Halifax County resident Leo Hinson has been indicted on federal
charges in North Carolina.
Special Agent Mark Francisco of the North Carolina State Bureau
of Investigations said last week Hinson has been indicted in the
Eastern District of North Carolina on multiple charges including
conspiring to distribute marijuana and cocaine and money laundering.
Francisco said the indictments have not been served on Hinson
but that Hinson is aware of their existence.
The SBI investigator said he did not know when the indictments
will be formally served on Hinson.
Francisco said North Carolina authorities may wait until after
Hinson's scheduled July 7 sentencing on the six federal charges
he was convicted of last week following a trial in United States
Western District Court in Lynchburg before serving the indictments.
Hinson is facing a maximum sentence of 85 years on those convictions.
A 12-member jury deliberated for two and a hall hours last Thursday
before finding Hinson guilty of soliciting Halifax County resident
Tommy Cole, a convicted drug dealer working as an undercover police
informant, to murder a federal witness, Eric Brown, a convicted
North Carolina drug dealer working as an undercover informant
for police.
Hinson was also found guilty of attempting to murder Brown because
of Brown's assistance to federal agents, attempting to murder
Brown to prevent him from participating in official proceedings
such as court trials, and attempting to murder Brown in retaliation
for assisting federal investigators.
Also last Thursday, Hinson was convicted of conspiring with Pittsylvania
County resident John Wayne Cardwell in an attempt to murder Brown
and on a charge of possessing a firearm after having been convicted
of a felony.
Hinson had four prior felony convictions on his record, all in
North Carolina.
Francisco said Hinson's wife, Terry Hinson, is facing trial on
money laundering charges.
The indictments against Hinson and his wife in North Carolina
were returned in October, 2002, Francisco said.
In addition to the federal criminal charges he is facing, Francisco
said authorities have filed a forfeiture action against Hinson's
property and - assets that have an estimated value of $2.2 million.
Those assets include Hinson's residences and property here in
Halifax County as well as in Brunswick County, N.C. and Georgetown
County, S.C.
Capt. Gene Caison, Chief of Investigations for the Brunswick County,
N.C. Sheriff's Office, said Hinson is accused of moving in excess
of 10,000 pounds of marijuana and in excess of 100 kilos of powder
cocaine during the time of the alleged conspiracy that authorities
claim ranged from 1996-2001.
If convicted on the charges he is facing in North Carolina, Caison
said Hinson will face a sentence ranging from 10 years to life
in prison.
Caison said the charges against Hinson arose out of a murder investigation
that began five years ago in Brunswick County, N.C.
The North Carolina investigator said an alleged drug dealer, Jamie
Hewett, was arrested by Brunswick County, N.C. authorities in
February, 1998 on multiple charges including marijuana and cocaine
distribution charges.
Hewett was murdered on April 14, 1998 while he was out on bond.
"He was shot with a high-powered rifle while he was closing
the gate at his family's dirt and rock pit," Caison said.
Caison explained that the names of Hinson and Phillip Barfield
came up during the course of the murder investigation.
Barfield is serving a life sentence on convictions on federal
drug charges in North Carolina.
Hewett, said Caison, was alleged to be "one of Barfield's
largest customers during 1997."
Officers and agents of the Halifax County Drug Taskforce, the
Halifax County Sheriff's Department, the South Boston Police Department,
state agencies including the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the FBI have assisted North
Carolina authorities including the State Bureau of Investigations
and the Brunswick County, N.C. Sheriff's Department in the on-going
investigation.
The investigation is continuing into a single-vehicle crash
that claimed the life of a 24-year-old South Boston man early
Friday morning.
Stephen Randall Jacobs, of Old Cluster Springs Road, crashed his
1997 Chevrolet on Route 614 near Route 360.
Virginia State Trooper S.M. Noblin said that neighbors near the
scene of the accident heard what they described as a "thump"
around 4 a.m.
