Web Staff
From Virginia State Police:
The Virginia State Police are continuing their investigation into a fatal crash that killed two Virginia residents yesterday afternoon around 3:45 pm on Route 39 approximately 3/10 of a mile west of Route 803 in Rockbridge County. The preliminary investigation revealed that a 1999 Ford Crown Victoria (taxi cab) that was being operated by Joshua Allen Murphy, age 26, of Harrisonburg, Virginia ran off the right side of the roadway striking a tree causing the vehicle to catch fire and entrapping both occupants in the vehicle. Murphy and a passenger in the Crown Victoria Cyrus Greg Carawan, age 28, of Lexington, Virginia were not wearing safety belts at the time of the crash and both were pronounced dead at the scene. No further information regarding the crash is available at this time and the crash remains under investigation.
From Virginia Tech: BLACKSBURG, Va., Aug. 5, 2014 – Virginia Tech has been named No. 1 in the Princeton Review’s Best Campus Food rankings for 2015. This ranking and those in a number of other categories push Virginia Tech into Princeton Review’s respected annual college guide, “The Best 379 Colleges.” The widely-read publication features the nation’s outstanding institutions of higher education. Virginia Tech Dining Services has consistently ranked in Princeton Review’s top four best campus food spots, and previously attained the No. 1 designation in 2010 and 2008.
(Continue reading for the rest of the Virginia Tech news release.)
As the Roanoke Railhouse Brewery gets closer to opening its taproom on Franklin Road, it’s making a last call…but not for alcohol. President Steve Davidson says the best case scenario for an open date is the third week in August. But he says mostly likely it will be September 1st…just in time for football. The Brewery would like help sprucing up the place.
If you have railroad paraphernalia that you would like to donate or loan, please contact them at 540.293.2423 or scohend29@gmail.com. You can also post something on their Facebook page (click HERE).
Click below to hear an extended conversation with Roanoke Railhouse Brewery President Steve Davidson:
From Salem Police Department:
Salem Police are asking for assistance in identifying this white male in these photos who may be involved in a Larceny. This subject may be driving a dark colored Chevy pickup truck. If anyone has information in regards to this case please call the Salem Police at 540-375-3083 or the Roanoke Valley Crime Line at 540-344-8500.
Kavon Taylor
From Roanoke City Police: On July 29, 2014 at 6:08 p.m. Roanoke Police were dispatched to the 1200 block of Orange Avenue NE to investigate a shots fired call. Immediately upon arrival officers detained several subjects believed to have been involved in the incident. The preliminary investigation suggests the individuals involved were traveling in two different vehicles on Hollins Road when at least one of the occupants in one of the vehicles starting shooting at the other vehicle. The vehicles separated briefly and then the individuals encountered each other again at the intersection of 11th Street and Orange Avenue where additional shots were fired. At that point, several of the individuals then got out of their vehicles, and crossed Orange Avenue on foot, where one of the subjects was assaulted in the parking lot of the Huff N Puff Smoke Shop in the 1200 block of Orange.
(Continue reading for the rest of the news release.)
In anticipation of the City of Roanoke’s Welcome to Elmwood Park concert featuring Sheryl Crow on Thursday, July 31, the city would like to provide additional details about the event. Caitlyn Smith begins at 7 p.m. and will play for 30 minutes. Sheryl Crow begins at 8 p.m. and is expected to play for 90 minutes.Ticket holders are encouraged not to line up prior to 2 p.m. at the designated entry points to the park, which will be on Bullitt Avenue at Jefferson Street, and Franklin Road. Gates to the park will open at 4 p.m. Gates to get into the amphitheater will open at 5 p.m. Upon entry, a wristband will be provided. Ticket holders will also be subject to a bag check.
From the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office: At 8:03 p.m. Tuesday night, July 29, 2014, Bedford County 911 dispatchers received a call from 1554 Stewartsville Road, Moneta. The caller reported that she was home alone and was in the shower, when a male broke into her home. He grabbed her and pulled her out of the shower while holding a hand gun to her head. He demanded she give him her car keys. When she did not, he tried hot wire her vehicle. When his efforts to start the car failed he left the victims home riding what she described as a moped and traveled west on Stewartsville Road. At 8:50 p.m., Bedford County sheriff’s deputies observed a male on a dirt bike near the intersection of Stewartsville Road and Harveys Creek Road. Attempts to stop the bike failed due to it going off the road and through fields.
(Continue reading for the rest of the news release.)
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) _ A teenager has been sentenced to serve up to four years in a prison program for young offenders in a November crash that killed two passengers. Seventeen-year-old Dominique Lorenzo Young was sentenced Tuesday in Roanoke County Circuit Court on two counts of involuntary manslaughter. The Roanoke Times reports that under state law, the incarceration will be reviewed by the Virginia Parole Board to determine when he’s fit for release. Court records show the youth got into his mother’s car without permission on Nov. 11 and picked up a group of friends. He was driving on a learner’s permit that had been suspended five days before due to another crash. Killed in the Nov. 11 accident were 20-year-old Jefferson Cody Elliott and 18-year-old Danial Wayne Buckner.
Michael Anthony Smith
BEDFORD, Va. (AP) _ A Bedford man accused of waiting several hours to report the death of his 2-year-old son in order to clean up a meth lab in his home has pleaded guilty to child abuse and methamphetamine manufacturing. Media outlets report 26-year-old Michael Anthony Smith entered the plea Tuesday in Bedford County court. The child’s mother, 24-year-old Shana Marie Witt, is charged with first-degree murder.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia is giving shoppers a break on buying back-to-school supplies. Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s office says the annual back-to-school sales tax holiday will begin Friday and run through Sunday. During the three-day holiday, shoppers at retail stores statewide won’t have to pay sales tax on notebooks, pens, calculators, binders and other school supplies priced up to $20. Shoes and most clothing items priced up to $100 also will be exempt from the sales tax. The Department of Taxation has posted a list of eligible items and guidelines on its website, http://www.tax.virginia.gov.