Lawrence Harvey Everett Jr., a 20-year-old South Boston man convicted of the armed robbery of Elmo Grocery in June 2000, has been sentenced in Halifax County Circuit Court to 38 years in prison.
Judge Leslie M. Osborn suspended 21 years of Everett's 30-year robbery sentence and two years of five for the possession of a firearm after being convicted of a felony, resulting in an effective prison term of 12 years for Everett.
The court additionally sentenced Everett to a two-year suspended prison term for using a firearm to commit the robbery and a one-year suspended term for wearing a mask while committing the June 19, 2000 robbery.
Everett's accomplice in the robbery, 20-year-old Derek Lamar Baird of South Boston, was sentenced last month to an effective prison term of six years and six months for his part in the theft of cash from 75-year-old Lillie Mae Brown, who was working at Elmo Store during the robbery.
Prosecution evidence and witness testimony during the March 23 jury trial for Everett and Baird revealed a crime whose execution went wrong almost from the start.
Both men reversed their original pleas of not guilty before the jury could begin their deliberations, instead pleading "no contest" to charges of robbery, use of a firearm while committing robbery and wearing a mask in a public place.
Brown testified during the trial that her first response to the pair when they entered the store and demanded she "give it up," was "you boys get out of here and behave yourself."
That failing, Brown said that one demanded that she give them the money or he would "blow my [expletive deleted] head off!"
Brown said that the two concealed their identities with a type of wraparound headpiece that covered all but their eyes. She told how one had kept watch near the front door while the second had "followed me behind the counter."
According to the victim, he pointed what she described as a silver-colored pistol at her with one hand while with the other, he took over $200 in cash and some food stamps from the register.
As the two ran from the River Road store known as "Loafer's Retreat," Brown watched them get into a car parked a short distance away and partially concealed behind a green trash dumpster.
Brown said that she saw several youths that she knew entering the parking lot and that the bandits "drove right by us," slow enough for them to observe the getaway car's license number.
That same license number, vehicle and suspect description had been turned in to authorities less than an hour earlier by a Pittsylvania store clerk, where the two had pumped gas and drove off without paying.
Subsequent police bulletins were heard at Franklin's Garage in Riverdale, where Beth Ellington Wilson was listening to a police scanner.
Wilson spotted the suspects and their car as they pulled into the lot and notified police, while her father and garage owner Donnie Ellington positioned one of his wreckers behind the suspect vehicle to prevent them from escaping.
Both men had exited their vehicle and Everett was talking with his half brother, James Chisholm, a Franklin's Garage employee, when police arrived.
After a short foot chase, both men were captured.
It was probably Chisholm who convinced Everett to change his plea during the trial, asking Judge Osborn's permission to speak in private with his step-brother along with Everett's attorney, Mark Thackston.
Everett entered his plea of "no contest" after that brief meeting.
Judge Osborn ordered that Everett's suspended time be made conditional on his good behavior for 38 years following his release from custody, and that Everett also be subjected to a two-year period of supervised probation.

Parsons-Bruce Art Association and the Community Arts Center Foundation are hoping that the "third time's a charm!"
The organizations are planning Art Sur La Rive, the third bi-annual art show, scheduled September 15 at 7:00 p.m. at the Prizery.
"The success of the past two shows sets a high mark for us," said Barbara Speece, an art show committee member.
A number of artists from the past shows will exhibit their works. Also expected are regional artists whose works will be new to the show.
Attendees can expect to view oils, watercolors, acrylics, sculpture, handmade paper and photography.
All of the art displayed will be for sale to the public, with a portion of the purchase price going to support the Prizery.
Underwriting support for the show has been received from Woods, Rogers & Hazlegrove, a law firm with offices in Danville, Roanoke, Richmond, Charlottesville and Blacksburg.
Kim White, a principal with the firm and a committee member, said, "I am pleased that the firm is showing its support for this community and for the arts with this $2,500 check."
The Art Sur La Rive committee welcomes the underwriting support from other businesses with similar interests.
"The more underwriting we receive, the more profit we will have for the Prizery," emphasized White.
Members of the public who wish to reserve a place at Art Sur La Rive are encouraged to mail a check for $35 per person to The Prizery, PO Box 601, South Boston, VA 24592. Additional questions can be directed to (804) 572-4249.

