BY JOE CHANDLER
JARRATT - Lance Antonio Chandler, 25, was executed by lethal injection at Greensville Correctional Center last night, just over five years after the February 7, 1993 murder of William Howard "Billy" Dix, a Love Shop convenience store clerk.
Chandler was pronounced dead at 9:07 p.m. according to Larry Traylor, Director of Communications for the Virginia Department of Corrections.
Clad in a light blue denim chamois shirt, dark navy denim pants, and rubber sandals, Chandler had a somber look on his face as he was escorted into the death chamber by a contingent of corrections officers. He carried a white piece of paper resembling a legal document in his hands which were cuffed in front of him.
Walking under his own power, Chandler helped himself onto the white linen clad stainless steal gurney. After Chandler was secured on the gurney, Bob West, a volunteer chaplain with the Heartbeat Prison Ministry, an interdenominational prison ministry, held a few moments of prayer.
"I basically told him God forgives us regardless of what we've done and that there is no better way to leave this world than to know you are forgiven," West said.
When Chandler was asked by prison officials if he had any last words, Chandler said "none."
Chandler raised his head once and moved his head from side to side as if taking a final look around the room as the first drops of the lethal fluids entered his body.
Eight individuals witnesses the execution, six of whom were private citizens as prescribed by law and two media representatives.
David Bass, Regional Manager for the Eastern Region of the Virginia Department of Corrections told witnesses prior to the execution that Chandler had requested that the menu for his final meal not be made public.
The Department of Corrections official said that Chandler was visited twice yesterday. During the first session, from 2:30 p.m. until 3 p.m., Chandler was visited by three sisters. Later, from 3:10 p.m. until 3:35 p.m., Chandler was visited by one of his brothers.
Those visits were contact visits, Bass said.
He became the first Halifax County resident to be executed in 36 years; the fourth county resident since 1940.
Attorneys representing Chandler made last ditch attempts Wednesday and yesterday to stave off the execution but were unsuccessful.
Richmond attorney Barbara Hartung filed a clemency petition with Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore but Gilmore refused to take action that would halt or delay the execution.
Hartung also filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court, but the full court denied Chandler's appeal Wednesday afternoon on a 7-2 vote.
Chandler stated in testifying at his trial that when Dix refused to hand over the money from the cash register as he had demanded, he pointed the gun at Dix and "I closed my eyes and said boom."
Chandler, who testified that he had smoked crack cocaine and consumed a large quantity of beer during the evening prior to the robbery, told the jury "I pulled the trigger one time and it just clicked. The second time it went off."
Yesterday morning Chandler, in a written statement forwarded to the Gazette Virginian, said "I greet this moment with peace and an understanding of the human nature's need for revenge.
But, simply saying a life for a life is not legal or justice. To anyone who needs my death to feel better, I say to you that maybe you need to look at what sort of person you are or have become, and let faith and love bring you closer to God."
Chandler thanked family and friends for their support.
"They will never know what their support has meant to me," he wrote.
He also apologized to the family of the late Billy Dix, 33, who was killed by a single gunshot fired during the robbery of the Mother Hubbard's Convenience Cupboard.
"I would like to apologize to Mr. Billy Dix's entire family for the pain I've caused them," Chandler wrote.
"Saying I'm sorry could not and never will be enough."
Chandler, who was known on the streets as "Turkey," was one of five people involved in the robbery of the Love Shop convenience store and one of three people that actually entered the store to commit the robbery.
Testifying in his December, 1993 trial in Halifax County Circuit Court, Chandler admitted to killing Dix during the robbery. But, he said he had not intended to slay the store clerk and had assumed there was only one live round in the revolver he used in committing the crime.
One of the stronger pieces of testimony that evolved from Chandler's trial came from co-defendant Geraldine Fernandez.
Fernandez testified that when she saw Chandler at a Sinai apartment after the robbery "Turkey (Chandler) had said the man was protecting money that wasn't his."
