Kevin Devon Miller, 21, of Java, was found guilty yesterday of two counts of attempted capital murder after a bench trial in 10th District Circuit Court in Halifax.
Judge William L. Wellons also found Miller guilty of two counts of using a firearm while attempting capital murder, and single counts of possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony, brandishing a firearm and the possession of marijuana.
The firearm brandishing and marijuana convictions were misdemeanors.
The charges stemmed from a seven-hour standoff at the Hudson Motel on September 10, 1999.
South Boston police and Virginia State troopers, acting on a tip, attempted to serve felony warrants on an individual believed to be at the Hudson Motel.
The standoff began when the officers knocked on the door of the room occupied by Miller.
Miller was not the suspect identified in the warrants.
After the seven-hour confrontation, during which several shots were exchanged between Miller and law enforcement officers, Miller was persuaded to surrender by his minister, Dr. C. Lewis Motley, of Elkhorn Baptist Church.
Three handguns including a .9mm pistol, a .357 revolver and a .38 revolver, along with approximately 133 rounds of ammunition were recovered from Miller's motel room, according to law enforcement testimony.
According to commonwealth evidence, several shots were fired by Miller at law enforcement officers during the confrontation that started at 9:43 a.m. and ended around 4:30 p.m.
Defense attorney Buddy Ward attempted to strike the attempted capital murder and subsequent firearm charges.
"What we have here is a frightened young man," said Ward, adding that the entire situation was confusing and frightening, for both the officers outside and Miller inside.
Ward questioned commonwealth testimony concerning the direction of the shots fired by Miller as constituting an actual intent to kill, stating that Miller feared being killed himself.
"The gun (Miller's) wasn't pointed at the officer (Bishop). The round was fired into the vehicle beside the police car and not aimed at the officer," Ward said.
Assistant Commonwealth's attorney Petra Blanchard countered that the evidence was sufficient to prove attempted capital murder.
"The defendant knew that officers were outside and could have chosen to do many things when confronted," Blanchard said.
"He could have fired over his head or in the floor if he meant to frighten, but he didn't...he fired at the trooper."
In overruling the defense motion to strike the attempted capital murder charges, Wellons stated that intent was present in Miller's actions.
"The young man in the hotel room was asked to exit on a voluntary basis and did not do so," Wellons said.
"He showed early on he was willing to use what he had in a room that might be described as an armory of weapons.
"The officers were in contact with him many, many hours...he observed the officers, and knew where they were.
"There's no question bullets were fired through the door in the general direction of the officers."
Miller will remain in custody pending a presentence report in the September term of court.

It's Back!!!
Blue mold, found on three sides of Halifax County so far this season, has finally made inroads into the area with about 50 acres in the Alton area infected by the spore.
"The good news," said Extension Agent Larry McPeters, "is the spores found are ten days old and most of the infectious reproductive spores are dead."
But this is prime weather for blue mold to spread, he added, urging farmers to check their fields every couple of days and reporting any disease found so neighbors can be contacted.
The blue mold that was found had moved halfway up the stalk, he said and even as hardy as this year's crop is, will cause a decrease in both pounds and quality once the leaf hits the warehouse floor.
"A good crop can be hit hard," he said.
Blue mold likes the tall, thick plants that this year's rainy cool conditions have yielded, McPeters said.
Farmers need to top their crops early with, leaving about 18-20 leaves on the plants, he said.
And farmers need to get the primings off.
"We have an excellent crop of primings in the field," he said. "I hate for farmers to lose leaves that look good and will sell good at the warehouse."
If nothing else, priming sales will help pay on the fertilizer and chemical bill, he continued.
Both early topping and pulling the primings will help for better airflow through the fields, helping to keep the blue mold threat to a minimum, he said.
Tobacco mosaic virus has also threatened this year's crop, but the conditions that make blue mold a threat, help to keep mosaic at bay.
"These cool, moist conditions are helping to reduce the losses tobacco mosaic virus could cause," he said.
"The weather has been a true blessing in that regard," he continued.
"We will still have some losses, but no where near as great as it would have been if weather conditions had been similar to the last couple of years...hot and dry," he said.
Another advantage this year's weather has brought is an advance in the growth of the crop.
"We are way ahead of where we normally are this time of year," he said.
There should be little if any threat of farmers having to get tobacco in prior to the first frost.
"Everything is growing faster than normal," he said.
"We have a very good crop on the hill," McPeters continued. "I hope buyers realize that and bring good prices to the Virginia markets."

