Crime and Public Safety
CHESTERFIELD, Va. (AP) – A Virginia police officer has been fired after an investigation into his alleged membership in a white nationalist group.Chesterfield Police Department Chief Jeff Katz said Thursday that Officer Daniel Morley was fired because his affiliation with Identity Evropa makes it impossible for him to do his job “in a way that would contribute to the building of trust” with the community.Morley was a school resource officer. He did not respond to an email seeking comment Thursday.Col. Katz said Morley has a First Amendment right to free speech and association, but the views attributed to Morley violate departmental policy and values.On Wednesday, Virginia Capitol Police announced that an officer lost his job after reports surfaced suggesting he follows a white supremacist group.
Photo: BCSO
A man is charged with beating and sexually assaulting a Bedford County woman. The sheriff’s office says the report came in yesterday morning from a Moneta-area home. 50-year-old Steven Lorent was also served a warrant for failing to appear in Rockbridge County court.
News release: At 6:30 a.m., on April 17, 2019, Bedford County 911 received a call from Little Creek Road in Moneta. The caller stated that a female had came to her house and said she had been sexually assaulted. The caller also advised that the female appeared to have been beaten. A Virginia State trooper and Bedford County deputies responded and observed the victim had multiple injuries. The victim said that Steve Lorent had sexually and physically assaulted her. He took her cell phone and left the residence on foot. She went to a neighbor’s house to get help. The victim was transported to Roanoke Memorial Hospital for treatment of her injuries. She was later released. Later deputies located Steven John Lorent at a residence in Huddleston. He was arrested on an outstanding warrant for failure to appear from Rockbridge County. Bedford County Sheriff’s investigators later charged Lorent, age 50, with strangulation, object sexual penetration, grand larceny and felony domestic assault and battery. He is being held in the Bedford Adult Detention Center on no bond.
News release: Roanoke County Police is seeking information related to a string of recent thefts from unlocked vehicles this month in North County. In all eight separate cases this month, the unlocked cars were parked in driveways or streets, with thefts occurring after midnight. Items taken from the vehicles include loose change, purses and bags, and electronics. Police report no other damage to the vehicles. “Unfortunately, these types of snatch-and-grab thefts are more common when warmer weather arrives,” says Roanoke County Crime Prevention Coordinator Thurman Butts. “The best way to prevent becoming a victim of this type of crime is to remove any valuables from your vehicle and remember to lock your vehicles every night as part of your 9 o’clock routine.” Roanoke County residents are asked to report any suspicious activity to the Roanoke County Emergency Communications Center at (540) 562-3265. This series of incidents has taken place in the North Lakes and Montclair Estates neighborhoods in North County. Residents concerned about crime in their neighborhoods can see crimes reported within the last 30 days on the department’s PoliceView app at https://policeview.roanokecountyva.gov/. To help promote community awareness of these crimes, Roanoke County Police recently posted a “Citizen Alert” about vehicle break-ins on its Facebook page and Twitter feed, along with security video of a theft that occurred on April 16. Anyone with information related to this string of thefts from vehicles is encouraged to contact Roanoke County Police Detective Finney at (540) 562-3265.
https://www.facebook.com/RoanokeCountyPolice/videos/2436010993097983/
Identity theft may most occur these days through your computer or cellphone, but the paper variety is still very much with us — and experts say it is something you must remain careful to avoid. The Better Business Bureau handled several thousand such cases of identity theft last year in Virginia, when thieves use information from your bank, credit card or hospital statement. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more.
Photo: Salem PD
Salem Police are asking for help in identifying and finding a “person of interest” in connection with a shoplifting incident in the city. The Facebook post does not state what the business is, but the surveillance photo clearly appears to taken be at one of the two Sheetz convenience stores in Salem.
Facebook post: The Salem Police Department is once again asking for assistance in the identity of the below individual who is a person of interest in a shoplifting that occurred in the City. Anyone with information can call the Detective Division at 375-3083 and ask for Detective Akers.
STAUNTON, Va. (AP) — The Virginia couple who prosecutors say “systematically tortured” a boy for two weeks face 17 years in prison each after being sentenced.
The News Leader of Staunton reports 33-year-old Theodore Manna Jr. and 35-year-old Cecilia Burnette were sentenced Friday for injuries inflicted on Burnette’s 6-year-old son. Both had been convicted last year of malicious wounding.
Evidence showed the boy’s hands were routinely bound behind the back of his head while he was tied to a door. The evidence showed Manna then repeatedly beat the boy with a belt. During beatings, he was stripped naked and kicked in the stomach and testicles.
In 2011, Burnette was sentenced to eight years in prison for felony child abuse after her 8-month-old daughter died from being shaken to death three years earlier.
Special Prosecutor Bryan Porter has released the body cam videos of the two Lynchburg Police officers who fired into the home of Walker Sigler in February of last year. One of Sigler’s legs was shattered, and the blood loss has led to permanent vision impairment. Here is the bodycam video from Officer Samantha Simmons:
Here is the bodycam video from Officer Edward Ferron:
Simmons and Ferron both pleaded no contest in late March to reckless handling of a firearm.
Porter is Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Alexandria, and he was appointed to serve as special prosecutor for the case.
Lynchburg Police say they are unable to comment further on the matter due to the ongoing internal investigation.
A Roanoke man faces multiple charges for allegedly leading police on a high-speed chase that started in Vinton, continued through Bedford County, and ended in Franklin County. Vinton Police say it started overnight when an officer tried to pull over 35-year-old Jordan Overstreet for a traffic violation, and it did not end until State Police deployed stop sticks on US 122. Police say Overstreet is charged with felony eluding, and he is also wanted in Franklin County for a probation violation.
Facebook photo
Seven years after Heather Hodges disappeared, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office says it has a “suspect”, but they are not saying much beyond that. For years, they have said there is a “person of interest”, but this is one of the few, if only, times they have used the word “suspect”. The latest from WFIR’s Evan Jones.