A Halifax County Circuit Court jury on Monday convicted 18-year-old Jason Thomas Loftis of the ambush-style murder of Joseph McArthur Barnett in December 1999.
Loftis was additionally convicted of conspiracy to commit a felony (murder) and use of a firearm to commit a felony (murder).
Because Loftis was a juvenile at the time of the shooting, presiding Judge Charles L. McCormick III, and not the jury, will pronounce sentence during the March term of court, following a presentence report due at that time.
McCormick remanded Loftis to custody following the day-long trial.
Commonwealth's Attorney John Greenbacker chose last July not to prosecute similar charges against Michael David Moore, Loftis' alleged accomplice in the shotgun slaying, resulting in Moore's release.
One of the reasons given by Greenbacker for his refusal to further prosecute Moore's case was Loftis' resistance to suggestions that he turn state's evidence against Moore.
The day-long trial covered the majority of evidence addressed in Loftis' original trial on November 6, which resulted in a deadlocked jury.
Greenbacker again presented evidence that Loftis and Moore, former employees at the horse farm, harbored grudges against Barnett.
"It so happened Moore was having an affair with Andrea Sandel [Barnett's ex-girlfriend], said Greenbacker.
"Both were at the farm the day before the shooting. Moore felt Barnett didn't treat Sandel properly," said Greenbacker.
"Loftis thought Barnett had it in for him because Barnett thought Loftis came onto the property and stole an amount of marijuana from him."
Barnett, owner of a horse farm in Alton, was shot as he turned down his driveway in the early evening of December 15, 1999.
After being transported to Duke University Medical Center, Barnett died on Christmas Eve of complications from a shotgun wound to the head.
Prosecution evidence at the trial centered around a spent shotgun shell found at the crime scene and Loftis' own oral statement, given to sheriff's investigator C.A. Bates and Major Richard Pulliam on the day of his arrest, February 17 of last year.
Loftis had given and signed a previous statement minutes earlier in which he denied shooting Barnett, but, after hearing evidence implicating him in the shooting, gave a second oral statement in which he recounted the events that day as he recalled them.
The second statement was unsigned by Loftis.
According to that statement, Loftis and Moore, both armed with similar 12-gauge shotguns, went to Barnett's farm, where Moore spoke to Sandel, who told him that Barnett spoke of harming Loftis and his family.
The statement further read that Moore and Loftis took positions beside the driveway leading to the farm and waited for more than an hour for Barnett to arrive.
In recounting Loftis' oral statement, Greenbacker said that Moore attempted to fire first, but that his shotgun misfired. Loftis then raised his shotgun, and fired the shot that resulted in Barnett's fatal wound.
In an effort to hide evidence, the oral statement reads, Loftis and Moore then switched firing pins, with Moore filing the pin he received from Loftis' shotgun.
Greenbacker pointed to a spent shotgun shell, found at the crime scene the following morning, as further evidence implicating Loftis.
Loftis had earlier volunteered to fire a test shot for investigators from his shotgun.
Michael Ennis, firearms and toolmarks examiner for the FBI, testified that tests he performed proved that the spent shell from Loftis' test shot matched that of the spent shell found at the crime scene.
In defending Loftis, attorneys John B. Boatwright III and William T. Linka referred to the techniques and procedures used in the investigation of the crime as "sloppy."
Boatwright pointed out that the crime scene itself was unsecured overnight, with neither crime tape nor supervision bylaw enforcement.
According to the defense, there was really no way of indicating how long the shell could have been at the scene, and that there was no scientific way of matching the pellets inside a shotgun shell itself to the pellets recovered from Barnett.
The method of writing down statements as opposed to recording them also concerned the defense.
Boatwright doubted that Loftis, who, according to family members had a learning disability, could have adequately comprehended the second oral statement he gave that was written in longhand by Bates.
According to Boatwright, the prosecution took evidence at "face value," without further investigation to corroborate Loftis' confession.
"The investigation of murder stopped when the defendant made his statement," said Boatwright.
"Everything Boatwright says has merit if you don't believe the confession," said Greenbacker.
"Is he (Boatwright) saying both Bates and Pulliam didn't hear what they said they did?
"The commonwealth evidence is unrefuted. The defendant said he was at the scene. Is there anything that was said or heard here that refutes Loftis' confession?
"How much more can you ask of the commonwealth after a confession is made? The point is that he [Loftis] killed Barnett by lying in wait."

