A tip to the Halifax County Crimestoppers resulted in an arrest Sunday for last week's morphine theft from five Halifax County Rescue Squad vehicles.
Andrew Norman Epps, 20, of East Oak Hill Drive in South Boston was charged with three felony counts involving Wednesday's break-in and theft, according to Lt. Rick Loftis of the South Boston Police Department.
Epps, who is not a member of the rescue squad, was arrested at noon on Sunday. He was charged with breaking and entering; possession of a Schedule II controlled drug (morphine); and possession of a concealed weapon (nun chuckas) after previously having been convicted of a felony, Lt. Loftis said.
Additional charges against Epps are expected to be forthcoming, pending a completion of the investigation, Lt. Loftis added.
Epps, who was out on bond at the time of the latest incident, was scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday in the Halifax County Circuit Court on previous felony convictions.
No one else is believed to have been involved in the break-in and theft of morphine from the rescue squad vehicles, according to Lt. Loftis.
The case was investigated by SBPD Officer Patrick Murphy and Lt. Loftis, with assistance from SBPD Officers Stuart Comer and Investigator C.A. Bates of the Halifax County Sheriff's Department.
"We acted on the tip from the Crimestoppers' line and things were much like we were told," Lt. Loftis said. "This shows how important the Crimestoppers' line is in solving criminal cases."
Police converged on Epps' residence Sunday morning and made a search of his 1990 Chevrolet Beretta. They were also tipped off to a location of a barn on a farm off Rt. 832, near White Oak.
During a search of the barn, police found a shoe box which contained morphine and other items which were allegedly stolen from the rescue vans, according to the investigation.
At least one of the syringe packs had been used, though a more detailed accounting of the stolen items is still being conducted, Lt. Loftis pointed out.
A rolled-up dollar bill used for snorting, with Epps' name written at the end of the bill, was found inside a case that contained other paraphernalia, according to Lt. Loftis.
Epps has a long arrest record in addition to prior break-ins, including incidents of stalking, assault and battery, and failure to appear in court, according to court records.
One case involved the break-in and theft of a canister of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) from the dental office of Dr. Michelle Ah and Dr. Mark E. Blanchette at 420 Hamilton Boulevard. That break-in occurred on December 6, 1996.
Epps is currently being held in the Halifax County Jail pending his preliminary hearing in the Halifax County General District Court for the latest charges.
By JIM ABRAMS
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Brushing off an industry boycott and threats of lawsuits, both Clinton administration officials and members of Congress say they are confident they'll pass tough anti-tobacco legislation by the end of this year.
''We will get bipartisan legislation this year,'' Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala declared on Sunday. ''There's no question about it because it's about public health.''
Major tobacco companies last week announced they would not go along with tobacco legislation being debated in Congress, saying the original goal of reducing teen smoking had been subverted into a money grab that would drive the industry into bankruptcy.
Industry leaders stressed Sunday that they would unleash their huge lobbying power to stop the legislation and would go to court to challenge provisions that limit advertising of tobacco products and require companies to pay billions in penalties if teen smoking reduction goals aren't met.
''The first thing we would do, if the present legislation passes, is go to court and have it declared unconstitutional,'' tobacco industry attorney J. Philip Carlton said on ''Fox News Sunday.''
Carlton and other industry spokesmen raised the specter of organized crime and drug dealers running black market sales to teen-agers if Congress forces cigarette prices up and the possibility that the industry would move jobs overseas. ''You're talking about approximately 2 million American jobs,'' Carlton said.
But backers of legislation insisted they won't be deterred by the industry's withdrawal. ''We think they should come back, but no one is going to beg them,'' White House budget chief Franklin Raines said on ABC's ''This Week with Sam Donaldson and Cokie Roberts.'' ''Their position has lost its political support.''
''I'm optimistic that we can get this done by this summer,'' Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said on CBS' ''Face the Nation.''
The industry walkout came after McCain's Commerce Committee, by a 19-1 vote, approved a bill that would be much tougher on tobacco companies than the $368 billion accord reached with state attorneys general and health advocates last year.
The McCain legislation, which has been praised by the administration, would require the industry to pay $516 billion over 25 years for antismoking programs, would increase the cost of a pack of cigarettes by $1.10, would set a $6.5 billion annual liability cap but offer no immunity from future suits and would levy an annual $3.5 billion industry penalty if teen smoking goals are not met.