"They didn't go out and invistigate it at the time, but (later
that) morning, passersby saw it," Noblin said.
Jacobs wasn't wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident.
The trooper said investigators suspect speed was a factor in the
crash.
"It appears that he was moving right along," he said.
Noblin said the vehicle was rounding a curve when it ran off the
left side of the highway and struck several trees.
Funeral services for Jacobs were held yesterday at Revelation
Baptist Church.
In other police business, Robert Lee Hardy Jr., 28, of North Main
Street in South Boston, was arrested Friday and charged with the
grand larceny of lottery tickets.
The alleged offense occurred April 13.
Deputy D.W. Martin was the arresting deputy.
Joseph Ronald Coleman, 53, of Sandy Beach Road in South Boston,
was arrested Friday and charged with the abuse and neglect of
children.
The alleged offense occurred December 14, 2002.
Deputy S.M. Bowen was the arresting deputy.
Benjamin James McKinney, 25, of Main Street in South Boston, was
arrested Thursday and charged with the grand larceny of a van
belonging to Blue Ridge Beverage and DUI.
The alleged offenses occurred Thursday.
Deputy T.O. Lewis was the arresting officer.
Town and county officials will break ground today for the new
E-911 Communication Center located on the Mary Bethune Complex
campus in Halifax.
The 6 p.m. event will be held on the Cowford Road side of the
campus.
The groundbreaking precedes the reconvened meeting of the Board
of Supervisors scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the conference room
at Mary Bethune.
Approximately $1 million in mobile and stationary wireless communications
equipment will be located at the E-911 Center, according to Halifax
County Administrator Joe Morgan.
The conversion to high band in fire, rescue and sheriff's vehicles
is part of the joint agreement.
"That is already operational," added Morgan. "But
this will combine the two dispatch centers into one location.
Also, an emergency operations room is included in the building."
The county administrator said that a fall completion date for
the center is anticipated.
A grant for $100,000 through the Southside Planning District Commission
is part of the "one-half million project," added Morgan.
"This is the culmination of three years joint effort by local
governments to improve emergency communications," the county
administrator said.
At the Board of Supervisors meeting tonight, the Board will also
hear an update on King Village Trail road viewers.
The Board appointed a five-man Board of Viewers to consider two
routes into Kings Village on April 7. The action came after the
Board received a letter from the Epps Lacy family concerning the
roadway to King Village.
Tonight, the county administrator is expected to propose adding
an alternate to the Board of Viewers "in case any of the
five is unable to serve."
The Board is also expected to confirm public hearings on the subdivision
ordinance amendments recommended by the Land Development Task
Force.
Determination of a school budget proposal for the May 5 public
hearing is slated tonight. The Board is expected to have a report
from the Finance Committee on the school operating budget recommendation.
In other business, the Halifax County High School Envirothon Team
will offer a presentation of its state competition program on
land use development issues.
Also on the Board'a agenda, an update on emergency declarations
for winter storms and flooding, and an update on mosquito control.
Halifax County's population between the
years 2000 and 2002 declined from 37,355 to 36,973, or 382 persons,
according to the Census Bureau.
Figures released last week by the Census Bureau show that Halifax
County now ranks 43 among Virginia's 134 counties and cities in
population.
Fairfax ranks first with 997,580 population, an increase of 27,831
from 2000 to 2002.
According to the estimates, two northern Virginia counties, Loudoun
(2nd) and Stafford (9th), both in the Washington, D.C., area,
and three counties in the Atlanta vicinity, registered strong
growth for the 2001-2002 period.
Loudoun had a growth rate of 7.3 percent from 2001 to 2002 and
Stafford broke into the top 10 with a growth rate of 6.2 percent.
Rockwell County, near Dallas, Texas, recorded the fastest growth
(7.9 percent) of any county in the nation for the period July
1, 2001, to July 1, 2002. The Texas county's growth rate was seven
times as fast as the nation's (1.1 percent).