Coal supplies at Mecklenburg Cogeneration Facility at Clarksville have reached, perhaps, their lowest levels ever because of colder-than-normal weather conditions and several derailments of coal trains destined for the generating facility.
The most recent derailment occurred Sunday in sight of the power plant that is positioned on an 80-acre tract on the west bank of Buggs Island Lake. Four cars overturned near Russell Stover Candies, while on Friday, near Jeffress Junction just east of the lake, two coal cars overturned.
Mecklenburg Cogen contracts with Norfolk-Southern Railway for the coal it burns in its two units that are capable of generating 132 megawatts of electricity (Clover Power in Halifax County has a generating capacity of 782 megawatts).
Mecklenburg Cogen sells electricity to Dominion Virginia Power and steam to nearby Burlington Industries.
While Norfolk-Southern has the coal contract and owns the railroad, it only delivers the coal from the mines to Burkeville where Virginia Southern Railway, a "short line carrier," takes over and makes the 55-mile run into Clarksville.
Virginia Southern Railway spokesman Ed Thum said that the cars were uprighted and the coal recovered but deliveries to the cogen plant were delayed during the process. Shipments to the power plant have now been increased to 36 cars per day.
The Clarksville cogen plant normally receives between 250 to 300 carloads of coal a month in order to meets its peak demand of approximately 1,400 tons of coal-per-day.
Rail conditions along the 55-mile corridor are "pretty good" according to Thum, who admits that repairs and upgrades on approximately five miles of track near Clarksville are needed. Officials say that rails in this section are of lower grade.
Both cogen and railroad officials blame cold weather for most of the problems surrounding coal deliveries. Frozen coal is both difficult to load and unload.
Mecklenburg Cogen manager Glen Burney said that even after some coal cars are dumped, frozen lumps of coal must be crushed by a rubber-tired loader before it will fall through the steel grids that prevent workers from accidentally falling into coal crushers.
Fossil-fuel plants in colder regions of the country have thawing sheds for frozen coal, but in warmer areas such as Clarksville, cold weather doesn't normally cause such a problem.
Norfolk-Southern Corporation's Director of Coal Marketing Jim Hamilton prefers to define current problems surrounding coal demands and delivers as "typical" during cold weather. As for Virginia Southern Railway's recent problems, Hamilton simply notes, "derailments happen...it's part of the business."
Hamilton is more convinced that increased demand for coal and the consequent rising price of coal is impacting its availability. "Whoever is the highest bidder gets the coal," said the railroad official.
Coal that sold for $22 to $24 a ton last summer has soared to a recent high of $40 a ton. Much of the coal being mined in the Appalachians is being shipped into Canada. Hamilton said that Norfolk-Southern is told by the mining companies where the deliveries are to be made.
Coal customers, he said, are responsible for ordering "freeze-treated" coal that adds to its costs but speeds the unloading process. Norfolk-Southern, he said, currently has a surplus of coal cars and engines to handle the demand and that deliveries to Clover, Mayo and Hyco power plants are being made without major disruptions. "We like to make sure the lights keep coming on!"
Could the East and Northeast face the kinds of electricity shortages that Californians are now dealing with? Unlikely, said the coal-marketer who takes "comfort" in knowing that there is a very diverse energy supply in the Southeast, particularly, electricity. A 300-year supply of coal, still the cheapest method for producing electricity, and the ability to recover it provides the northeast with a definite advantage over other regions of the United States.