A rabid dog that bit its owner in Mt. Laurel and then walked to Saxe, where it attacked two more adults, has Health Department officials worried.
"The dog traveled a number of miles into Charlotte County," said Dr. Jeffrey Smith, the health director for the Southside District.
The brown, tan and white hound was wearing a collar, according to Dr. Smith.
"We are trying to get out the word to anyone in that area," emphasized the doctor. "There might have been people along the dog's route we don't know about. So, we are trying to alert people who might have had contact with it," he added.
One of the dog's Charlotte County victims lived near the Halifax County line. The second one lived near Saxe.
Health officials also worry that the dog could have had contact with other pets or wild animals.
The rabid dog became ill Thursday of last week, according to Dr. Smith, and died the following day.
A test for rabies returned positive. The three victims are taking rabies shots, according to Dr. Smith.
"The animal is infectious up to 10 days before it is obviously sick with rabies," warned the doctor. "We are concerned about people who might have been playing with or nipped by that dog. That would be back through July 10.
"We are hoping there are no additional human victims," he said.
Health officials are also hoping the disease was not spread among other animals.
Dr. Smith said the Health Department wanted to get the word out, warning people not to touch or bother in any way a stray or wild animal that is acting strangely, even a household pet.
"They should not be approached. They should be left alone and get a veterinarian's assistance," he emphasized.
He also said that the department is stressing that all cats and dogs be vaccinated against rabies.
"We are seeing a spillover from rabies in wild animals into household pets.
"We are recommending that people not feed their pets outdoors. Do not leave food dishes out because that also attracts wild animals. In that situation, wild animals can bite pets and spread (the disease) to them."
If anyone is exposed to a bite by an animal, Dr. Smith recommended the bite be washed vigorously with soap and water for several minutes or, if saliva is introduced into the eyes, nose or mouth, the doctor said to flush that area extensively and seek medical attention without delay.
In addition to saliva, Dr. Smith said there is concern about infection introduced through the animals' nervous system, citing the brain and spinal cord.
Particularly those hunting who might cut an animal's carcass. They are encouraged to wear gloves since rabies can be spread through the animal's brain or spinal cord tissue.
"Once the disease has started, it is almost always fatal in humans," emphasized Dr. Smith.
Prevention of exposure is the best policy but, if exposed, there are extremely effective shots available, the doctor said.
In Halifax County in 1999, there were seven rabid animals tested, three raccoons and four skunks, according to Dr. Smith.
"In 2000, through June, nine animals have tested positive for rabies: one cat, one dog, one fox, four raccoons and two skunks.
In Charlotte County, only one case of rabies had surfaced this year prior to the Mt. Laurel/Saxe incident, according to Dr. David Goodfriend, director of the Piedmont Health District. In that case, a bobcat was infected.

The Halifax County War Memorial Commission committee will not meet with the courthouse grounds committee today to discuss the memorial's design.
The meeting was proposed last week following a sometimes confrontational meeting between the two groups over the memorial's design.
"We (members of the War Commission ) met a couple of hours today," Carroll Thackston, chairman of the War Memorial Commission's Phase II fund-raiser, said yesterday.
"We took the position that the courthouse committee has our proposal," he said.
The retired major general said that it was the committee's feeling that there had been no specific direction from the courthouse grounds committee.
"We feel that the community would be better served if they come up with a design of the park, including the memorial.
" We would like to hear from them in 30 days as to their specific ideas as to what the memorial would look like. Then we will take it back to the full War Memorial Commission," he added.
Thackston said the commission's position is that it has presented "a proper war memorial that will be unique, one the community will be proud of.
"It was designed by a renowned designer," said Thackston. "This particular memorial was approved by the (local) VFW, the American Legion posts and the whole commission.
"We anxiously await hearing what they see as proper and fitting," added the fund-raising chairman.
The War Commission's representatives named to meet with the courthouse grounds committee yesterday includes all members of the commission's design committee. Design committee members include Larry Clark, Bob Cage, Jack Dunavant, David Myers, Mark Thackston and Richard Hall.
Those named by the courthouse grounds committee last week to meet with the War Commission's representatives were Robert Pottage, Jane Edmunds and Betty Bane.
Hall and the Vietnam Veterans Association have agreed to sell bricks bearing the name designated by the buyer as a major source of the remaining funding needed for the memorial, explained Thackston. He said that South Hill raised $30,000 selling similar bricks.
The War Commission has approximately $100,000 in its treasury now and seeks to raise an additional $50,000.