Overall, 61 percent of all 3,141 U.S. counties grew over the one-year
period. Seven of the 10 counties whose population increased the
fastest are in the South.
According to the Census Bureau, Halifax County recorded 1,115
births and 1,021 deaths from April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2002.
Neighboring Mecklenburg and Charlotte experienced population declines
between 2000 and 2002 according to the latest Census Bureau estimates.
Mecklenburg's population declined from 32,380 to 32,274 (-106)
and Charlotte dropped from 12,471 to 12,209 (-262).
Pittsylvania County's 61,745 population was virtually unchanged
during the period but the City of Danville declined from 48,411
to 47,596 (-815).
Jonathan Bailey had his hands full in the closing laps of Saturday's
50-lap NASCAR Limited Sportsman race at Big Daddy's South Boston
Speedway.
Adam Barker of Hurt and Chad Mason of Richmond, getting stronger
as the race wore on, were right on Bailey's rear bumper with three
laps to go.
But, when Mason got into Barker with two laps to go and Barker's
Chevrolet slid sideways , Bailey gained the extra two to three
car lengths margin he needed to preserve the win in the double-points
event.
Barker held onto second place with Mason taking third place, defending
division champion, Bill Moshenek of Providence, N.C. finishing
fourth and Wayne Roach Jr. of Gretna completing the top five finishers.
"It's been a long time coming," Bailey said after leading
the entire race and becoming the fifth different winner in as
many events this season at the speedway.
"We got off to a bad start at the beginning of the season
with some bad luck and a wreck. The car was a little loose but
it was good enough to stay in front."
One of the things that helped the Keysville resident get the win
was his ability to get a good jump on the field on the restarts
that followed the two caution periods that punctuated the race.
The first of the caution periods came on lap 21 when South Boston's
Bruce Anderson, running eighth at the time, spun in turn two.
One lap after the action resumed following the first caution,
the race's second caution flag came, that one coming when Ronnie
Crabb of Danville smacked the wall in turn two.
"I try to be as good as a I can on restarts," Bailey
said.
"I play mind games with them a little bit. I was able to
get two good restarts and that helped a lot."
From there, it was a matter of making smooth, consistent laps
around the .4-mile oval.
"If I nailed my lines right, it seemed like I could pull
away a little bit," said Bailey.
"But, it's hard to nail your lines right every single lap."
Barker, who is in his sophomore season in the Limited Sportsman
division, won the pole but lost the lead to Bailey on the first
lap.
From that point on, Barker had to play catch-up.
"We were pretty good at the beginning but at the end we started
falling off a little bit and Chad ran us down," said Barker.
"He (Mason) gave me a little love tap but I guess that's
racing.
Barker said he felt he and Bailey had cars that were pretty much
equal.
"But, you've got to be a tenth quicker than somebody to get
around them here," Barker pointed out.
Tommy Peregoy of Red Oak, Billy Myers of Hurt, Jonathan Cash of
Oxford, NC, Hylton and Anderson rounded out the top ten finishers.
Tommy Woolridge of Forest won the 30-lap Pure Stock 4 division
race and captured his second win of the season.
Billy Goble of Danville finished second, 1.03 seconds behind Woolridge
with Scott Phillips of Virgilina finishing third, Stephen Trickey
of South Boston and Melvin Phillips of Virgilina rounding out
the top five finishers.
Donald Glass of Halifax won the pole but could not start the race
due to a mechanical problem.
Glass and his team corrected the problem but he lost two laps
in the process and finished sixth, two laps down.
The race was marred by four cautions for mishaps, the most spectacular
coming on the fourth lap when the car driven by Lee Anderson of
Gladys collided with Scott Slagle and others, flipped onto its
roof and slid on its top until coming to a stop at the exit of
the first turn.
Funeral services for Mrs. Geneva Barksdale
Bates of Coles Ferry Road in Nathalie will be held at 2 p.m. today,
April 21, at the Ellis Creek Baptist Church.