Supervisors quickly dispatched a proposal for semi-annual payment of real estate and personal property taxes to the "dead issue" heap during a joint meeting Monday night with the towns of South Boston and Halifax.
South Boston Mayor Glen Abernathy had asked the county to investigate semi-annual payments in early fall.
Before converting from city to town status, South Boston operated with semi-annual tax payments, and Abernathy told supervisors in November that some retail merchants and citizens had asked to return to that method as a convenience.
At the time, supervisors asked that town and county officials meet with the county treasurer and commissioner of the revenue to discuss semi-annual payments.
The officials met January 10, and Ted Daniel, South Boston manager, told supervisors Monday night that semi-annual tax billing could be utilized but that administrative costs would rise.
Also, with the car tax scheduled to be phased out, Daniel said that the group concluded there was no reason to pursue that semi-annual billing option.
"People I have talked to say it's pretty much a dead issue," said Joe Satterfield, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, of semi-annual tax payments.
"I am pretty well satisfied the way it is," said Supervisor R.E. "Dickie" Abbott. Referring to the car tax, Abbott said, "When you take the car tax away, I'm not sure it will not come back sooner or later."
"It doesn't sound like there are any benefits," said South Boston Councilman Coleman Speece.
County Treasurer Linda Foster told members of the joint session that the county gets its bills out early to let citizens know how much they owe.
She said that changing the system to semi-annual billing would cost more on the administrative side and that information would have to come to her earlier in order to continue early billing notification.
Daniel said that some 35 percent is paid by mortgage companies "so many citizens are paying monthly" into (tax) accounts.
Halifax Town Manager Robert Greene told joint members that the town initiated semi-annual payments last year. He said that residents can pay 50 percent in December and the remainder in June. "And if they pay it all, there is no penalty," he said.
The Halifax plan gives residents the option to delay a 50 percent payment for six months.
Supervisors also set the E-911 organizational meeting date for today at 5:45 p.m. in the Town of Halifax conference room.
In other business, South Boston and county officials agreed to have attorneys draw up the necessary documents to transfer a 100-foot strip of land in the Sinai Industrial Park from the town to county. The strip was mistakenly taken into the town during the town's boundary adjustment with the county, and owners have asked to have the boundary error set straight.
Several appointments were approved by supervisors during the Monday night session. Carolyn Blanks Slayton was named to the Improvement Council by Supervisor Tom West and Clark Graves was named to the Planning Commission by Page Wilkerson.

Patricia Ward, artistic director of the Moving Voices dance company in South Boston, and a leading authority on Isadora dance and philosophy, will take her company to Lynchburg this weekend to perform in the first of a series of lecture-demonstrations entitled Pioneers.
"This is the result of master classes taken with the Dance Theatre of Lynchburg last October," said Ward, an Isadora Duncan International Institute graduate.
The Pioneers Series will pay tribute to the individual artists who have shaped the foundation of American dance.
The series will begin with a tribute to Duncan and the beauty which surrounded her life's passions, and will be held downtown in the Dance Theatre of Lynchburg's Studio A at 722 Commerce Street, Friday and Saturday, at 8 p.m.
This event, sponsored in part by Lynchburg College, is free and open to the public.
"Isadora Duncan is termed the mother of modern dance," said Ward.
"She essentially was one who felt there was more to dance than just the strict, rigid, codified techniques, as seen in ballet.
"Ballet at the turn of the century was 'it,' as far as most people knew. She (Duncan) intuitively knew there was more to it than corset, tutu and ballet shoes."
According to Ward, Duncan was inspired by the freedom, flow and spontaneity of the natural world, including Greek motifs of beauty and attention to detail.
Ward can trace her dance lineage directly back to Duncan.
"There are several generations of Isadora Duncan people, referred to as the Isadorables," said Ward.
"Two of them were Anna and Irma, who in turn passed on the lineage to Hortense Koolisis, who passed it on to Jeanne Bresciani."
Ward is an Isadora Duncan International Institute graduate under Jeanne Bresciani, and through the institute she has been able to do the Isadora Duncan work in a direct style.
"There are many imitators who, to some degree, have a lineage. It's my feeling that our lineage is the most direct."
Ward also feels there's a dancer hidden in every one of us, waiting to be expressed, and that part of her mission with her company is to bring that expression to the surface.
"Moving Voices is a dance company that I created several years ago," said Ward.
"Under the company, I work with the Isadora Duncan modern dance and expressive movement idiom.
"My current thrust in Moving Voices lies toward the Isadora Duncan idiom."
Ward also leads the Isadora Duncan Repertoire and Dance Collective.
"Women presently in the collective have the opportunity to express themselves within the confines of the Duncan idiom, sharing choreographic styles, incorporating their backgrounds in modern and liturgical dance, the theatre and visual arts," said Ward.
"Everyone is not necessarily an 'Isadora Duncan' dancer in name only - a variety of artistic backgrounds come to the dance collective."
Ward, who also instructs yoga classes for wellness at her studio, shares Duncan's vision of nurturing children through dance, teaching the Isadora Duncan idiom to children ages 5 through 8 and 9 through 11 at her studio.
"Duncan desired to establish schools of dance for children throughout the world," said Ward.
"She thought if we were able to nurture the children through dance they'd grow up with an understanding of their value and place within the world."
The program this weekend in Lynchburg will begin with an introduction by Ward, "The Art and Life of Isadora Duncan," followed by Dance Theatre of Lynchburg students and the Isadora Duncan Repertoire Ensemble & Dance Collective.
The program will conclude with closing remarks by Ward entitled, "Reflections Upon the Duncan Tradition."