 By PAUL NOWELL
AP Business Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - As U.S. textile companies continue to shed thousands of jobs, four Southern governors wrote to President Bush and asked him to get tougher on foreign competition.
''The people in our states are looking to you to show consistent leadership in confronting the textile crisis, just as you have acknowledged the problems facing the steel industry,'' wrote Govs. Mike Easley of North Carolina, Roy Barnes of Georgia, Jim Hodges of South Carolina and Don Siegelman of Alabama.
The four states employ two-thirds of the 500,000 people who work in the industry nationwide.
In the past year, the domestic textile industry has lost 56,000 jobs, 13,000 in North Carolina alone. Some in the industry have called it the worst decline since post-World War II demobilization led to a cutback of 7 percent in 1949.
In their two-page letter to the White House, the governors asked Bush to attack unfair trade policies and prohibit imports from countries that take advantage of child labor.
U.S. textile and apparel employment has been falling for years, mostly moving to more efficient machines or cheaper labor overseas. More recently, the industry claims, layoffs have been forced because foreign competitors are bending U.S. rules and depriving American companies of sales and profits.
''The textile industry's efforts to modernize and remain competitive have been negated by the tidal wave of unfairly low-priced Asian imports that have flooded our country in recent years,'' the governors wrote.
They requested a meeting with Bush ''to discuss this situation personally and to convey its importance to our respective states.''
As of Friday, the White House had not responded.
Chuck Hayes, chairman of Greensboro-based Guilford Mills and president of the American Textile Manufacturers Institute, said his industry isn't asking the federal government to pass new laws.
''We don't need any new ones, we just need some teeth in our existing laws,'' he said Friday.
Hayes believes the Bush administration needs to act immediately to stop unfair trade practices. ''One of the areas is customs,'' he said. ''We are being flooded with illegal goods and undervalued goods in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.''
Hayes said the Mexican government has impounded hundreds of thousands of yards of fabric that were being shipped illegally into that country.
''The United States needs to take this problem as seriously as the Mexican government,'' he said. ''I hope President Bush puts some teeth into our customs laws. We are not asking for anything new. We just want to be handed a level playing field.''
Hayes conceded imports aren't causing all of the industry's problems.
''This won't stop the hemorrhaging, but it will send a message to the people who are doing these illegal things,'' he said. ''And it will show the administration is not taking our 500,000 workers and discarding them to the wind.
''If Bush wants to keep the South, he needs to make some moves.''

Harold Spencer has miles of memories to account for his almost quarter of a century service with the South Boston Post Office.
The Cluster Springs native can easily recall the date he started work at the post office, January 25, 1978, and the date he became a full-time carrier, March 18, 1981.
He can now commit a new date to memory - August 3, 2001, his official retirement date.
"I worked as a substitute mail carrier for about three years before becoming full-time," said Spencer.
"I have the distinct privilege of having carried every rural route out of South Boston," he added with a chuckle.
Spencer believes the longest route out of the four full time routes and one auxiliary route is Rural Route #3, encompassing the Elmo, Route 58, Birchland Park-White Oak area.
Along with still being the cheapest way to deliver mail, Spencer said it was a good way to get to know people.
According to Spencer, rural carriers assigned mail box numbers to keep track of their routes before the advent of the 911 address tracking system.
"I tried to number boxes when I started and to avoid using suffixes (like 319A)," said Spencer, who added that rural carriers also now have options in sorting mail for their routes.
"You have to keep your mind on what you're doing when you're delivering a rural route," said Spencer, mentioning the constant hazards involving traffic.
"The worst thing I ever encountered was shortly after I began delivering mail," continued Spencer.
"I was on Route 659 about 9:30 a.m. one morning when I met two cars racing side-by-side. They narrowly avoided me, but I could see one of them flip in my rear view mirror.
"That was as close as I came to an accident on one of my routes."
Golf, hunting, and maybe even a little part-time work were mentioned by Spencer as things he intended to do after leaving the post office.
"If I ever get through with my 'honey do' list," he smiled.

