Crime and Public Safety
(Roanoke, VA) – On Wednesday, March 17, 2021, the National Park Service, along with Bedford County Sheriff’s Office, recovered a body near Rutrough Point on the Roanoke River.
The body recovered has been identified as Brent Gibson, 26, of Bedford County, Virginia. Search operations for Gibson began on March 3, 2021, in the vicinity of the Roanoke River Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Blue Ridge Parkway officials would like to thank Virginia State Police, Roanoke County Police, Bedford County Sherriff’s Office, Virginia Conservation Police, Roanoke County Swift Water Rescue Team, Scruggs Dive Team, Blue Ridge Bloodhounds, American Electric Power dam operations, and all the family, staff and volunteers that provided support for this search and recovery effort.
No further information is available at this time.
Photo: BCSO
NEWS RELEASE: The following subject was arrested in connection with an ongoing Southern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce investigation. Perry William “Bill” Rose, 70years of age, of Goodview, VA, was arrested by Investigators assigned to the Southern Internet Crimes Against Children’s Task Force. Participating Task Force agencies included the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office and the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office. Rose was charged with the following charges: (10) charges of 18.2-374.1:1–Possession of Child Pornography. This is an ongoing investigation and anyone with any information about this case is asked to call the Southern Internet Crimes Against Children’s Task Force at 434-534-9521, ext. 225. There will be no further media releases at this time
UPDATE: The sheriff’s office reports Finley has been located. No other details were provided.
PREVIOUS: The Bedford County Sheriff’s Office is attempting to locate the runaway juvenile seen in the photo. John Ramsey Finley is 15 years of age, 5’4” and 143lbs. John was last seen on 3/14/21 at approximately 9:00PM at his residence in the Forest area of Bedford County. John Finley was last seen wearing blue jeans, and a black hoodie. If you have any information on the possible whereabouts of Jacob, contact the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office at 540-586-7827.
A Roanoke man convicted on federal “drug kingpin” charges has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Federal prosecutors say Monta Jordan was convicted last year of trafficking close to 120 pounds of heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine into the Roanoke region — and continuing to do so even after he was first arrested and jailed.
NEWS RELEASE: ROANOKE, Va. -Monta Jordan, a convicted drug kingpin who was subject to one of the largest fentanyl seizures in Virginia at the time, was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Roanoke to 240 months in federal prison, Acting United States Attorney Daniel P. Bubar; Jared Forgot, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division, and Col. Gary T. Settle, Superintendent of the Virginia State Police announced today.
In February 2020, a jury convicted Jordan, 45, a.k.a. “Ghost” and “Tae” of Roanoke, of one count of conspiring to distribute heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine, one count of possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, one count of attempting to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine, one count of attempting to possess with the intent to distribute heroin, and possession of one or more firearms in furtherance of the overall drug conspiracy.
“Monta Jordan oversaw a significant drug distribution network that pumped various deadly narcotics into the Roanoke Valley, including fentanyl,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bubar today. “This significant sentence is the product of a lengthy investigation and trial, that could not have been accomplished without the collaboration between our many federal, state and local law enforcement partners, whose hard work brought Jordan to justice.”
“Fentanyl is responsible for killing thousands of people across our area,” Special Agent in Charge Forget said today. “With the help of federal, state, and local partners we are working hard on impactful cases such as this, to halt the distribution of these deadly drugs in our communities and throughout the country.”
Evidence at trial indicated that Jordan was responsible for trafficking more than 54 kilograms of narcotics into this region as part of an extensive drug operation that began no later than the summer of 2016 and extended even beyond his arrest on federal charges in August 2017. Jordan received deliveries of these narcotics at various locations in the Roanoke Valley and made cash payments toward his purchases of as much as $320,000 during scheduled meetings.
During trial in February 2020, witnesses explained that Jordan trafficked large quantities of narcotics into the Roanoke-area through by mail and through couriers, who were compensated in various ways for their willingness to transport narcotics by car from places such as New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Ohio. Further evidence established that Jordan received narcotics by mail at the residential addresses of his associates and, in turn, mailed large quantities of United States currency to designated recipients in those states. For example, during the course of the investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service intercepted two packages mailed by Jordan within the span of one week, containing collectively just under $100,000 in cash. In one instance, agents found a basketball in one of the contraband packages, wrapped in carbon paper and surrounded by miscellaneous chair cushions. The basketball itself had been cut and contained $49,950 in rubber-banded currency.