Sections of the Dan and Staunton rivers are identified in the Department of Environmental Quality's (DEQ) latest dirty-water report which indicates that more than 40 percent of river sections that Virginia monitors for pollution are impaired, up 13 percent in 1998.
The state agency defines "impaired" streams as thosethat aren't fit for such things as fishing and swimming.
Virginia has about 49,500 miles of rivers and streams and, according to the DEQ report, the polluted waters would stretch 3,770 miles. That's up from 2,200 in 1990 and 1,470 in 1996.
Increasingly, DEQ is addressing the role toxic pollutants play in reducing water quality. DEQ supports
programs to monitor, evaluate and alleviate toxic impact on aquatic life and human health.
The report describes programs, now in place, that assess toxicity in state waters. DEQ has increased the number of stations within the Ambient Water Quality Monitoring (AWQM) network where water column and sediment samples are collected for toxics analysis.
The Virginia Department of Health (VDH), Bureau of Toxic Substances has established six health
advisories, limiting consumption, and one restriction currently in effect for fish consumption in approximately
394 miles of the commonwealth's streams and waterways in which the Dan and Staunton rivers are named.
· A 50-mile fish consumption advisory, based on PCB contamination, was posted in July 1998
in the Roanoke River from Seneca Creek (Route 704 near Long Island) to a pipeline crossing
the Roanoke River adjacent to Route 803 in Halifax County and Route 633 in Charlotte County.
Also, a 29-mile segment was recently added to this advisory beginning at Altavista and
continuing upstream to the Leesville Dam.
· A 42-mile fish consumption advisory, based on PCB contamination, has been issued for the
Dan River from Kerr Reservoir at Staunton River State Park to southwestern Halifax County
where the river crosses into North Carolina, north of Route 62.
DEQ scientists have monitored more miles in the past, but now they are trying to study smaller areas more thoroughly.
Nationally, about 40 percent of waterways are polluted, the EPA says.

