Leonard Nathan Miller, 19, of Alex Lane
in Nathalie was arrested Wednesday by members of the Halifax County
Sheriff's Office in connection with Sunday night's drive-by shootings
in the Cody area.
Miller was charged with the shootings of Leslie Stone, 40, of
Java and Robert Davis, 49, of Chatham.
He was also charged with shooting into an occupied vehicle and
displaying a firearm in a threatening manner.
Police say Davis and Stone were sitting in a parked vehicle on
the parking lot of Robert's Quik Shop when the shooting took place,
around 11:30 p.m. Sunday.
Sheriff D.J. Oakes said Davis suffered a gunshot wound to the
top of his head, while Stone was shot in the back near the base
of his neck.
The injuries were not life-threatening, according to the sheriff.
An altercation apparently took place between one of the occupants
of the parked vehicle and several of the suspects, Oakes said.
The suspects were identified at the time as four black males in
their early to late twenties, the sheriff reported.
He added the suspects were believed to be driving a burgundy van,
and a van matching the description of the suspects' vehicle was
recovered in the Sinai area Monday night.
"The van has been impounded and is being processed for additional
evidence," said Oakes.
Miller is being held without bond in the Halifax County Jail.
The arrest was made by investigator Jimmy Clay.
"The investigation is continuing and more arrests are expected,"
said a police spokesman.
Marvin Wayne Cash, 34, of H.P. Anderson Hwy. in Halifax was arrested
Wednesday and charged with marital sexual assault.
The alleged offense occurred Wednesday, said Dep. J.K. Henderson,
the arresting deputy.
Therman Eugene Hankins, 41, of Lenning Road in Nathalie was arrested
Wednesday and charged with misdemeanor assault and battery.
Deputy J.K. Henderson said the alleged offense occurred on March
24.
Barry Anthony Guthrie, 37, of Third Street in South Boston was
arrested yesterday and charged with felonious assault.
The alleged offense occurred Saturday.
Dep. Q.W. Clark was the arresting officer.
Halifax County High School received the Governor's Award for
Outstanding Improvement in SOL test scores yesterday.
The school was cited for exceeding the Virginia Board of Education's
provisional accreditation benchmarks in the four core subject
areas by at least 10 percentage points during the 2000-2001 school
year.
The passing rate on the high school's SOL tests for the 2000-2001
school year was above 80 percent in math, English and science.
Halifax County High School's passing rate in history was 14 points
above the state benchmark but the school missed hitting the mark
for full accreditation by a single percentage point.
Audrey Davidson of Danville, a member of the Virginia Board of
Education, presented the award to Halifax County High School Principal
Albert T. Randolph in a ceremony telecast through the school via
closed circuit television.
Halifax County School Superintendent Dennis Witt, Debbie Griles,
assistant principal, the school's four core subject SOL lead teachers
and testing coordinator Sarah Hodges participated in the ceremony.
"Students, you have a lot to be proud of," Davidson
said.
"This shows you have got great leadership from your principal
all the way up to the superintendent."
Davidson said she hopes to return next year with an award for
full accreditation.
Witt said Halifax County High School's students, faculty and administrators
can be proud of this achievement.
"It shows that our teachers, our students and our leaders
are truly focused on SOL achievement," Witt said.
"It shows that everybody is collectively committed to do
well.This is a big step. I think it speaks so well for Halifax
County High School and its students and for what goes on here.
"Our ultimate goal is full accreditation," continued
Witt.
Randolph pointed out that the success of the students' achievement
on SOL scores reflects a total team effort.
"We feel like we truly have a team effort here," Randolph
said.
"We involved everyone. We have included (teachers in) the
elective (subject) areas. Everybody has to feel ownership in this."
Seventy percent of a school's students must have passed the SOL
tests in the four core subject areas of math, English, science
and history in order for a school to receive full accreditation
by the state.
The school was cited by the state as "Provisionally Accredited-Meets
Standards."
Only a handful of schools in the region achieved the honor given
Halifax County High School yesterday.
Davidson said one school in Charlotte County, two schools in Pittsylvania
County and five schools in Franklin County received the award.
In its Regulations Establishing Standards for Accrediting Public
Schools in Virginia, the Virginia Board of Education established
the Governor's Award for Outstanding Improvement to become effective
in September 2000.
The award is presented to schools that do not meet the requirements
to be rated "Fully Accredited" in a given year but make
significant progress toward reaching that goal prior to the 2006-2007
school year.
Lawrence Maurice "Kool Aid" Watson, 22, pleaded guilty
Wednesday in Halifax County Circuit Court to the second degree
murder of girlfriend Kimberly Ann Martin, 21, last July.
Watson's plea came the day before he was scheduled to stand trial
for the first degree murder of Martin, whose body was found by
South Boston Police in the basement of the home the couple shared
on Briggs Street in South Boston.
Judge Leslie M. Osborn accepted the plea during Wednesday's hearing.
The commonwealth amended the indictment to second degree murder
as the result of an "unwritten plea agreement," according
to Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Petra Blanchard.
"The commonwealth reduced the charge from first degree to
second degree murder," said Blanchard, but added there was
no other agreement.
