Jonah Leon Adams, 35, of Waldorf, Md., was arrested in Charles County, Md. on Friday, Nov. 18 on a fugitive from justice warrant related to the shooting deaths of his ex-girlfriend and her three children in Chester earlier that day. Officers from Charles County Sheriff’s Office and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were involved in the arrest. According to a release from the Chesterfield County Police Department, officers were called to the 4200 block of Laurel Oak Road, west of Hopkins Road in the Chester area, just before 5 a.m. on Nov. 18. Police entered the residence…
Browsing: Courts
A number of Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Circuit Court judges are up for six-year renewals, but one in particular was questioned by state Sen. Joe Morrissey (D) recently. He asked Lynn S. Brice, one of six circuit court judges serving Chesterfield, several questions during a joint Dec. 10 meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Courts of Justice Committee. Morrissey said Brice was “unfailingly polite” to him when he appeared before her as an attorney, but noted he received several complaints about her. A district court clerk in a small jurisdiction described her relationship with Brice as a “toxic work…
Reviews of current Chesterfield/Colonial Heights District Court Judge Pamela O’Berry were split when two committees from the state House and Senate met virtually on Friday, Dec. 11. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman John S. Edwards (D-Roanoke) said he had “never seen so many citizens in support and so many with a different position” about a judge. O’Berry, who has served 12 years on the court, is one of five judges on the 12th Judicial District. Positive opinions of the judge came from several well-known officials, including county supervisors James Holland (D) and Chris Winslow (R), state Del. Dolores McQuinn (D-Richmond) and…
Sen. Joe Morrissey
State Sen. Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond) is pleased with how a special legislative session is going so far. On Thursday, Sept. 10, Morrissey — who represents a portion of east Chesterfield — said he’s “very pleased with what we’ve been able to get done.” He noted that the Senate — which is meeting at the Science Museum of Virginia at 2500 W. Broad St. — approved his sentencing reform bill, SB5007, by a vote of 22-18 on Thursday, with one Republican, Bill Stanley, voting with Democrats. The legislation will enable a judge to administer sentencing upon request of a convicted defendant. …
To comply with COVID-19 social distancing rules, visitors will be screened before entering court buildings The Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office is implementing additional measures at the Chesterfield County General District Court, Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court and Circuit Court. The idea is to maintain social distancing to protect visitors and staff as the courts prepare to add more cases to its dockets over the coming weeks. Effective 8 a.m. Monday, May 18, all patrons entering the courthouse from the main entrance will be asked a series of COVID-19 screening questions and have their temperatures taken. This will happen at all three of…
Although eight of 10 members of Chesterfield County’s delegation in the General Assembly reached an apparent consensus in January on the nomination of a replacement for Circuit Court Judge T.J. Hauler, two state delegates who did not participate in the process may thwart the majority. According to a Feb. 24 report in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Dels. Dolores McQuinn (D-Richmond) and Lashrecse Aird (D-Petersburg) support two black persons for positions on the Chesterfield Circuit and Juvenile and Domestic Relations courts, Chesterfield General District Court Judge Pamela O’Berry and private attorney Curtis Hairston. McQuinn told the daily that she is “deeply concerned…
A former L.C. Bird football player was convicted by a federal jury on Oct. 28. Merrill Robertson Jr., 39, was convicted of mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 3. Robertson had been convicted of the same offenses in 2017 and sentenced to 40 years in prison, according to the daily. However, an appeals court ordered a new trial earlier this year because jurors weren’t questioned adequately about whether they had read a news story about the case. Robertson and business partner Sherman Carl Vaughn, 48,…
The Chesterfield Bar Association recently released the rankings of eight candidates who could fill the upcoming vacancy on the 12th Judicial Circuit Court District due to Judge T.J. Hauler’s retirement. Candidates were evaluated based on character, temperament, professional aptitude and experience. D. Gregory Carr and Jayne A. Pemberton were deemed “highly qualified” with 83 and 71 percent of the votes, respectively. Others who were deemed “qualified” include: Pamela O’Berry, Travis R. Williams, Reneen E. Hewlett, John F. Childrey, Barbara B. Cooke and Ernest W. Powell. The bar association requests that the state Legislature and Courts of Justice Committee continue to…
NicholsPhillingane Chesterfield Commonwealth’s Attorney Scott Miles said that the county is making some progress in reviewing police officers’ body camera video footage. That comes in spite of the county not receiving additional funding from the state for such in last or this year’s budgets. As part of the current budget for Fiscal Year 2019-2020, Miles notes that the county funded two additional paralegal positions and converted a part-time attorney position to full-time. The latter position was filled when the commonwealth attorney’s office hired Gabriela Phillingane, who started part-time Jan. 28 and was moved to full-time in April following funding approval…
Antwoine Durham Darrell A. Wilson Jr. Brendan O. Poole A 17-year-old North Chesterfield resident was recently indicted on a charge of first-degree murder, joining two other co-defendants who also face the same charge. Anayah Naree Daily was indicted by a grand jury May 20 in relation to the April 29, 2018, shooting death of Breland O. Poole, 19. The shooting occurred in the 4900 block of Burnt Oak Drive near Ivy Walk Apartments, north of Route 150 and west of Route 10, almost 4 miles south of Poole’s Richmond home. Antwoine J. Durham, 22, and Darrell A. Wilson, 25, were…