Jurors also heard evidence regarding Jordan’s methods of transporting narcotics into the Roanoke-area by one or more vehicles outfitted with concealed traps. Among other vehicles, Jordan owned a burgundy Ford Fusion, which he identified in his own text messages as the “Batmobile.” On August 5, 2017, surveillance officers conducted a traffic stop of a burgundy Ford Fusion dubbed by Jordan himself as the “Batmobile.” The car was in route from New York to Roanoke and stopped by law enforcement agents near Harrisonburg. During a subsequent search of that vehicle, specially trained interdiction officers with the Virginia State Police discovered a secret compartment, or trap, underneath the factory-installed carpet in the trunk of the car. They found approximately 4.5 pounds of fentanyl inside the trap, wrapped in smell-proof bags, and covered in an oily masking agent designed to defeat the scenting capabilities of K-9 drug dogs. This fentanyl seizure was the largest in Virginia at the time, recovered by investigators at a time when the region was plagued with an increase in drug overdoses attributable in part to the increasing use of fentanyl as a cutting agent in heroin transactions.
The case against Jordan culminated in his arrest on August 10, 2017. On that date, authorities recovered a package containing approximately one pound each of packaged cocaine and heroin, destined for Jordan. They replaced the replaced the narcotics with sham, or fake, drugs designed to match the appearance and weight of the seized contraband. During the subsequent arrest operation, agents made a controlled delivery of the package and observed Jordan as he retrieved and emptied the box along Highway 122 in Bedford County.
Jordan was intercepted near the intersection of Highway 122 and Morgans Church Road in Bedford County. In video footage of the ensuing police pursuit, Jordan could be seen throwing the sham drugs out the window of his vehicle and over a bridge, attempting to dispose of what he believed were genuine narcotics in his possession. He was taken into custody shortly after the sham packages entered the creek below and has remained incarcerated since that time.
Notwithstanding his arrest, witnesses indicated that Jordan successfully smuggled on or more phones into his cell at a local jail and used the phones to coordinate the delivery and distribution of narcotics from jail, while his case was pending trial. A known girlfriend and associate of Jordan’s, Amany Mohamed Raya, was convicted in January 2020 of attempting to smuggle one of these phones to Jordan in the spine of a fake binder designed to look like confidential legal mail. In a coordinated effort by the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the Roanoke City Sheriff’s Department, the United States Marshals Service (USMS), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), authorities caught Jordan in possession of one of the contraband phones and successfully intercepted Raya’s fake legal mail before it could be delivered to Jordan.
The investigation of this case was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Virginia State Police, the Roanoke City and Roanoke County Police Departments, the Salem Police Department, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and members of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA), with invaluable assistance and support from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Air National Guard, the Department of Homeland Security, the United States Marshals Service, the Salem Police Department, the Roanoke Sheriff’s Office, and the Criminal Investigations Division of the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Assistant United States Attorneys Kari Munro and Anthony Giorno prosecuted the case for the United States.
(From Roanoke Fire-EMS) At 11:35am, Roanoke Fire-EMS was dispatched to the 2000 block of Indian Village Ln SE for a fire. Units arrived to find light smoke coming from a multi-family residential structure. Upon entry, units found heavy smoke within the apartment. The fire was knocked down within 5 minutes of arrival. All of the occupants were able to escape safely and only one unit was affected. No injuries were reported. One adult and three kids will be displaced and are being assisted by property management. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
NEWS RELEASE: Roanoke Police have arrested Abdul Fluellen, 31 of Roanoke, and charged him with first-degree murder and use of a firearm in commission of a felony regarding the death of Malik Sims. Throughout the course of the investigation, Detectives determined that Mr. Fluellen was the suspect regarding this homicide. Detectives presented this case to the March meeting of the Roanoke Grand Jury where indictments for first-degree murder and use of a firearm in commission of a felony were issued. Mr. Fluellen was located on March 2, 2021 and the indictments were served without incident. No further updates are available at this time and the investigation remains ongoing.
MGN
Federal prosecutors say a Roanoke medical practice will pay more than $2 million in fines and restitution for fraudulent Medicare and Medicaid billing over an eight-year span. Allergy and Asthma Associates had already pleaded guilty to billing the government more than $600,000 for expensive asthma treatments it either did not purchase or improperly administered to patients.