The Rev. Rodney Forrest will officiate.
Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
Mrs. Bates died Thursday, April 17 at Inova Alexandria Hospital.
She was 45.
Mrs. Bates was born in Halifax County on March 27, 1958 to the
late Addie Barksdale and Margaret McIvor Barksdale.
She was married to the late Mr. James Bates and was a member of
the Ellis Creek Baptist Church.
Mrs. Bates is survived by two step-sons, Timothy Bates of Baltimore,
Md. and Channon Davis of Nathalie, two step-daughtrers, Amanda
Bates and Tina Bates, both of Clover, five sisters, Josephine
Coleman of Red House, Deborah Ahmed of Fredericksburg, Linda Barksdale
of Alexandria, Nancy Carr of Nathalie and Edith Harvey of Appomattox,
three brothers, Clinton McIvor of Nathalie, Douglas Barksdale
and Percy Barksdale, both of Fredericksburg and a host of nieces,
nephews, other relatives and friends.
Joyce Chambers Canada, 52, of 1012 Carpenter
Lane, Halifax, died April 16 at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mrs. Canada was born in Halifax County on February 9, 1951, the
daughter of Tommy Chambers and Daisy Lovelace Chambers and was
married to Hunter Canada. She was a member of Millstone Baptist
Church.
Survivors include her husband; one daughter, Karen Chung of Yorktown;
one son, Clifford Canada of Halifax; five grandchildren; four
sisters, Alice Jennings and Irene Chappell, both of Nathalie,
Mary Cage of Halifax and Elizabeth Davis of Roxboro, NC; two brothers,
Joseph Chambers of New York and Barkley Chambers of Halifax; and
one son-in-law.
Funeral services for Mrs. Canada were held April 19 at 1 p.m.
at Millstone Baptist Church with the Rev. Robert Wimbish officiating.
Burial followed in the church cemetery.
Funeral services for Mrs. Mildred Scott
Coley will be held today at 2 p.m. at Jeters Chapel Baptist Church.
The Rev. William Dixon will officiate.
Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
Mrs. Coley died April 15 at the Down State Medical Center, Brooklyn,
N.Y.
She was 63 years of age at the time of her death.
Mrs. Coley was born September 23, 1939 to the late Martha and
John Scott of Omega, Virginia.
She attended school in Halifax County, graduating from Mary Bethune
High School, and later graduated from the IBM Computer College
in New York City.
Mrs. Coley was a member of the Wayside Baptist Church, and was
married to the late Bennie F. Coley.
Survivors include one son, Frank A. Coley Jr. of South Boston;
four brothers, Clark, John, Curvey and William, all of South Boston;
three grandchildren, Frank, Christopher and Audrey, all of California;
two devoted cousins, Rodney and Larry Scott; and close friends,
Wilma Barbour, Hattie Bridges and daughter, and a devoted friend,
Judith.
Addie Pearl Hamlette, 47, died April 9.
She was the daughter of Archie Lee Hamlette and Addie Pearl Poteat
Hamlette of Halifax County.
Ms. Hamlette retired from the U.S. Army where she served in the
Gulf War (Desert Storm). She received an Army Achievement Medal,
Army Commendation Medal (2D OLC), Army (Retired) Lapel Button,
Army Service ribbon/Army Good Conduct Medal/Kuwait Liberation
Medal, NCO Professional Development ribbon, National Defense Service,
one Bronze Service Star, Overseas Service ribbon, Southwest Asia
Service Medal with two Bronze Service Stars, and Expert Badge.
Ms. Hamlette achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant. She was employed
by Colchester Management Services.
Survivors include her close friend, Dwight Newby; two sisters,
Geraldine and Josephine Hamlette, both of Alexandria; four brothers,
John Hamlette of Chambersburg, PA, Ray Hamlette and wife, Lilly,
of South Boston, William Hamlette and wife, Edith, of Alton, and
Dana Hamlette and wife, Tina, of Danville; her stepmother, Emma
Jane Hamlette of South Boston. She was preceded in death by three
brothers, Joseph, Charlie and Edward Hamlette.