The House has moved slower on the issue, but Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., a leading advocate of tough antismoking measures, said he expects a strong bill because in an election year Republicans, long recipients of big contributions from the tobacco industry, don't want to appear pro-tobacco.
''I don't think they want that around their necks,'' he said on NBC's ''Meet the Press.'' ''Ultimately we are going to work in a bipartisan basis and get strong legislation and I don't think the tobacco companies are going to like it.''
Steven Parrish, senior vice president of Philip Morris, said on NBC that if President Clinton asked tobacco companies to attend a summit aimed at reaching a deal, ''obviously you would have to come.'' But, he added, ''I wonder if it is not too late for that.''
Shalala, also on NBC, said that with the administration and Congress now working well together on the issue, ''at this point we don't need a summit.''
With a consensus that some legislation will pass this year, officials argued over how to spend the estimated $65 billion in extra revenues over five years.
The administration has already targeted the money for health research, aid to tobacco farmers, and education and child care programs. Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, appearing on CNN's ''Late Edition,'' said it should go to making Medicare solvent.
House Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich, R-Ohio, on NBC, said House Republicans were ''committed to using any settlement money for tax relief.''
''Everybody ought to disabuse themselves of the notion that in the House we are going to take this money and use it either to fund either Bill Clinton's new programs or anybody else's new programs. We want tax relief with that money.''
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Clinton wants to hire more teachers and provide more day care. Minority lawmakers want black newspapers compensated for lost tobacco ads. Asbestos workers and veterans want some money, too, for their smoke-scarred lungs.
How about paying for strapped Social Security or Medicare as well?
The only thing the Senate tobacco bill says about how to spend $516 billion over 25 years is: ''To Be Determined On The Floor.'' Translation: open season.
To cigarette chieftains, who had agreed to an original $368 billion settlement of state smoking lawsuits, the measure has become a license for greedy Washington politicians to squander a brand-new pot of money.
''The amount has to be doubled or even tripled to pay for all sorts of new programs having nothing to do with kids smoking,'' said Steve Goldstone, chairman and chief executive officer of RJR Nabisco, the No. 2 cigarette maker. ''Just take a look at the president's budget submission this year and you get the idea.''
Indeed, President Clinton's proposed budget over five years envisions spending $7.3 billion to hire 100,000 new teachers and reduce class sizes, $7.5 billion for child care initiatives such as day care and $900 million for Medicaid children's services.
Last week in Kentucky, Clinton said the rationale for this spending was that it would make children's overall lives better - even if they weren't the young people targeted by cigarette makers in the past.
''I'm not trying to raise a bunch of money to raise money, or to raise the price of cigarettes,'' the president said. ''The goal is to make America's children healthier.''
But some Republicans disagree.
''The White House would use the tobacco money as its national piggy bank to use as seed money for a whole wish list of new spending programs,'' said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., chairman of the Budget Committee.
Sen. John McCain, the Commerce Committee chairman and lead sponsor of the bill, said there are enough challenges in paying state and federal health costs related to smoking without attaching more initiatives.
''I never supported such a thing,'' said McCain, R-Ariz. ''They are very extraneous.''
Clinton, however, is far from alone. Some veterans' groups want compensation because soldiers once were given cigarettes in their rations. Minority House members say blacks, Hispanics, American Indians and others have special needs that the original settlement ignored - including lost tobacco advertising in black newspapers.
Others seeking a share include tobacco farmers, consortiums that provide health care to blue-collar workers and asbestos workers who say smoking worsened their health problems. Even the NASCAR auto racing circuit is in line for money due to loss of the Winston sponsorship.
Democrats in the Senate have their own ideas, including $5 billion over five years for Social Security, $3 billion for Medicare and $22 billion for states to provide child care and health insurance.
The Republicans are a bit more restrained: their nonbinding budget resolution passed in the Senate reserves any tobacco proceeds to shore up Medicare without setting an exact amount.
Tobacco industry spokesman Scott Williams said Clinton's budget set a tone for Congress that the money floodgates were open to all, instead of adhering to spending guidelines in last summer's original deal.
''There was a balance of interests here,'' Williams said. ''Congress should not take it, throw it out completely and start anew.''
But Sen. Kent Conrad, lead author of the Democratic tobacco bill, said each spending proposal is aimed at repaying the overall cost to society from years of predatory tactics by the cigarette companies.
''They may say it's not related, but many of us here think it is,'' said Conrad, D-N.D. ''How we use that money in a democracy is up to the elected representatives of the people to decide.''