NEWS RELEASE: ROANOKE, Va. – Acting United States Attorney Daniel P. Bubar and Virginia Attorney General Mark G. Herring announced today the finalization of a $2.1 million civil resolution with Allergy and Asthma Associates Inc. [AAA], a Roanoke-based, family-owned medical practice that billed Medicare and Virginia Medicaid more than $600,000 for expensive asthma treatments in did not purchase or improperly administered to patients. In June 2020, AAA pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Roanoke to one count of criminal health care fraud.
“When a medical practice fraudulently bills our Medicare and Medicaid programs, it diverts funds from the most vulnerable in our communities and must be held accountable,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bubar. “Today’s civil resolution coupled with AAA’s criminal conviction in June marks the end of a lengthy investigation and demonstrates that we will work closely with our federal and state partners to hold providers responsible for healthcare fraud.”
“Individuals and health care providers who defraud our health care system are not only stealing from Medicare and Medicaid, but they are also stealing from taxpayers and they must be held accountable,” said Attorney General Herring. “I want to thank both our state and federal partners, as well as my hardworking Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, for their dedication and partnership on this case.”
“Every Medicare or Medicaid dollar paid wrongfully is money no longer available for crucially needed health services,” said Maureen R. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge at the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Working with our law enforcement partners we will continue protecting these valuable program funds.”
According to court documents, between January 2010 and September 2017, AAA submitted improper billings to Medicare and Medicaid for Xolair, an expensive asthma treatment sold in single-use vials. Due to the nature of the drug, many patients receive doses of the drug that require health care providers to administer a partial vial of the drug. This results in leftover amounts of Xolair that are not administered to the patient. At relevant times, Medicare and Medicaid allowed providers to bill Medicare Part B and Medicaid one time for an entire single vial of Xolair, which includes both the administered quantity, as well as the discarded quantity of the drug from a single-use vial, up to the amount listed on the vial’s label.
In situations where a patient’s dose resulted in a leftover partial vial of Xolair, AAA administered the leftover amount to another patient and the billed Medicare and Medicaid for administering this amount as if it were the entire single-use vial.
From January 2010 to September 2017, AAA billed Medicare $627,540 for Xolair that AAA did not purchase. In addition, AAA received 129 vials of Xolair from Medicaid which is not documented as being used for a Medicaid patient. These 129 vials represent an approximate loss to Medicaid of $88,878.
Under the terms of the civil resolution finalized last week, AAA will pay a total of $2,149,607 to settle claims they violated the false claims act. Broken down, $1,994,607 will be paid to United States government and $154,648 will be paid to the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services- Office of the Inspector General, Virginia Office of the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Special Assistant United States Attorney and Virginia Assistant Attorney General Nicole S. Terry prosecuted the criminal case for the United States. Assistant United States Attorney Justin Lugar handled the civil matter.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia lawmakers passed a bill that will ban the use of a person’s perceived or actual sexual orientation or gender identity as a defense in court for the assault or murder of an LGBTQ person.
“It’s done: We’re banning the gay/trans panic defense in Virginia,” Del. Danica Roem, D-Manassas, said in a Twitter post.
Roem introduced House Bill 2132, which passed the Senate 23-15 on Thursday with an amendment. The House approved the amendment in a 58-39 vote. The bill now heads to Gov. Ralph Northam’s desk for a signature.
The Senate amendment adds oral solicitation, or hitting on someone, as an unacceptable justification for the gay or transgender panic defense.
The panic defense has historically been used in cases where a member of the LGBTQ community was attacked because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Defendants use the panic defense to justify “heat of passion” murders or assaults.
“This (bill) means someone’s mere existence as an LGBTQ person does not excuse someone else and does not constitute a reason of provocation to commit such a heat of passion attack,” Roem said.
The statute does not dismiss traditional self-defense lawsuits. This means LGBTQ people can still be prosecuted for attacking someone.
There have been at least eight instances in Virginia where the panic defense was used, with the last case in 2011, according to Carsten Andresen, a researcher and criminal justice professor from Austin, Texas. He said he has tracked 200 homicide cases nationally where the panic defense was attempted. Andresen reached out to Roem in support of the bill.
His research included five murders and three assaults in Virginia between 1973 and 2011 that Andresen said used the panic defense to justify or excuse a defendant’s violent actions. Mark Hayes murdered Tracie Gainer, a transgender woman, in 2002. Hayes claimed he “lost it” and murdered Gainer after engaging in sexual intercourse.
In 2011, Deandre Moore, age 18, pleaded guilty to killing 20-year-old Jacques Cowell by stabbing him multiple times. Cowell was openly gay and there were witness accounts that the two had a physical relationship. Moore received a 40-year prison sentence, with 15 years suspended.
