Crime and Public Safety
In response to an inquiry from a House of Delegates member, Attorney General Mark Herring released a statement today declaring that localities in Virginia that have passed resolutions declaring themselves Second Amendment Sanctuaries “have no legal effect.” In all localities says Herring, local constitutional officers and other local officials “are obligated to follow duly enacted state laws.” Local governments do not have the right to declare state statutes unconstitutional or decline to follow them says the Democratic Attorney General. See a link to Herring’s full statement below:
https://www.oag.state.va.us/files/Opinions/2019/19-059-Jones-issued.pdf
A Danville man was sentenced today in federal court to 54 years and seven months in prison for a series of armed robberies. 34-year-old Justin Stallings was convicted in March for the holdups, which included the Dollar General stores in Bedford and Rocky Mount. The feds say the case is part of federal efforts to prosecute serious firearms offenses.
NEWS RELEASE:
Lynchburg, VIRGINIA – Justin Stallings, a Danville man who was convicted in March of committing seven armed robberies of businesses in Danville, Bedford, Rocky Mount, and Prospect Hill, N.C., was sentenced today to 54 years and 7 months incarceration in U.S. District Court in Lynchburg. United States Attorney Thomas T. Cullen and David W. Archey, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division made the announcement today as part of the Western District of Virginia’s ongoing Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative to reduce violent crime.
A jury convicted Stallings, 34, in March, following a three-day trial of six counts of Hobbs Act robbery, one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act Robbery, six counts of using a firearm in commission of a Hobbs Act robbery, and one count of being a convicted felon illegally in possession of a firearm.
“This case illustrates our commitment to prosecuting violent offenders and serious firearms offenses in federal court,” U.S. Attorney Cullen stated today. “I am grateful for the hard work and continuing support of our many state and local partners in helping us to identify violent offenders in specific communities and hold them accountable under federal law.”
“The FBI is fully committed to identifying violent offenders who prey on our communities and removing them from our streets,” Special Agent in Charge Archey said today. “Mr. Stallings robbed multiple businesses and victimized employees during his crime spree, and the sentence handed down today is just. This investigation was conducted by the FBI Richmond Safe Streets Gang Task Force, who along with our state and local partners, will continue to utilize our manpower and resources to protect the communities we serve.”
A jury found that Stallings committed seven armed robberies between December 2016 and February 2017. At each location, Stallings entered a store near closing time and pointed his firearm at employees. Through fear and intimidation of the employees, he then proceeded to steal cash from the register and goods from the store. All told, Stallings used a firearm to commit robberies at each of the following businesses in Virginia and North Carolina:
- Dollar General located on South Main Street in Danville, Va., on December 8, 2016;
- Dollar General located on Westover Drive in Danville, Va. on January 8, 2017;
- KFC located on Memorial Drive in Danville, Va., on January 11, 2017;
- Charlie’s Stop N Shop located on Westover Drive in Danville, Va., on January 20, 2017;
- Dollar General located in Caswell County, North Carolina, on January 25, 2017;
- Dollar General located on Blue Ridge Avenue in Bedford, Va., on February 5, 2017;
- Dollar General located on Pell Avenue in Rocky Mount, Va., on February 6, 2017.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Danville Police Department, the Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Office, the Caswell County (N.C.) Sheriff’s Office, the Bedford Police Department, the Rocky Mount Police Department and the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Bedford County. Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher Kavanaugh and Rachel Swartz prosecuted the case for the United States.
PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Soering is welcomed in at Frankfurt’s airport. Photo: AP
BERLIN (AP) — A German diplomat’s son who served more than 33 years in prison for a double murder in Virginia that he has steadfastly maintained he didn’t commit arrived in his homeland Tuesday after being released on parole.
Jens Soering, his brown hair now graying, was met by a crush of supporters and reporters after he landed in Frankfurt following his deportation, saying “I would never have managed it without these people who supported me for years.”