She added later in her testimony that "he (Chandler) said he always wanted to know what it felt like to kill a man" and that he was going to take the bullet casing, put it on a necklace, and wear it.
In addition to receiving the death penalty for the capital murder conviction, Chandler was sentenced to 39 years in prison for convictions on other charges related to the store robbery.
Earlier, in May, 1993, Chandler was convicted of the August, 1992 robbery of a UPS deliveryman and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and was sentenced in July of that year to nine years in prison for those offenses.
Three of four other co-defendants in the Chandler case received prison terms as a result of related convictions.
The case surrounding Dix's death had a bizarre twist.
Dix, who was found by a customer entering the store, was first pronounced dead of natural causes by an attending physician at the Halifax Community Hospital emergency room. However, his remains were returned to the hospital the next morning by officials of a South Boston funeral home, who during funeral preparations, made a discovery that led them to suspect that foul play may have been involved.
An autopsy revealed Dix had been shot.
Chandler was the seventh inmate on Virginia's Death Row to be executed this year and the 289th individual to be executed by the state since the state's first electrocution in 1908.
The next scheduled execution is Jonile Dubois who was convicted of crimes in Portsmouth City Circuit Court. That execution is slated for August 31.
There are now 43 inmates on Virginia's Death Row.
Denny Coggins Melton, 44, of Semora, N.C. was charged Thursday afternoon with the first degree murder of Rhonda Bowes Stone of Alton.
Melton allegedly shot the 30-year-old mother of three in the back right shoulder with a shotgun on the night of August 7, according to Major Ray Link of the Halifax County Sheriff's Department.
He is also charged with felony counts of shooting into an occupied dwelling and use of a firearm while in the commission of a felony, Major Link said.
Melton allegedly shot Stone through the window of her Mt. Carmel Road mobile home sometime between 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., according to the investigation.
If convicted on the first degree murder charge, Melton could face a sentence of life in prison without parole, Major Link said.
"We have a motive, but at this stage of the case we are not releasing it," Major Link said.
Melton was the brother of Stone's live-in boyfriend, Major Link pointed out.
The gauge of the weapon is not yet known, pending a completion of forensic evidence at the state lab in Richmond, he added. No weapon has been recovered in the investigation.
Melton was originally arrested two days after the alleged murder at his Semora home on a felony count of possession of a firearm after having been convicted of a felony and a misdemeanor count of brandishing a firearm, Major Link said.
Those incidents allegedly occurred in Virginia, Major Link explained. Melton is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in the Halifax County General District Court on those charges on November 6.
That warrant was made on the basis of witnesses who saw Melton with a weapon on June 18, according to Major Link.
Melton, who was listed as unemployed and disabled, was held in the Person County Jail in Roxboro, N.C. after his arrest and until his extradition hearing which was held yesterday. He waived extradition.
Halifax County Sheriff Jeff Oakes pointed out that the investigation has been conducted virtually around the clock since the incident occurred.
"I would like to extend a special 'thank you' to (Person County) Sheriff Dennis Oakley and deputies from the Person County Sheriff's Department," Sheriff Oakes said.
Private citizens in the area also contributed greatly to the investigation, Sheriff Oakes added. "We really appreciate their assistance," he said.
Melton is being held without bond in the Blue Ridge Adult Detention Center in Halifax. He was indicted on the first degree murder charge on August 14 by a special grand jury of the Halifax County Circuit Court. That indictment was sealed until his arrest on Thursday.
No trial date has been set.
By Doug Loftis
Kevin Daniels grew up fast. Surprisingly fast his parents admit.
"He starting doing all the good little things you tell them about and hope they'll one day do," his father Terry said recalling how his son had enrolled in a 401K retirement plan, had become a certified emergency medical technician, a volunteer fireman and had plans to become a professional firefighter.
"Everything except pick up his room," Terry added about the oldest of he and his wife Pat's two sons who, come August 29, will celebrate his twentieth birthday.