The tobacco companies, Conrad charged, are using the spending issue as a ''smokescreen'' to attack steep proposed increases in costs of cigarettes, curbs on advertising and other provisions of the Senate bill.
''They're just flailing around, looking to undermine any serious attempt to protect public health and reduce youth smoking,'' he said.
Some say it would be naive for tobacco companies to believe they could settle with a group of state attorneys general and expect Congress to turn a deaf ear to others who weren't at the negotiating table.
''They took care of two or three interests and they left out everybody else in America,'' said David Jewell, spokesman for organizations that provide health insurance for union workers. ''You can't do that.''
WASHINGTON (AP) - Allies in Congress backed away. The Supreme Court ruled against them. A Minnesota lawsuit threatens to reveal more embarrassing industry secrets. And public relations just got worse with the news that more teen-agers than ever are smoking.
Tobacco companies ended a yearlong attempt at compromise in the tobacco wars this week seemingly backed against a wall. Congress and President Clinton are pledging to press ahead with tough legislation.
But the industry has for 50 years successfully managed to kill almost every bill unfriendly to its interests, says John Coale, a Washington anti-tobacco attorney who helped to negotiate last summer's deal.
And the industry has a long record of winning court cases.
Indeed, if it loses its battle on Capitol Hill, legislation ''is going to be carried to court for being unconstitutional'' and will be tied up for years, asserts tobacco's top negotiator, J. Phil Carlton.
Congress is dismissing the threat, moving ahead with the legislation, and states say they'll simply speed their own anti-tobacco measures.
''Massachusetts does not need the tobacco industry's permission to crack down on illegal retail sales and advertising that endangers our school children,'' said Attorney General Scott Harshbarger. Massachusetts is one of the first states taking advantage of the federal impasse by announcing a push of unprecedented statewide curbs on tobacco marketing to minors.
''If the industry wants to play hardball, we'll play hardball,'' said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.
A year ago last week, tobacco companies sat down with state attorneys general and health officials to begin unprecedented truce talks aimed at settling 40 state lawsuits. The deal, signed in June, would have made tobacco companies curb marketing and pay $368 billion for the medical bills of sick smokers in return for significant legal protections - if Congress agreed.
But Congress, even lawmakers whom Big Tobacco had wooed with thousands of campaign contributions, got tougher.
The Senate is poised to consider legislation next month that would force tobacco companies to pay half a trillion dollars in penalties and fines for underage smoking without giving them, in turn, the full legal protection they wanted.
Tobacco companies could have simply worked to change the bill, but the bad publicity kept coming: The Supreme Court last week ordered them to reveal 200,000 pages of their most sensitive documents in a Minnesota lawsuit, and the government made the startling announcement that almost half of all teen-agers use tobacco.
With industry influence in crafting legislation ebbing, R.J. Reynolds led the industry Wednesday in saying the compromise was dead and promising to pour millions into killing any bill that survived.
''Everybody hopes that some rational proposition might emerge, but this is not some calculated'' political move, said tobacco spokesman Carlton. ''The hard line is there.''
After its announcement, the industry immediately began its fight against the legislation, placing full-page advertisements in many newspapers attempting to raise opposition with anti-tax arguments.
Clinton called the industry's change ''a huge mistake'' and said that with or without industry cooperation, ''I'm determined to get this done.''
Why does industry cooperation matter?
The bill does two things that health experts call vital to stopping some 3,000 teen-agers a day from beginning to smoke: It raises the price of cigarettes and it ends most advertising, including campaigns attractive to teens.
The bill as written needs companies' agreement to the marketing curbs in order to address tobacco company complaints that they have a First Amendment right to advertise.
In addition, the bill would fine tobacco companies billions of dollars if teen smoking didn't drop, possibly violating their Fifth Amendment rights of due process unless they agree to the conditions.
But there are plenty of constitutional options, said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the bill's author:
-Congress needs no one's permission to tax cigarettes, and could simply tax them until the industry found compromise more palatable.
-And the Food and Drug Administration already curbs the advertising of prescription drug makers. ''I believe that we could give the FDA the legal ability to severely restrict advertising'' by tobacco companies, too, McCain said.
Meanwhile, look for ''a state-by-state battle,'' said Massachusetts' Harshbarger, who hopes to have new regulations in place by late summer that ban most tobacco advertising near schools, crack down on stores selling tobacco to minors and even put health warnings on cigars.
