender registered on her block and whether she should worry. He told her he would park his cruiser on her street while he processed paperwork.

About 10 p.m., he responded to the burglary in south Roanoke, where he and other officers found an alarm sounding in a house on Crystal Spring Avenue. They searched the house, and found no residents, Robinson said. They didn't find a burglar, and apparently nothing was taken.

"The alarm was so loud, it must have scared him," Robinson said, a pursuit unnecessary.

Overnight, Robinson filled out documents about his calls while sitting in his cruiser in Old Southwest. After 8 a.m., he changed out of his bulletproof vest, laced up his sneakers, and went for a run.