Kevin graduated from Halifax County Senior High in 1996 and enrolled in Danville Community College that fall. Halfway through the first semester, he told his parents that school wasn't for him "right now" but agreed to stay on, complete the semester and maintain a good grade average.
He was as good as his word too.
Kevin left school and began working with his parents for IH Service Inc., a South Carolina-based firm that provides industrial housekeeping services for several businesses in this area including Burlington Industries at Halifax.
It was only a few months after Kevin began working at Burlington that he was hired to work for Burlington as a service person in the cloth room. First on second shift, then third and finally first, gave him the time he needed to begin training as a fireman and then an EMT.
Two weeks ago today, Kevin had visited a friend who lives just outside Scottsburg before heading back to his home address on Daniel Trail just northeast of South Boston off U.S. 360.
Moments after driving away in his blue and white Plymouth Neon, he would have heard his beeper signal all firemen to a call at, oddly enough, Daniel Trail.
But Kevin Daniels never made it to that call or home. His car crossed over the center line and ran off the shoulder of Highway 729 just outside Scottsburg before striking several trees and pinning him inside.
Kevin was not wearing a seatbelt at the time and even though a driver's side airbag deployed, it was not enough to prevent him from being severely injured.
Among the several persons to reach the accident scene first was Jerry Conner, a longtime acquaintance of the Daniels. Two other fishermen returning home from Staunton River State Park joined with Conner in efforts to remove him from the twisted wreckage which by then, had caught fire.
A resident in the area of the accident provided two hand-held fire extinguishers but the stubborn blaze refused to be snuffed out. Conner rushed to the Scottsburg Volunteer Fire Department station nearby, set off an alarm and returned with a larger extinguisher to bring the fire under control.
Rescuers say Daniels was able to somehow assist them in freeing himself before collapsing into an unconscious state. He was transported from the crash site by ambulance to Halifax Regional Hospital.
When Terry and Pat Daniels were notified of what had happened to their son, they drove to the hospital only to learn how grave his condition was and that Kevin was being airlifted to Duke University Medical Center.
In addition to a broken leg, bruised lung, and lacerations to his face that made him unrecognizable to even some of his rescuers who knew him personally, Kevin had suffered a severe head injury. As a result, a bloodclot had formed on his brain and once at DUMC, he was rushed into the operating room where surgeons worked to relieve pressure that was building on his brain and threatening his life.
Neurosurgeons managed to repair the ruptured blood vessel but several mini strokes ensued causing him to loose control of such things as his motion and alertness.
Doctors prepared the Daniels for the worst.
Should Kevin remain on life support if no improvements in his condition were recognized? That question was posed to his parents on August 11 with a time window of August 15.
"My decision was then and is today, I don't have the right to make that decision. There's a power greater than me to make that decision," his father said emotionally.
By the end of the week, Kevin began to show some basic response to being touched and perhaps, being questioned. When asked to move his arm and wiggle his toe, Kevin managed to respond but is unable to speak.
"We just sense or feel that he understands but he's having a real hard time responding," his father said.
"Doctors tell us he may never get any better than he is right now. We understand that, we just haven't accepted that," said Terry Daniel.
Kevin underwent more surgery this week to facilitate his breathing and feeding.
Throughout it all, there has been what his parents can only describe as a "parade" of supporters, including hospital personnel, whose prayers, visits, cards, letters and phone calls "have been just super!"
"There's just no way we can thank them all enough," said his father who manages, with the help of their younger son Stephen, to keep the business going while Kevin's mother remains almost constantly near his bedside.
Persons desiring to send cards and letters to Kevin are asked to use his home address: 1106 Daniel Trail, Halifax, VA 24558.
A South Boston man has been arrested a second time on a misdemeanor count of stalking a 17-year-old female, according to Lt. Rick Loftis of the South Boston Police Department.
Jeffrey Edmonds, 31, was arrested Wednesday for stalking the female, with the alleged incident occurring Tuesday, Lt. Loftis said.