By CATHERINE WILSON
AP Business Writer
MIAMI (AP) - It took six years for a landmark case by sick Florida smokers to get from court filing to the all-time record jury award of $145 billion in a state civil trial. It took a clerk a few punches of a stamp to move the case to federal court.
The tobacco industry filed a notice of removal late Monday, automatically switching the entire case to U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro-Benages based on a union's attempt to get involved in the trial on the day of the verdict July 14.
The industry's intent was to get a more favorable hearing on the underlying legal issue of class certification, which let smokers group themselves together for the first time to fight Big Tobacco, said a source close to the case who spoke on condition of anonymity.
But anti-tobacco activists attacked the industry's push into federal court as a tactic worthy of fines.
''They get a lot of credit for imagination on this one,'' Northeastern University law professor Richard Daynard said Tuesday. ''I'm sure literally hundreds of lawyers were scratching their heads trying to figure out some way to get themselves out of this mess, so somebody somewhere gets a bonus for having thought this one up.''
Said tobacco litigation analyst Mary Aronson: ''This does not surprise me. This industry does whatever it can to stay afloat.''
Smokers' attorney Stanley Rosenblatt promised to fight and called the industry action ''just another desperate attempt to manipulate the system.''
Technically, the move to federal court means Ungaro-Benages would consider a 200-page motion also filed Monday to challenge the punitive damage award, the three jury verdicts against tobacco, the trial judge's handling of the case and class certification.
But Rosenblatt was expected to file a motion with Ungaro-Benages, who was assigned the case in a random selection method used by federal court clerk, to send the case back to Florida Circuit Judge Robert Kaye.
''In the normal course of events this would be tossed back with a nasty comment from the bench by the federal judge, but when the tobacco companies are involved sometimes weird things happen,'' said Daynard, who has advised attorneys suing the industry.
The nation's five biggest cigarette makers transferred the case based on a motion to intervene submitted in state court by the Southeastern Iron Workers health care plan.
The union argued some of its members were covered by the lawsuit and it should be allowed to join the case. Kaye rejected similar motions earlier this year. Attorneys in Houston and Miami who filed the union motion planned a conference call to discuss the development later Tuesday and had no immediate comment.
''As a result of the union motion, there were new federal issues injected into the case,'' said Mike York, an attorney for industry-leading Philip Morris Inc. ''That motion allowed us to seek to have those claims as well as other issues adjudicated by a federal court. Procedurally, it's in federal court subject to any orders of that court.''
The jury decided in July 1999 that the industry makes a deadly product, ordered the industry in April to pay $12.7 million in compensatory damages to three smokers representing the class and deliberated five hours before setting a record for a civil trial award.
The industry immediately expressed confidence that the entire case would be thrown out on appeal.
Some state officials worry that the verdict could endanger an industry commitment to pay them about $10 billion a year under tobacco lawsuit settlements reached in 1997 and 1998 with all 50 states.
The other defendants are R.J. Reynolds, Louisville-based Brown & Williamson, Lorillard, Liggett and the industry's defunct Council for Tobacco Research and Tobacco Institute.