If there is one player who has no reason to be nervous when the South Boston Dixie Majors all-star team takes the field in the Dixie Majors World Series in North Charleston, S.C. it is Justin Shepperd.
This is the fifth World Series for Shepperd, making him one of only a few players to have experienced that many World Series during his youth baseball career.
"It's a great feeling," Shepperd said.
"This is my fifth time playing in a World Series and my second time playing in South Carolina."
Shepperd knows well what he is facing when he stares at the large crowds and the whirlwind of activities that surround the event.
"It's nothing like the state tournament," Shepperd said of playing in the World Series.
"You know you're going to be facing some big-time teams. You know the teams in the World Series are bigger, faster and better. This is what you shoot for every summer."
Shepperd played on South Boston all-star teams as a 12-year-old, a 13-year-old, a 14-year-old and was a member of the South Boston Dixie Majors all-star team last year as a 17-year-old.
"Playing in the World Series is special," Shepperd pointed out.
"Just knowing that you can possibly win it is exciting. Only about 18 kids win it every year. To think that you could possibly be among the 18 kids that could win it is exciting."
Shepperd admits he gets a little nervous at first. However, once the game starts, he quickly settles down.
"I'm usually a little nervous when the first pitch is thrown," Shepperd said.
"After that, I'm zoned in and ready tom go. That first pitch usually gets everyone zoned in."
Another of the things Shepperd likes about playing in the World Series is the opportunity to visit places that he may not otherwise have an opportunity to see.
This is his second trip to a World Series in South Carolina but his first trip to Charleston, S.C.
"People say Charleston is a nice place," Shepperd said.
"I want to see it and see what people (that have been there) are talking about."
The opportunity to play in a fifth career World Series is a special experience, Shepperd said.
His first World Series, Shepperd said, is the one he will remember the most.
"The best one (World Series) I ever went to was when I went to the Dixie Youth World Series," Shepperd said.
"It's probably the best one I ever went to because it was the first one and I will always remember that.
"Nobody around here thought we were going to make it (to the World Series)," added Shepperd.
"But we won the first game and lost to the two teams that ended up playing each other in the championship game."
Another World Series Shepperd says he will long remember came two years later.
"When I was 14-years-old and we were playing in the World Series in Georgia, I hit a home run against Alabama," he noted.
"That was great, hitting a home run in a World Series game."
Now, though, Shepperd's main thoughts and concerns are about this Dixie Majors all-star team, a team whose prospects has him very excited.
This is the third year in a row that a South Boston Dixie Majors all-star team has made it to the World Series.
Last year, South Boston delivered Virginia's first ever World Series game win.
This year's team is loaded with players that have a good measure of experience of playing in the World Series.
Teammates Scott Adams, Geoff Moore, Brandon Howerton and R.D. Cole have played in three previous World Series and are making their fourth World Series appearance this weekend.
Only two of the South Boston players, Brandon Enoch and Brandon Lewis, have not played in a World Series.
"We're ready to pick up where we left off last year," Shepperd said.
"This all about a team effort, no one certain player is going to be able to do the whole job. I've had a bunch of these guys to play with me in the World Series. It takes a team effort all the way around."
Shepperd says this year's South Boston team is a team that has the potential to raise the bar on Virginia's and South Boston's performance in the World Series
"This is probably the best team to come out of South Boston to go to the World Series in this age group," Shepperd pointed out.
"The thing we have this year is a lot more pitching depth. We hit the ball well last year but we just couldn't get the pitching to pull through.
"We have all the pitching we need this year," added Shepperd.
"We have the position players we need and we have the hitting. If we play like we did in the state tournament we should be able to win at least a couple of ball games."

Marjorie Creasy Lacy

Marjorie 'Bubbles' Creasy Lacy, 77, of 1808 Wilkerson Street, South Boston, died July 26 at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mrs. Lacy was born in Gretna on December 21, 1923, the daughter of Stover Henry and Maud C. Creasy. She was married to Dr. Malcolm B. Lacy Jr. and was a member of First Presbyterian Church.
Her survivors include her husband; daughter: Lavalette L. Jennings and husband, Dr. Foster Jennings of Richmond and two grandchildren: Malcolm and Lacy Jennings.
A graveside service was held July 29 at the Creasy family cemetery, Gretna with the Rev. Dr. Russell Lee officiating.
For memorials please consider the First Presbyterian Church Memorial Fund.

Glenna Viola Compton Payne

Glenna Viola Compton Payne, 82, of 1133 Mountain Road, Halifax, died July 26 at Duke Medical Center.
Mrs. Payne was born in Halifax on September 19, 1918, the daughter of Elijah Jackson and Eva Susan Chandler Compton. She was married to Elmo Willard Payne and was a member of the Dan River Baptist Church.
Her survivors include two brothers: Raymond Compton of South Boston and Samuel Compton of Halifax and two sisters: Delma Anderson of Clover and Lola C. Wilburn of Ashville, NC.
A funeral service was held July 28 at Dan River Baptist Church with the Rev. Louis Wall and Rev. Dr. Melvin Bradshaw officiating. Burial was held in Halifax Memorial Gardens.
For memorials please consider the Dan River Baptist Church Debt Retirement Fund.