At the time of his Tuesday arrest, Edmonds was out on bond waiting for his trial on a misdemeanor count of stalking the same individual. His first arrest occurred on July 29, Lt. Loftis said.
Edmonds is currently out on bond after his second arrest pending his trial in the Halifax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. He is under a $5,000 secured bond.
Edmonds was arrested by SBPD Officers R.E. Redd and C.L. Carswell.
In another case, Trent Hundley Gilliland, 48,of South Boston was arrested Tuesday night on misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and drunk in public, police said.
Officers were called to his South Boston home to answer a disturbance complaint and upon their arrival at 11:02 p.m. found Gilliland loudly cursing in the yard and street, Lt. Loftis said.
He was told to calm down by SBPD Offices B.K. Lovelace and Fletcher Daniel, but he refused to do so, causing his arrest, Lt. Loftis pointed out.
Gilliland was released on bond pending his trial in the Halifax County General District Court.
It is to be an educational facility, but security-what kind and how much- was what was on the minds of the half-a-dozen or so Halifax citizens Tuesday night at a public hearing on a proposed alternative education center.
At issue is the Halifax County School Board's plan to put Project Hope, the system's current alternative education program located in a small building on Mountain Road, and the adult education program, housed at the Mary Bethune Complex, into one centrally located facility.
Education is not the issue, at least to those at Tuesday's public hearing.
At issue is the location, in the old Craddock-Terry building at the lower end of Halifax.
School superintendent Dennis Witt and board chairman Allen Gravitt, both told council and the concerned citizens that the C-T site was preferred from both a location and monetary point of view.
Of schools proposed for closing in a consolidation report, Gravitt said, only Halifax Elementary School would work location-wise.
But cash-wise, it would be cost prohibitive to attempt the renovations and upgrades necessary to convert that school into the alternative ed facility.
Add to that the fact that the consolidation plan has not even been approved and it is at least five years down the road before the school could be available.
The C-T site could be ready next fall, he said.
Both school system representatives admitted the day program-when the school would be used for alternative education- would house those students who are having problems either keeping up in school, or are having trouble with discipline.
Ranging in age from 14-18, the students would be those suffering from either behavioral problems or are doing marginal work in school.
"We don't have hardened criminals," Witt said. "They are in jail."
The program would not be for violent students, he added.
The purpose of the program would be give at-risk students a chance to catch up in their studies with the ultimate goal getting them back into the mainstream.
If a student is unable to get back into the educational program, staff would steer them towards vocational education with an emphasis on passing their GED.
"We have to offer them a program," said Bill Moore, speaking for the school system. "They don't have to accept the offer."
School personnel stressed that this would be a local program, not regional. There would not be problem students bused in from neighboring counties.
And unless told by a judge, no lawbreakers would be in the program.
And responding to a question about where "the crack babies" are going to go, "drug abuse is not the predominant problem among those in the alternative education program," Witt said.
With a staff of six to eight teachers, plus other personnel on-site, the student to faculty ratio would be much less than that in regular school.
This would allow for more direct interaction between the teacher and student, and also allow for more discipline and control, Witt said.
Students would probably be bused in, let out of the busses on the side of the building, off the street, and picked up in the afternoon to be taken home.
They would not be wandering the streets of Halifax, Witt said.
The school system has a contract on the building and needs to make a decision by the end of September, Witt said.
Council tabled a decision and wants more meetings with school personnel to iron out any problems council has with the proposal, the majority of which center on security.
In other action Tuesday, council approved a three percent meals tax that would bring in an estimated $35,000 a year to the town's coffers.
Responding to criticism from town citizen Cleve Wilborn that the town hasn't done enough to cut it's budget, council reminded him that not only has council been able to keep the tax rate under control over the past few years, but actually cut the budget by 2.5 percent from last year's $712,000.
Council also told town manager Bob Greene to continue negotiations with the county on sewage capacity on the Grubby Road project.
The town had initially proposed 12,000 gallons of capacity to the project, but the county now is seeking 24,750 gallons to serve those included in the project.