It was late in Friday night's game against E.C. Glass.
Halifax County had struggled all night.
The Comets had a six-point lead and the basketball. Coach Garrett Dillard called time-out and sat his players down.
It was an intense time-out. A time when he challenged his players to make the final three and a half minutes count.
"You have to challenge the players at different times," Dillard pointed out.
"I felt like we hadn't played well the whole night. I figured if we could go three and a half minutes and play well that would carry over to this week and give us something to feed off of."
"At the same time, with three and a half minutes to play we were only up six points," added Dillard.
"I knew those guys (E.C. Glass) had been making their shots and we hadn't played much defense. I knew they were not out of the ball game. I wanted our guys to step up so we could have something to feed off of this week."
The Comets did feed themselves on the challenge.
On the ensuing possession, Shamoni Faulkner hit his only basket of the night but it was a big one.
It lifted the Comets to an eight point lead.
Carleton Roach, who scored 13 points in the contest, nailed a big three-pointer with 2:16 left to put his team up by nine points and seal the game.
The Comets went on defeat the Hilltoppers 63-53 and put themselves in a tie for second place with Albemarle in the Western District standings.
Last Friday's district win over E.C. Glass was big in terms of the Western District race.
But it was also a big win in terms of the impact of what will be another big week for the Comets.
The Comets opened their week here last night with a game against Roanoke Valley District opponent William Fleming.
Fleming defeated the Comets 53-41 in Roanoke on December 12 in a game in which the Comets failed to play up to their capability.
Friday night the Comets will face their biggest test of the week as they square off against GW, the fifth-ranked team in the Associated Press Virginia Prep Poll, in a crucial Western District contest in Danville.
"We want to win as many ball games as we can win," said Dillard whose team is 8-5 overall and 1-1 in Western District play.
"Fleming is a tough opponent but Fleming is a mental, more so than physical, preparation for the GW game.
"If we can win that one, that's another one of those teams that will kind of get off of our back and give us some confidence going into Danville."
Halifax County has already equaled its win mark for the past two seasons, seasons in which Dillard's Comets teams recorded eight-win seasons.
A win last night would put the Comets over the top in that regard with six regular season games left on the schedule, only two of which are non-district games.
Dillard was optimistic that his team could defeat William Fleming and get the players' mindset on a positive level as the game against GW looms ahead this weekend.
"If you go to GW and you're not ready to play, you know what's going to happen," Dillard said.
"I expect us to be really ready to play when we go to Danville."

Other Comets Notes
Halifax County has placed its fortunes on its ability to shoot from the outside for much of the season.
A recent set of stats compiled by Dillard showed that entering last night's game against William Fleming, the Comets have canned 73 three-point baskets for the season.
In the last three games, the Comets have made a total of 28 three-point baskets.
The big highlight for the Comets in that regard was the January 12 Western District opener against Albemarle when Sterling Williams went on a big shooting binge and nailed a school record seven three-point baskets, four of them in the final 39 seconds of the game.
Halifax County finished the game with a total of 10 three-point baskets in that contest, a number that is also believed to be a school record for three-point field goals in a single game.
The Comets were only one three-pointer shy of that mark in last Friday's game against E.C. Glass with nine three-point baskets.
In other Comets stats: Heading into last Friday's game against E.C. Glass, Roach led the Comets in individual scoring average with 13.2 points per game.
Dashawn Baird followed with an average of 9.5 points per game, Williams was next at 8.8, Terez Garland was at 6.4, Teddy Bradley had a 6.3 points per game average, Shamoni Faulkner was at 5.8 and Dante Ballou was averaging 5.2 points per game among those players whose averages topped the five-point mark.
The team as a whole entered last Friday's game against E.C. Glass averaging 60.1 points per game.

Jesse Carroll White Sr., age 55, of 2704 Kerns Church Road, Sutherlin, died January 20 at his business on the South Boston Highway.
Mr. White was born March 4, 1945, in Danville, the son of Jesse Willard White and Alease Belcher White and was married to Linda Pritchett White. He had lived all his life in the Sutherlin community of Pittsylvania County and was educated in the county school system. He was founder and operator of White's Construction Company and of the Methodist Faith.
Survivors include his wife of the home; father of Sutherlin; three sons, Jesse Carroll (J.C.) White Jr., Sherman Lee White and Jamerson Willard White, all of Sutherlin; three sisters, Linda W. Barley of Danville, Betty W. Guerrant of Keeling and Kitty W. Stevens of Sutherlin; one brother, George Randall White of Sutherlin; and three grandsons, John Michael White, Austin Lee White and Colby Jamerson White. He was preceded in death by one brother, John Robert White.
A memorial service for Mr. White was held January 23 at 2 p.m. at Wrenn-Yeatts Westover Chapel in Danville with the Revs. Dale Proctor and Joe Bradford officiating.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Kerns Memorial United Methodist Church, 3172 Hackberry Road, Sutherlin 24594.