Several alleged cases of domestic assault and battery were investigated last weekend by the Halifax County Sheriff's Department.
· Donald Watkins Vaughan, 39, of Scottsburg was arrested Saturday on a misdemeanor count of assault and battery of Wilma E. Vaughan, police said.
The alleged incident occurred Saturday. Vaughan was released on bond pending his trial in the Halifax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on April 14.
He was arrested by Deputy Q.W. Clark.
· Vernon V. Love, 21, of Nathalie was arrested Saturday on a misdemeanor count of assault and battery of Tracy Lynn Ryder, police said.
The alleged incident occurred Saturday. Love is currently being held in the Halifax County Jail pending his trial in the Halifax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on April 21.
He was arrested by Cpl. S.T. Moser.
· Melvin Kenneth Davis, 37, of Scottsburg was arrested Saturday on a misdemeanor count of assault and battery of Yolanda M. Davis, police said.
The alleged incident occurred Saturday. Davis is currently being held in the Halifax County Jail pending his trial in the Halifax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on April 29.
He was arrested by Deputy T.K. Redd.
· Gary D. Boyd, 32, of South Boston was arrested Saturday on a misdemeanor count of assault and battery of Eliza A. Boyd, police said.
The alleged incident occurred Saturday. Boyd was released on bond pending his trial in the Halifax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on April 29.
He was arrested by Deputy David Gibson.
· Ethan Brooks, 37, of Scottsburg was arrested Saturday on a felony count of unauthorized use of a 1987 Chevrolet owned by Sheila F. Brooks, police said.
The alleged incident occurred on March 19. Brooks was released on bond pending his trial in the Halifax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on April 29.
He was arrested by Deputy Gibson.
· Monica Y. Womack, 20, of Vernon Hill was arrested Sunday on a misdemeanor count of curse and abuse of Katherine Ballou, police said.
The alleged incident occurred on April 7. Womack was also served a capias for failure to provide by conditions of her jail release from a previous case.
Womack is currently being held in the Halifax County Jail pending her trial in the Halifax County General District Court on May 1.
She was arrested by Sgt. T.E. Logan.
A two-vehicle collision on Friday afternoon injured a South Boston woman, according to the Virginia State Police.
Mattie Thrower, 48, was injured when her 1994 Chevrolet Blazer was struck by a car which was unable to stop at a stop sign, police said.
The 4 p.m. incident occurred at the intersection of U.S. 501 and Rt. 744, just south of Riverdale, according to the investigation.
Nicholas Thaxton, 19, of South Boston was driving a 1990 Hyundai too fast on Rt. 744 when he came upon the stop sign and a car which had already stopped, police said.
Thaxton swerved around the stopped car and drove into U.S. 501, where his vehicle struck Thrower's northbound Blazer, according to the investigation.
Damages to the Hyundai were estimated at $3,000, while damages to the Blazer were estimated at $2,500, police said.
Charges are pending and the incident is still under investigation by Virginia State Trooper R.C. Compton.
The state police investigated another two-vehicle collision which happened Saturday morning on Rt. 737, just off Rt. 601.
Two fire department First Responders were answering a vehicle wreck call at 10 a.m., according to the investigation.
The exact location of the wreck was initially unknown, causing emergency personnel to drive along the roadways of the area to search for the wreck, police said.
During the search, a 1995 Ford truck driven by Charlie Owen, 35, of Virgilina had slowed down almost to a stop on the roadway near a sharp turn, police said.
It was struck from behind by a 1997 Ford truck driven by Christopher Canada, 19, of South Boston. Owen was injured.
Damages to Canada's vehicle were estimated at $1,000, while damages to Owen's vehicle were estimated at $2,000, police said. Canada was charged with reckless driving, while Owen was charged with stopping on a roadway, police said.
The incident was investigated by Virginia State Trooper C.M. Fleming.
Work is set to begin today on Route 501, Broad Street in South Boston, it was announced by VDOT.
The project will begin at the connection of Third Street and Broad, extend through several town streets and reconnect with US 501 near Halifax Regional Hospital. Some of the construction will take place on new location.
The Commonwealth Transportation Board awarded the $4,228,094.46 contract in March to APAC-Virginia Inc., Danville. The expected completion date of the project is December 1999.
For additional information about this project, contact the Halifax Residency Office of the Virginia Department of Transportation at (804) 476-6342.