“After 33 years, 6 months and 25 days, to finally, finally be back in Germany, it’s so great,” he said. “I am so happy. This is really the best day of my life.”
Soering, 53, was convicted of murdering his then-girlfriend Elizabeth Haysom’s parents in 1985 and was serving a life sentence in Virginia when he was granted parole last month. Haysom, who was serving a 90-year sentence as an accessory, was also granted parole at the same time.
The slayings of Nancy and Derek Haysom on the outskirts of Lynchburg, Virginia, attracted national attention in the U.S. both for their brutal ferocity — the victims had their throats slashed and were collectively stabbed nearly 50 times — and due to the suspects.
Soering, a self-described nerd, was the teenage son of West Germany’s vice consul at the consulate in Detroit and Haysom, the daughter of a retired Canadian steel executive, was portrayed at the time as a worldly femme fatale.
The two met as University of Virginia students. They fled before they had emerged as the main suspects and were eventually arrested in London.
Haysom did not fight her extradition but Soering did, and he was only sent back to the United States after a four-year legal battle. His 1990 trial was a sensation, one of the first to be televised live. Haysom testified against him, telling the court she manipulated Soering into committing the killings because her parents wanted to end their daughter’s relationship with Soering.
Soering to this day maintains that Haysom carried out the killings herself and only told him after the slayings. Haysom, a Canadian citizen, was also ordered deported after her release on parole.
Soering initially confessed to the murders, but later said he had only done so because he thought his father’s status as a diplomat would provide him immunity in the United States, and that he would serve a short juvenile sentence in Germany while sparing Haysom the possibility of the electric chair.
Soering’s parole was rejected 14 times before finally being granted last month and he also petitioned for a pardon many times.
In his pardon applications, Soering and his lawyers said DNA evidence unavailable at the time of his conviction pointed to his innocence. The DNA analyses showed that some of the Type O blood found at the scene did not belong to Soering. Nor could it have belonged to Haysom, who has Type B blood.
Soering has suggested in many interviews that Haysom must have enlisted the help of others in the killings.
Over the years, Soering garnered many supporters advocating for his release, including from law enforcement officials who have re-examined the evidence using new forensic techniques, crime author John Grisham and movie star Martin Sheen.
“I have a lot of wonderful friends in America, a lot of them police officers, and that’s the only reason I’m here — because so many police officers came forward and investigated this case and found out the truth and they let me go,” Soering said after his arrival in Germany.
Peter Beyer, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party and the government’s coordinator for trans-Atlantic relations, was among those who met Soering at the airport.
Soering’s mother died while he was in prison and he has said he is now estranged from his father.
He did not say where he planned to live in Germany and took no questions at the airport. He asked reporters to respect his privacy for the next few weeks while he tries to settle back into society.
NEWS RELEASE: On December 14, 2019, at 9:58 am the Martinsville/ Henry County 9-1-1 Center received a call in regards to an assault that had occurred at 3288 Green Hill Dr., Martinsville, VA. Deputies from the Henry County Sheriff’s Office responded to the residence and spoke with the victim, Ashley Lynn Justus, 28, of 3288 Green Hill Dr. Justus reported that her mother’s boyfriend, Michael T. Purdue, 43, of 966 Dyers Store Rd. was at her home. Purdue became irate and began to assault Justus.
During the course of the assault Purdue brandished a firearm and struck her in the head with the gun, he then began to choke her. Purdue threatened to commit suicide and fled the home in his vehicle but returned minutes later. Upon his return he did not enter the home and left a second time.
At 10:15 am deputies located Purdue’s vehicle at his residence, 966 Dyers Store Rd. Deputies attempted to make contact with Purdue but he refused to exit the home. Investigators from the Sheriff’s Office obtained warrants on Purdue for abduction (felony), strangulation (felony), use of firearm during a felony (felony) and assault and battery (misdemeanor).
