AP
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia’s lawmakers could face new limits on the value of gifts they can take from lobbyists under proposals moving through the General Assembly. The Senate voted 39-1 Monday to approve an ethics bill after a lengthy debate in which several supporters of the bill enumerated its flaws, saying it was either an unnecessary bill or an inadequate one. The bill would limit “tangible” gifts from lobbyists to $250 per item, but would not prevent lawmakers from accepting expensive trips and meals from special interests. Lawmakers have vowed to tighten Virginia’s ethics rules in the wake of a gift scandal involving former Gov. Bob McDonnell, who was indicted on federal corruption charges last month.
Kevin Quick
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Prosecutors have dropped charges that three people were involved in a Waynesboro reserve police officer’s murder. According to media reports, charges of principal in second degree to murder were dropped Monday in Goochland County General District Court. The three still face charges of gang participation in connection with the disappearance of 45-year-old Kevin Wayne Quick.The suspects are 49-year-old Leslie Hope Casterlow and 31-year-old Anthony D. Stokes Jr., both of Manassas, and 22-year-old Gert Wright, also known as Halisi Uhuru, of Danville. Two Louisa County siblings also have been charged with stealing Quick’s SUV. Authorities on Sunday arrested a sixth suspect, 22-year-old Anthony White of Mineral. He’s charged with gang participation.
Quick was reported missing Feb. 1. His body was found Thursday. Virginia State Police are still investigating.
Kevin Quick
WAYNESBORO, Va. (AP) _ Police say three people face charges in connection with the death of a Virginia reserve police officer. Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said Friday that the three are charged with principle in second degree to the crime of murder. They are 49-year-old Leslie Hope Casterlow and 31-year-old Anthony Darnell Stokes Jr., both of Manassas, and 22-year-old Halisi Uhuru of Danville.
The arrests came after the search for 45-year-old Kevin Wayne Quick led to the discovery of a body in Goochland County. The reserve Waynesboro police officer was reported missing Saturday after he failed to show up at his girlfriend’s house the night before.
Two Louisa County siblings previously were charged with grand larceny related to the theft of Quick’s SUV. A third sibling was arrested on an unrelated charge.
Left to right: Halisi Uhuru, Leslie Casterlow, Anthony Stokes, Jr. (Henrico County Sheriff’s Office photos)
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ The search for a missing Virginia reserve police officer has led to the discovery of a body in a remote area northeast of Richmond; an identification of the body has not been made, but sources say it believe to be 45-year-old Kevin Quick. Virginia State Police say the body was found Thursday in a remote area along the Fluvanna and Goochland counties line about halfway between Richmond and Charlottesville. Police are attempting to identify the body. The veteran reserve Waynesboro police officer was reported missing Saturday after he failed to show up at his girlfriend’s house the night before.
Two siblings from Louisa County are charged with grand larceny related to the theft of Quick’s SUV. A third sibling was also arrested on an unrelated charge.
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) _ Advance Auto Parts says its fourth-quarter profit fell 24 percent on costs related to the acquisition of two car parts suppliers. Its adjusted earnings and revenue beat Wall Street expectations, however. Its shares climbed in premarket trading Thursday.
The company reported net income of $49.3 million, or 67 cents per share, for the quarter, down from $65.1 million, or 88 cents per share, a year ago. Advance Auto Parts said adjusted earnings were 94 cents per share. Analysts expected earnings of 81 cents per share. Revenue increased 6 percent to $1.41 billion. Analysts expected revenue of $1.39 billion.
Advance Auto Parts Inc., based in Roanoke, Va., operates more than 5,295 stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) _ A federal judge has finished hearing arguments on whether Virginia’s ban on gay marriage should be struck down. U.S. District Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen did not issue a ruling on Tuesday but said she would soon.
During verbal arguments, attorneys for a gay Norfolk couple argued the state’s ban on gay marriage takes away a fundamental right to marry because of who they are. The Virginia Attorney General’s Office is siding with the plaintiffs, saying the case is legally indistinguishable from the case that legalized interracial marriage.
An attorney for Norfolk’s Circuit Clerk court defending the law said the legislative process should be respected, and the court shouldn’t change the law.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Federal prosecutors say former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has no legal right to see the instructions that were given to a grand jury that indicted him on corruption charges. In court papers filed in Richmond, prosecutors say McDonnell’s lawyers used a motion for disclosure “as a public forum to castigate the government” without stating any legal basis for lifting the secrecy that normally applies to grand jury proceedings. Monday’s filing comes in response to a strongly worded motion by McDonnell that questioned the validity of the charges against him and his wife, Maureen. The McDonnells are accused of accepting thousands of dollars in gifts from the former CEO of a dietary supplements company in exchange for promoting his products. Their trial has been set for July.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Republicans in the Virginia House of Delegates want to give lawmakers standing in lawsuits where the attorney general and governor have chosen not to participate. The House approved a bill Monday at the Capitol giving them that power. The bill is a response to Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring’s decision to fight Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage. Herring announced last month that he will join gay couples in two federal lawsuits challenging the ban. Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe has supported Herring’s move. Republicans in the GOP-controlled House said McAuliffe and Herring had abandoned their duty to uphold the state’s laws, regardless of their personal views. House Democrats said Republicans were overstepping their bounds, and called on the Democratically controlled Senate to reject the proposal.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ A federal judge is limiting what former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, can discuss with friends and family before their trial on corruption charges. Magistrate Judge David J. Novak on Monday ordered the McDonnells not to have any “substantive” discussions about their case with any potential witnesses, including family and longtime friends. Novak ordered Monday’s hearing to clarify with whom the McDonnells could and couldn’t talk before their July trial. Lawyers for the McDonnells wanted slightly fewer restrictions, with prohibited conversations limited only to potential witnesses’ possible testimony. Prosecutors initially wanted heftier limits to prevent the McDonnells from having any contact with potential witnesses other than family. The McDonnells have denied charges they accepted thousands of dollars in loans and gifts from a former CEO of a dietary supplement-maker.
PULASKI, Va. (AP) _ Pulaski police say the body of an infant found in the Draper area has been identified as that of a missing 5-month-old boy. Police told media outlets on Monday that the body is that of Cory Samuel Cole. The infant had been missing for a week before searchers found his body Thursday night. Police arrested the infant’s father, 31-year-old Howard Samuel Cole of Pulaski, on a child-abuse charge Thursday morning. Pulaski Police Chief Gary Roche says the investigation began when relatives came to the police station Tuesday afternoon. Relatives told police Cole and his son were missing and that the alleged abuse occurred Jan. 26. He says police have not yet been told the cause of death.