John Howard Tucker of Vernon Hill died Saturday, April 4, 1998 at Halifax Regional Hospital at the age of 35.
Mr. Tucker was born in Lynchburg on March 7, 1963.
Survivors include a devoted companion Rosa Harris of Vernon Hill; one daughter, Dorothy Harris of Vernon Hill; one son, John Howard Harris of Vernon Hill; his mother, Sarah Tucker of South Boston; grandmother, Emma Tucker of South Boston; one sister, Venus Tucker of South Boston; five brothers, Rodney Tucker of Wilmington, DE, Christopher, Paul and Kenneth Tucker, all of South Boston, and Mark Tucker of Halifax; and other relatives and friends.
Funeral services for Mr. Tucker were held Saturday, April 11 at 2 p.m.
at New Mount Olive Holiness Church in Halifax with Rev. Leonia Palmer officiating.
Burial was in the church cemetery.
Henry Edward Moon, Sr., 78, of 2051 Pumping Hill Rd., Nathalie died Friday afternoon, April 10 at Halifax Regional Hospital. He was married for 55 years to his wife, Mildred Tribble Moon.
He was born in Pittsylvania County April 23, 1919, son of the late Floyd A. Moon and Alma Worsham Moon. He was a member of the First Baptist Church of Republican Grove where he served as a deacon for many years. He was a member of VFW Post # 8243 and the Hubbard Masonic Lodge # 312. He was an Army veteran of WWII and a retired farmer.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by one son, Henry Edward Moon, Jr. and his wife, Jodie F. of Archbold, Ohio; one daughter, June Moon Pritchett and her husband, Montie A. of Afton; four grandchildren, Bridget Lea Moon, Henry Edward Moon III, Alex Leo Moon, Buddy Charles Moon, all of Archbold; one brother, Frank Owen Moon of Phenix; and one sister, Janie Moon Waller of Nathalie. He was preceded in death by three sisters, Mary Moon Shortt, Florence Moon Stone, Eula Moon Nester; and four brothers, Alfred P. Moon Sr., Warren Moon Sr., Herbert A. Moon, and Oscar W. Moon.
A funeral service was conducted yesterday at the First Baptist Church of Republican Grove by the Rev. Shelton Miles and the Rev. Melvin Bradshaw. Burial took place in the church cemetery with Mason Rites at the grave.
The family will receive friends at the home.
Memorials may be made to the First Baptist Church of Republican Grove Building Fund.
Louis Pool Woltz of 11187 Bill Tuck Hwy., Buffalo Junction died Saturday, April 11 at his home. He was 74 years old.
Born April 13, 1923 in Halifax County, he was the son of the late Thomas A. Woltz and Lillian Pool Woltz and was married to Mildred Perkins Woltz.
An Army veteran, Mr. Woltz was a member of Aarons Creek Baptist Church, serving as a deacon and was the church clerk for 29 years. He was also a member of the Aarons Creek Ruritan Club, a founding member of Community National Bank, and charter member of the Midway Volunteer Fire Department.
Survivors include his wife, Mildred Perkins Woltz of Buffalo Junction; a daughter and son-in-law, Karen Woltz Mammosser and John D. Mammosser of Norfolk; and a brother, James W. Woltz of Buffalo Junction. He was preceded in death by one brother, Thomas H. Woltz.
A memorial service will be held at Aarons Creek Baptist Church today at 4 p.m. with the Rev. Richard Cooke officiating. Burial will be private.
Visitation will be at the home.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Aarons Creek Baptist Church Building Fund or the Midway Volunteer Fire Department.
Mrs. Nerene Walters Puryear, 73, of Nelson, died Saturday afternoon in the Woodview Nursing Home in South Boston. She was the widow of Wardell H. Puryear.
Mrs. Puryear was born in Person County and was a graduate of Bethel Hill High School Class of 1941. She retired from Burlington Industries after 21 years of service.
Funeral services will be held today at Nelson Baptist Church and burial will follow in the church cemetery.
Surviving are daughters Dawn Walker of Buffalo Junction, Judy Comer of South Boston, Bonnie Gordon of Virgilina and Tommie Puryear of Franklinton, N.C.; sons Wardell H. (W.H.) Puryear, Jr. of Nelson, Willard S. Puryear of Oxford, N.C. and Edward A. Puryear of Virgilina; sister Jamina Bristow; brothers, E.C. and Raymond Walters, both of Roxboro, N.C.; 21 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.