Negotiators from the Sheriff’s Office made continuous attempts to contact Purdue without success. During this time investigators obtaine a search warrant to enter Perdue’s residence. At 3:00 pm a tactical unit from the Sheriff’s Office made entry into the residence and found Mr. Purdue deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The remains will be transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the Western District of Virginia (O.C.M.E) for an autopsy. The cause and manner of death are pending the completion of the O.C.M.E. autopsy report.
Photo: FCSO
NEWS RELEASE: Based on the recent story in reference to Michael Brown possibly hiding in the RV when law enforcement was present, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office has prepared a statement:
“We have been aware of that rumor since Brown was arrested. We have been investigating that information and cannot confirm that Brown was in the RV at the time. We are currently unaware of any surveillance video from the impound lot in Roanoke. This is an ongoing criminal investigation and we will continue to investigate any new information that becomes available.”
PREVIOUS: WSLS-10 is reporting that Franklin County murder suspect Michael Brown was hiding in the RV found near the Grandin Village last month as law enforcement searched the vehicle. Brown’s attorney Deborah Caldwell-Bono says her client was hiding, behind a cabinet, somewhere near the top of the vehicle during the search and when it was towed to a lot five miles away. Officials with the US Marshals Service say they are aware of the “rumor” but would not confirm if it was true.
Convicted murderer Kevin Soto-Bonilla will not face the death penalty. Prosecutors and defense attorneys reached an agreement in the middle of today’s sentencing phase. Soto-Bonilla now admits guilt for his role in the stabbing death of Lynchburg teen Raymond Wood. In return, he was promptly sentenced to life in prison without parole. Soto-Bonilla received additional consecutive sentences for abduction and gang participation. He apologized to the Wood family during today’s hearing, saying “I am very sorry to the Wood family. I imagine how a mother would feel. I regretfully feel it from my heart. And may God give you the strength to move forward.”
The turnaround came one day after a Bedford County Jury convicted Soto-Bonilla for capital murder. The jury was considering whether to recommend a death sentence or life in prison when he agreed to admit guilty in exchange for life in prison.
Photo: @Tessa Majors
NEW YORK (AP) — An 18-year-old Barnard College freshman has been fatally stabbed in a park in Manhattan.
“With broken hearts, we share tragic news about the death of one of our students,” Barnard President Sian Leah Beilock said late Wednesday in a letter to the campus. “This is an unthinkable tragedy that has shaken us to our core.”
The letter identified the student as Tessa Majors and said she was fatally wounded during an armed robbery near Barnard’s campus. Barnard College is part of Columbia University.
Police said they responded to an assault report at around 5:30 p.m. and found an unconscious woman, who had been stabbed multiple times. She died at a hospital.
There have been no arrests.
The teen’s parents, who live in Charlottesville, Virginia, headed to New York after learning the tragic news, her grandparents told New York’s Daily News.
Her grandfather, Andrew Burton, called her “a lovely, lovely girl — very, very smart and sweet.”
Isabel Jauregui, a Barnard student who works on the Columbia Spectator campus newspaper, told The New York Times that students were on edge.
Roanoke Police say two people were wounded in what appear to be related mid-day shootings in the Hurt Park area. Officers were called during the noon hour to the 1800 block of Westview Avenue Southwest. They found two men near one another with gunshot wounds; neither injury appeared to be life-threatening.
NEWS RELEASE: On December 10, 2019 just before 12:30 pm, Roanoke Police responded to a report of a person who had been shot in the 1800 block of Westview Avenue SW. Officers located an adult male with what appeared to be a non-life threatening gunshot wound outside of a residence. The victim refused transport to the hospital. A short time later, officers located another adult male with a gunshot wound. This victim was transported to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital with what appeared to be a non-life threatening injury. No arrests have been made at this time regarding this incident. This is an ongoing investigation. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call (540)344-8500 and share what you know. You can also text us at 274637; please begin the text with “RoanokePD” to ensure it’s properly sent. Both calls and texts can remain anonymous.