Two local men have been found guilty of the theft of computer equipment from Boston Homes between December 28 and 29, 1999.
Robert Carroll Wilkerson, 32, of Scottsburg, was found guilty on Friday of breaking and entering in the nighttime and grand larceny in 10th District Circuit Court in Halifax.
Louis Acosta III, 20, of Scottsburg, was found guilty on Monday of breaking and entering in the nighttime, grand larceny and a misdemeanor charge of possessing alcohol under the age of 21.
Both convictions were the result of bench trials before Judge Charles L. McCormick III.
Among the items taken from the Halifax business were two Teramars color monitors, two Impact Media computers, two NEC Superscript printers, a Commodore computer monitor and one-half gallon of Jim Beam whiskey.
Wilkerson was ordered to be held without bond and Acosta was remanded to custody pending presentence reports in the September term of court.
· Silas William Barnette, 44, of South Boston, pleaded guilty on Friday to the possession of cocaine, and misdemeanor offenses of driving on a suspended/revoked license and reckless driving.
Judge Charles L. McCormick III sentenced Barnette to 12 months in prison for the cocaine possession and suspended Barnette's operator's license for one year.
The court additionally gave Barnette a suspended six-month sentence for the license offense and suspended all but 15 days of the reckless driving conviction for a total sentence of 12 months and 15 days.
The suspended sentences were on condition of Barnette's good behavior for six months.
· Shaunta Monchello Garrett, 19, of Nathalie, pleaded guilty on Friday to counts of breaking and entering in the daytime and petit larceny.
Garrett is free on bond pending a presentence report in the September term of court.
· Wesley Lamont Peters, 45, of South Boston, pleaded guilty on Friday to three counts of cocaine distribution.
Peters was remanded to custody pending a presentence report for the September term of court.
· George Mason Rogers, 47, of Richmond, was found guilty on Friday of three counts of cocaine distribution and one misdemeanor count of marijuana distribution.
Rogers is free on bond until presentencing during the September term of court.
· Edward Lynn Taylor, 38, of Danville, pleaded guilty on Friday to a felony hit and run, as well as misdemeanor offenses of driving with a suspended license and reckless driving.
Taylor is free on bond until a presentence report due in the September term of court.
· Herman Ryan Ewell, 44, of Crystal Hill, was found guilty on Monday of the possession of cocaine.
Ewell was allowed to remain free on bond until presentencing in the September term of court.
· Rodney Jones, 28, of South Boston, entered an Alford Plea of guilty on Monday to breaking and entering the Amoco Food Shop at Cluster Springs.
Under terms of the Alford Plea, Jones did not admit his guilt but realized the evidence against him was sufficient to find him guilty.
Jones was released under a $10,000 personal recognizance bond until presentencing in the September term of court.
Additionally, he will be under the supervision of Halifax-Pittsylvania Court Services until that time.
· Stevie Wayne Jones, 40, of South Boston, was found guilty on Monday of an amended indictment of malicious wounding, and also one count of robbery.
Jones was allowed to remain free on bond until a presentence report in the September term of court.
· Linard Junior Lambert, 31, of Saxe, entered an Alford Plea of guilty on Monday to one amended count of unlawful wounding and one count of breaking and entering.
During the same trial, Lambert entered an Alford Plea of guilty to one count of abduction.
Lambert was remanded to custody pending a presentence report due for the September term of court.
· David Howard Womack, 28, Halifax, entered an Alford Plea of guilty on Monday to possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute.
Womack will remain free on bond until presentencing in the September term of court.
· Shatner Devone Womack, 25, of Halifax, pleaded guilty on Monday to one count of possessing crack cocaine with the intent to distribute, and an amended count of misdemeanor obstruction of justice.
Womack is free on bond until a presentence report in the September term of court.

Jane Brown Scott, age 87, of 1020 Covered Bridge Trail, Virgilina, died July 25 at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mrs. Scott was born in Pittsylvania County on September 19, 1912, the daughter of James Madison Brown and Muse Simmons Brown and was married to Arthur A. Scott. She was a member of Buffalo Baptist Tabernacle where she was a past Sunday school teacher and Vacation Bible School director.
Survivors include one daughter, Margaret S. Cranford and husband, Clifton of Virgilina; five grandchildren, Kenneth A. Cranford of South Boston, Cheri Budzinski of South Boston, Janet L. Cranford of Youngsville, NC, Sheila Womack of Virgilina, and Alysia Mitchell of West Palm Beach, Fla.; and four great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by one son, Fred B. Scott.
Funeral services for Mrs. Scott will be held Thursday, July 27 at 2 p.m. at Buffalo Baptist Tabernacle with hte Rev. Chad Branche conducting the service. Burial will take place in Halifax Memorial Gardens.

The family will receive friends this evening, July 26 at Powell Funeral Home from 7:30 until 9:00 and other times at the home.