George Lee Betterton, age 62, of 1840 Halifax Road, Java, died January 20 at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.
Mr. Betterton was born in Halifax County on August 3, 1938, the son of Elmo Thornton Betterton and Berta Talbott Betterton. He was a member of Mulberry Baptist Church at Nathalie.
Survivors include one sister, Mae B. Yeatts of Java; three brothers, Wesley B. Betterton, David H. Betterton and Wayne G. Betterton, all of Nathalie. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by one brother, Roy T. Betterton.

A funeral service for Mr. Betterton was held January 23 at 2 p.m. at Mulberry Baptist Church with the Revs. Bob Watts and Jerry Jordan conducting the service. Burial was in the church cemetery.

Willie Edward Irby, age 73, formerly of Huell Matthews Highway, Alton, died January 21 in Halifax Regional Hospital. He had been a resident of The Woodview Nursing Home for 18 months.
Mr. Irby was the son of Luther Wharton and Lottie Smith Irby and was married to Mary Ruth Bowes Irby. He was a retired farmer and a member of Bethel Hill Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife of the home; three sons, Allen Irby of Roxboro, N.C., Walter Irby and David Irby, both of Alton; four daughters, Barbara Hutchins and Ann Rogers, both of Roxboro, Joyce Guill of South Boston and Mary Reagan of Cluster Springs; one brother, Bob Irby of Roxboro; four sisters, Dorothy Stone, Marion Whitfield and Helen Loftis, all of Roxboro and Alease McBrain of Silver Springs, Md; and nine grandchildren.
A funeral service for Mr. Irby will be held today, January 24 at 2 p.m. in Bethel Hill Baptist Church with the Revs. Billy Lynch and Jack Stewart conducting the service. Burial will be in the church cemetery.

Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Bethel Hill Baptist Church, c/o Robert Brooks, 156 Dorothy Brooks Lane, Roxboro, NC 27573, or the charity of one's choice.

Richard Arnold Dunkley, age 87, of Roxboro, N.C., died January 22 at his home.
Mr. Dunkley was born in Granville County, N.C. the son of Richard King and Etta Tuck Dunkley and was married to Ethel Eakes Dunkley. He was a retired farmer and an active member of Union United Church of Christ in Virgilina where he served as deacon for 58 years, church Sunday School treasurer for 28 years, and church secretary for 29 years.
Survivors include his wife of the home; two daughters, Louise D. Stowe and husband, Floyd of New Orleans, La. and Cathy D. Lowery and husband, Brian of Roxboro; one brother, Cleo A. Dunkley and one sister, Esther D. Perkins, both of Roxboro; four grandchildren, Chip Stowe, Rich Stowe, Daniel Lowery and Anna Lowery; and one great grandchild, Ashton Stowe.
A funeral service for Mr. Dunkley will be held at 11 a.m. today, January 24 at Union United Church of Christ with the Revs. Michael Wilburn and Bobby Whitfield officiating. Burial will be in the Virgilina Cemetery.

Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Union United Church of Christ, PO Box 148, Virgilina 24598, or a charity of one's choice.

Irene Talley Cole, age 82, of 3184 North Fork Church Road, Virgilina, died January 22 in Duke Medical Center.
Mrs. Cole was born in Halifax County on October 3, 1918, the daughter of Robert Talley and Victoria Cole Talley and was married to Ramon Cole. She was a member of Shady Grove United Methodist Church.
Funeral services will be held at Brooks Funeral Home Chapel today, January 24 at 2 p.m. with the Revs. Don Davidson and Fred Lowery conducting the service. Burial will follow in the Cole Family Cemetery, Virgilina.
Survivors of Mrs. Cole include two daughters, Shirley Owen of Virgilina and Linda Saunders of Roxboro, N.C.; one son, Doug Cole of South Boston; one sister, Frances Puckett of Oxford, N.C.; four brothers, Elmo Talley of Henderson, N.C., Oneal Talley of Virgilina, Lawrence Talley of Alton and Melvin Talley of South Boston; 11 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by one sister, Ruth Cole and two grandchildren, Nicole Saunders and Rhonda Owen.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Shady Grove United Methodist Church Building Fund.