Funeral services for Ms. Hamlette were held April 17 in Arlington
Cemetery.
Funeral services for Mr. Stephen Randall
Jacobs were held yesterday at the Revelation Baptist Church.
The Rev. Rudolph Jacobs officiated.
Burial followed in the Halifax Memorial Gardens.
Mr. Jacobs, of Old Cluster Springs Road in South Boston, died
Friday, April 18 in Halifax County.
He was 24.
Mr. Jacobs was born in Danville on March 2, 1979 to Randy Snow
Jacobs and Brenda Walker Jacobs.
He was a member of the Revelation Baptist Church.
Mr. Jacobs is survived by his parents, three brothers, Jeremy
Jacobs of the University of Richmond, Jonathan Jacobs and Justin
Jacobs, both of South Boston., his maternal grandmother, Mildred
Moore of South Boston and his paternal grandparents, the Rev.
Rudolph and Ruby Jacobs of South Boston, and several aunts and
uncles.
For memorials, please consider the Revelation Baptist Church.
Lee Walter Lawson died April 14. He was
born June 10, 1928, in South Boston, the son of Aaron and Susie
Lawson, and was married to Cecelia Lawson.
Mr. Lawson was a member of Mayo Grove Baptist Church, and was
a U.S. Army Veteran.
Survivors include his sons, Stanley, Darryl and Everett Shaw;
daughters, Evang. Yvonne Reid, Patrice Johnson and Zelma Shaw;
two sons-in-law, Gregory Reid and Luster Johnson; one daughter-in-law,
Rose Shaw; 16 grandchildren; brothers, Daniel, James and Franklin
of South Boston, and Otis of Hampton; sisters, Alease Tuck, Mary
Owens and Annie Crawley, all of South Boston, and Beulah Murphy
of Washington, DC; one brother-in-law, George Crawley; a devoted
friend, Alice Howard; and a faithful niece, Shirley Moon.
Joseph Raymond LeFontaine, 76, of Bill Tuck
Highway in South Boston, died April 13 at his home.
Mr. LeFontaine was born in Buffalo, NY on April 6, 1927, the son
of Joseph Romeo LaFontaine and Charlotte LaFontaine, and was married
to Rosalie Wooding Weatherford LeFontaine. He was an Army Veteran
of WWII, was a writer and had nine books published. Mr. LeFontaine
was a member of the Authors Guild and American Mensa.
Following military service, he held various positions as an engineer
in both the U.S. and the Orient.
In later years, he moved to Virginia and served as a professor
at Southside Virginia Community College.
Survivors include his wife; one daughter, Suzanna Morris of Rochester,
NY; three sons, Steve, Bruce and David LeFontaine, all of Rochester;
one sister, Pattie Field of Thousand Oaks, CA; three brothers,
Dick, Bert and Jack LaFontaine; nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his first wife, June Alred LeFontaine;
and a brother, Bob LaFontaine.
A graveside service for Mr. LeFontaine was held April 17, at the
family farm, Rose Hill Acres, with Military Rites. He was buried
in the family cemetery.
Arthur Peter Williams, 88, of 103 Rosehill
Drive, South Boston, died at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mr. Williams was born in Halifax County on October 19, 1914, the
son of Armistead and Alice Chandler Williams, and was married
to Blanche Garner Williams. He was a WWII Army Veteran.
Survivors include nieces, nephews, two sisters-in-law; and one
brother-in-law.
Funeral services for Mr. Williams will be held April 22 at 1 p.m.
at New Vernon Baptist Church with the Rev. Dr. Roger J. Ford officiating.
Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the home of Mary S. Thomas,
2005 Hummingbird Lane, South Boston.