Defense attorney Khalil Latif said that although he had hoped
to argue for a plea to manslaughter, he appreciated the commonwealth's
move.
"He knows he's accountable and he's accepted responsibility,
but he wants (his sentence) to be a reasonable amount of time.
"I know it's painful for her (Martin's) family," Latif
continued.
"They have lost a child. And a child has lost his mother."
"The cause of death was asphyxiation, but the means of death
was either suffocation or strangulation or both," said Blanchard.
"She was killed about 3 a.m. on the 19th of July, the police
found out about it about 3 a.m. on the 20th of July, and didn't
execute the search warrant until about 11 a.m. on the 20th,"
said Blanchard.
Watson turned himself in on July 21.
"The autopsy wasn't performed until the next day in Richmond,"
Blanchard said, adding the unavoidable delays in having the autopsy
performed prevented a conclusive finding of the "mechanism
of death" in the case.
A statement to police after his arrest conflicted both with physical
evidence found at the crime scene, as well as with Watson's explanation
to a relative of how Martin died, according to Blanchard.
Watson, who was remanded to custody after his plea, is due to
be sentenced sometime in the July term of court.
A first degree murder conviction would have carried a penalty
of 20 years to life in prison. With a second-degree conviction,
Watson faces from five to 40 years in prison.
"Our next step is to put our best foot forward at sentencing
and give the court an accurate representation of what Watson is
really like," said Latif.
"It's a sad situation on both sides of the coin."
Halifax County's April unemployment rate dropped below double
figures to 9.8 percent, but is still much higher than the 5.7
percent rate recorded for the same time last year, according to
figures released today by the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC).
A total of 1,973 county workers were out of work in April, compared
to 2,204 in March, the VEC said.
The number of employed county workers rose from 17,864 in March
to 18,061 to April.
Unemployment in Danville and Martinsville continued to rise in
April, according to the VEC, with Martinsville recording the highest
unemployment rate in Virginia.
The City of Danville recorded an unemployment rate of 10.9 percent
for April, compared to 10 percent in March, while Martinsville's
unemployment rate rose to 18.3 percent from March's rate of 12.9
percent.
Pittsylvania County's April unemployment rate was 9.3 percent,
compared to 9.4 percent in March, and Henry County recorded an
unemployment rate of 12.1 percent in April.
The unemployment rate in Mecklenburg County remained high in April,
at 10.5 percent, compared to 11.1 percent in March, while Charlotte
County's rate remained unchanged at 7.5 percent.
Virginia's unemployment rate dropped slightly in April, to 3.9
percent from March's rate of 4.1 percent, according to the VEC.
Charles Franklin Taylor, 83, of 4180 Leda Road, Nathalie, died
May 28 at his home.
Born July 29, 1918, in Pittsylvania County, he was a son of the
late Eugene Taylor and Lou Jane Andrews Taylor. He was preceded
in death by his first wife, Virgie Bowen Taylor; one son, Garnell
Taylor; two sisters, Rebecca Snow and Anne Love; one grandchild
and two great-grandchildren. He was a member of Zion United Methodist
Church and was a retired farmer.
Survivors include his wife, Joyce Younger Taylor of the home;
two sons, Marvin Lynwood Taylor and wife, Brenda of Danville and
Ricky Bowen Taylor and wife, Kathy of Gretna; two daughters, Judy
T. Simpson of Lynchburg and Bonnie McDaniel and husband, Harold
of Gretna; two brothers, Ramsey Taylor and Edward Taylor, both
of Gretna; two sisters, Agnes Taylor and Katherine Petty, both
of Lynchburg; one stepson, Michael Allen of Lynchburg; one stepdaughter,
Diane Hughes and husband, Daniel of Richmond; a daughter-in-law,
Rosa Taylor of Gretna; 12 grandchildren, five step-grandchildren;
16 great-grandchildren and three step-great-grandchildren.
Funeral services for Mr. Taylor were held May 30 at 11 a.m. at
Zion United Methodist Church by the Revs. Harold Thornton and
John Campbell. Burial followed in the church cemetery.
Mrs. Felicia Abbott McCargo, 41, of Abbott Hill Road, Halifax,
died Wednesday at Halifax Regional Hospital.
She was born in Halifax County on November 27, 1960, and was the
daughter of Mrs. Clara Taylor Abbott and the late James William
Abbott.
Mrs. McCargo was married to Zachary McCargo and was a member of
the Crystal Hill Baptist Church. She was employed by Clover Yarns.
She is survived by her husband, Zachary McCargo; one daughter,
Ms. Erica McCargo of Halifax; one sister, Mrs. Sonya Britton of
Crystal Hill; one brother, Minister James Abbott of Chatham; her
mother-in-law, Mrs. Bessie Mae McCargo of Alexandria; her grandmother-in-law,
Mrs. Ada Bailey of Halifax; two brothers-in-law; two sisters-in-law;
and a host of aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and other relatives
and friends.
Funeral services for Mrs. McCargo will be held Sunday, June, 2,
at 2:30 p.m. with services at the Crystal Hill Baptist Church
with the Rev. Louis S. Leigh officiating. Burial will follow in
the New Hope CME Church Cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the home of the deceased, 1055
Abbott Hill Road, Halifax.