The Rev. H. Fleet Powell Jr. of Roanoke died Monday, July 27, 1998 at age 66.
A native of South Boston, he was the son of the late H. Fleet Powell Sr. and Ethel Neathery Powell. He was married to Elaine Phillips Powell.
Following two Associate Pastorates in the Southern Baptist Convention, Powell became pastor of Colonial Presbyterian Church in Roanoke in 1964, where he served for 27 years.
In addition to his wife, Powell is survived by three children and their spouses, Ann Powell Agee, Roanoke, Phillips Fleet and Kelly Hawley Powell, Roanoke County, Thomas Howerton and Lydia Dianne Powell, Roanoke; six grandchildren, Matthew C. McAuley, Laura V. Powell, Jessica D. Powell, Michael T. Powell, Rachael A. Powell and Taylor E. Powell; sister, Bettye Powell Smith, Centerville.
A family graveside service was held in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Richmond. A memorial celebration was held at Colonial Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Michael Nevling officiating.
Little Jokire' Shieeve' Graves died at Halifax Regional Hospital August 17, 1998.
He is survived by his mother, Shelby Renee' Bouie and father Robert Graves, both of Nathalie; his grandparents, Edna Bowey of Nathalie and Robert and Ora Graves of Nathalie; great-grandmothers, Marion Bouie and Odessa Davis, both of Nathalie; great-great grandparents, John and Gelois Miller of Republican Grove; and his godmother, Stephanie Harris of South Boston.
Graveside services will be held at Republican Grove Baptist Church today at 11:00 a.m., conducted by Powell Funeral Home of South Boston.
Eddie James Watkins of Route 1, Drakes Branch died Tuesday, August 18, 1998 at at Halifax Regional Hospital at the age of 41.
Mr. Watkins was born in Chase City on August 9, 1957 to Alexander Watkins and Bessie Henry Watkins. He was married to Kim Annette Watkins.
His survivors include his wife; daughters: Shanda and Jade Watkins of Virgilina; son: Curtis Pulliam of Chase City; his mother; brothers: Alexander Watkins Jr., Milton Watkins and Dole Watkins of Chase City and Al Watkins of Anchorage, AL; and maternal grandmother: Allie Henry of Chase City.
Funeral services will be held Fri., August 21 at 3 p.m. at Jeffress Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will follow in the Berean Baptist Church Cemetery, Chase City.
Howard Brooks of 7222 Huell Matthews Hwy., Alton died Saturday, August 15, 1998 at the Berry Hill Nursing Home at the age of 88.
Mr. Brooks was born in Halifax County on May 10, 1910 and was the son of John Brooks and Luvenia Harris Brooks. He was married to Eva Bell Owen Brooks and was a member of the Zion Hill Baptist Church.
His survivors include his sons: Howard Brooks Jr. and Rev. Roger Brooks of Baltimore, MD; nine grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren; sister: Marie Chappell of Baltimore, MD; and daughter-in-law: Bernice Brooks of Baltimore.
Funeral services will be held Friday, August 21 at 1 p.m. with services at Zion Hill Baptist Church with the Rev. Thomas Bolden officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
Floyd Junior Chavious of 1009 Morgan Lane, South Boston died Wednesday, August 19, 1998 at McGuires Veteran Hospital in Richmond at the age of 75.
Mr. Chavious was born in Halifax County on July 23, 1923 and was the son of the late John Chavious and Mary Cates Chavious. He was married to Leona Wade Chavious and was a member of the New Bethel Baptist Church.
His survivors include his daughters: Vernisa Morgan of South Boston and Theresa Chavious of Syracuse, NY; son: Joseph Michael Chavious of Syracuse, NY; three grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; sisters: Odessa Thorpe and Maple Barksdale of South Boston; and a brother: Carnell Chavious of Detroit, MI.
Funeral services will be held Sunday, August 24 at 1 p.m. at the New Bethel Baptist Church with the Rev. Wallace Allen officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
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The family will receive friends at the home.