“In these cases, criminal defense attorneys used gay and trans panic defense to put the victim (rather than the offender) on trial,” Andresen wrote in support of the bill. He said use of the panic defense “suggests that it is permissible to commit violence” against LGBTQ people.
Sen. Joseph Morrissey, D-Richmond, spoke in opposition of the bill, saying lawmakers should not pass laws that prohibit defendants from making a defense and that lawmakers would be going “down a very slippery slope.” Morrissey said any defendant who would offer the panic defense “would of course be rejected.”
Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, said this is not the first time Virginia has expressly prohibited a defense. Legislators repealed in 2008 the code section that provided defense from carnal knowledge when a defendant marries a child 14 years or older.
“When we have found an affirmative defense to be abhorrent to public policy we have gotten rid of it,” McClellan said.
McClellan said she wished she could agree with Morrissey that no judge would accept the panic defense, but referred back to the Virginia cases where it was used successfully.
“We know the bill is constitutional, we know also, the bill has existing precedence, which is why it has earned overwhelming bipartisan support in state houses across the country,” Roem said.
The American Bar Association in 2013 recommended that local, state and federal legislatures curtail the availabilty and effectiveness of the gay and transgender panic defense. Roem said that similar bills have been implemented in other state legislatures. Virginia will become the 12th state to ban the panic defense, according to the policy organization Movement Advancement Project. The defense is also banned in the District of Columbia.
There are currently 39 states that allow the panic defense to be used in cases where hate crimes resulted in the assault or murder of an LGBTQ individual. This typically results in a murder charge being lessened to a charge of manslaughter or acquittal.
Roem said she worked with Wes Bizzell, president of the National LGBT Bar Association, to prepare the bill. She also thanked Judy Shephard, the mother of Matthew Shephard, for speaking in support of the bill in committee.
Matthew Shephard, a gay man, was murdered in 1998 in Laramie, Wyoming. The judge barred Aaron McKinney’s defense lawyer from using the gay panic defense in the murder trial. McKinney said Shepard’s advances triggered memories of sexual abuse he suffered as a child. Police said the crime was motivated by robbery, but Shepard’s sexual orientation likely made him the target. There were four people involved in the brutal crime. Two were found guilty of murder and two were charged with being an accessory after the fact to first-degree murder.
Roem was in high school when Matthew Shephard was murdered. She said the case had a profound effect on her and prevented her from coming out due to a fear of being ostracized and attacked.
“It was requested to me by one of my Manassas Park student constituents who’s out, hoping not to have to live in the same fear in 2021 that I did in 1998,” Roem said of the bill.
Roem said there are people who don’t believe hate crimes such as the one against Shephard happen today in Virginia. She affirmed that they do happen, and she believes it is time to do something about it.
“We have to look at this from the perspective of ’what do we do to make an affirmative statement that LGBTQ lives matter, and that you can’t just kill us for existing,” Roem said.
MGN
FROM LYNCHBURG POLICE: – On February 25, 2021 at 9:11 p.m., officers responded to the 100-block of Holcomb Path Road for a person check. A man shut himself in a residence with multiple weapons. An Emergency Custody Order (ECO) was issued at 10:09 p.m. for the individual, who continued to refuse to come out of the residence. The Lynchburg Police Department’s (LPD) Crisis Negotiation Team and Tactical Unit responded to assist with the situation.
Officers spent several hours speaking with the man to de-escalate the situation and he still would not allow officers to take him into custody. After determining that he did not appear armed, officers attempted to take him into custody while he was located on a bed. As officers approached him, the man would not listen to officers’ commands and abruptly moved one hand to a concealed location. As a result of this movement, an officer fired one shot at the man.
The shot struck a dog sitting on top of the man, killing the dog. The man again refused to cooperate with commands from officers and was eventually taken into custody through the use of a Taser. He was transported to Lynchburg General Hospital under the ECO for a mental health evaluation. The individual sustained lacerations to his hand as a result of the incident.
The LPD requested the Virginia State Police (VSP) investigate the officer-involved shooting for any potential criminal charges. As a result of the ongoing VSP investigation, the LPD will not release body-worn camera footage at this time.
The LPD also is conducting an internal investigation. Per LPD policy, the involved officer has been placed on restricted duty. As is our practice, the LPD will release the involved officer’s name within seven days, pending the results of a threat assessment.
This is an ongoing investigation. Any additional information will be released as an update to this news release.