Web Staff
John Fishwick, Jr.
Kionte Spencer
From the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Western Virginia: First Assistant United States Attorney Rick A. Mountcastle will handle all matters pertaining to the shooting death of Kionte Spencer for the United States Attorney’s Office after the Office of the Deputy Attorney General determined that United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. should be recused from further involvement to preclude any conflict of interest or even the appearance of a conflict arising from an unrelated matter that United States Attorney Fishwick worked on prior to being appointed the United States Attorney. The General Counsel’s Office for the Executive Office for United States Attorneys and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General notified the United States Attorney’s Office of the recusal decision on July 12, 2016, after receiving United States Attorney Fishwick’s request for a review. Mr. Fishwick made the request on June 28, 2016, immediately after he became aware of facts arising from the unrelated matter and curtailed his further involvement with the office pertaining to the February incident. The Department of Justice determined that, to preclude any conflict of interest or even the appearance of a conflict, and pursuant to the United States Attorney’s Manual and the United States Attorneys’ Procedures, Mr. Fishwick should be recused from any further role in the Kionte Spencer matter.
From Roanoke County Public Schools: ROANOKE – The Roanoke County School Board has appointed Donald T. Butzer as the new Catawba District member for the school board. Mr. Butzer will fill a portion of the unexpired term of Tom McCracken, who resigned from the Catawba District school board seat in June. Mr. Butzer will serve on the school board until the November 2016 special election is certified.
Mr. Butzer is a retired manager from Verizon where he was responsible for managing several aspects of business facilities and operations.
“We had five highly qualified candidates and considered all applicants very seriously. We want to express our thanks to all those who applied for this interim position,” said Roanoke County School Board Chairman Mike Wray. “Our decision was made based on Mr. Butzer’s strengths and his knowledge of how the education system works. Even after Don was unsuccessful in last November’s election, he remained very active and involved in our schools,” Wray said.
From Salem Police Department: On Saturday, July 2, at approximately 5:09 a.m., Salem Police responded to an armed robbery call at the 7-Eleven store located in the 2000 block of Roanoke Boulevard.
The store employee, who was working at the time of the robbery, told officers that the suspect produced a handgun and demanded money. The suspect left the scene with an undisclosed amount of cash and fled in an undetermined direction. The store clerk was not injured during the incident.
The suspect is described as being a black male, who was wearing a ski mask, a dark hoodie type sweatshirt, a white t-shirt, dark colored shorts, white sneakers and white tube style socks with stripes.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Salem Police Department at 375-3084 or the Roanoke Valley Crime Line at 344-8500.
AAA estimates 43 million Americans are traveling this holiday weekend — and most of those will be driving. State Police say 75% of the force will be patrolling the highways this weekend. Local law enforcement and first responders will step up efforts as well. WFIR’s Denise Allen Membreno has more.
From Roanoke County: (June 30, 2016)— On Saturday, June 18, at approximately 4:35 p.m., Roanoke County Police responded to a report of a robbery/home invasion in the 6100 block of Darby Road. A group of teens reported that multiple suspects, one of whom was armed with a firearm, robbed them. After an investigation by the Criminal Investigations Division, a 17-year old male was charged with 1 count of armed robbery, 2 counts of attempted armed robbery, 1 count of using a firearm in the commission of a felony, and 1 count of assault and battery. The suspect was apprehended by the U.S. Marshal Fugitive Task Force on June 23 without incident. The case is still under investigation. No items taken from the scene were recovered.
Anyone with further information should contact Detective E.J. Chidester at (540) 777-8638 or the Emergency Communications Center at (540) 562-3265.
