Copper tubing stolen at school construction site
A Spotsylvania County man is accused of stealing copper tubing from the construction site of the county's new middle school.
Spotsylvania sheriff's Deputy Shaun Jurgens saw a vehicle at the site of Post Oak Middle School next to Spotsylvania High School about 10:30 p.m. Sunday, Sheriff Howard Smith said.
Jurgens found copper tubing worth more than $200 inside the vehicle, Smith said. John Latney, 41, was charged with grand larceny; he was given a $2,500 bond.
Smith said there have been several reports of construction-site thefts recently. He said metals are sometimes taken to scrap yards and sold. Smith advises people running large construction sites to hire private security when no workers are around, or to keep materials locked up.
No headlights leads to marijuana charges
A man wanted in Spotsylvania County on marijuana offenses picked up another drug charge after his vehicle was pulled over for not having its headlights on, authorities said.
Spotsylvania sheriff's Deputy James Curtis pulled the car over about 1 a.m. Saturday on Courthouse Road, Sheriff Howard Smith said. Curtis found marijuana inside the car.
Smith said that the driver of the car--34-year-old Spotsylvania man Benjamin J. Baker--had an outstanding warrant for felony manufacturing of marijuana and possession of marijuana.
After Saturday's traffic stop, Baker was charged with another count of marijuana possession, Smith said. He was being held without bond at the Rappahannock Regional Jail.
Man held on drug counts after heroin, pot found
A Spotsylvania County man faces heroin and marijuana charges after a sheriff's deputy found the drugs in the suspect's vehicle yesterday morning.
A small vial of heroin was found inside a car during a traffic stop in the Lake Acres area of Spotsylvania about 2:30 a.m. yesterday. A glass pipe with marijuana inside was also found, Spotsylvania Sheriff Howard Smith said.
Judson J. Harris, 22, was charged with one count each of possession of marijuana and possession of heroin, Smith said. He was given a $2,500 bond.
Two options for gifts to Tyreek's family revealed
The Virginia Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund is expected to cover the funeral expenses for Tyreek Davis, a young boy whose remains were apparently found last month in Lake Anna.
The fund provides financial assistance to crime victims and is paid for through court fees paid by criminal defendants in Virginia.
Personnel with the Spotsylvania County Victim/Witness Assistance Program said they've received many donations from the public to help Tyreek's family with expenses. But because the compensation fund is paying the funeral costs, those donations will be returned within the next week.
Those still wishing to contribute directly to Tyreek's family can send checks to: Union Bank & Trust; Attn: Tyreek Davis Memorial Fund; Box 220; Ladysmith, Va. 22501. To give to the Virginia Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund, send checks to Box 26927; Richmond, Va. 23261.
Medical examiners have not yet confirmed that skeletal remains found in Lake Anna last month are those of Tyreek, but authorities strongly believe they are. Tyreek disappeared Sept. 29, 2004, at the age of 3. Herman Lee Black, 47, who pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and child neglect, revealed the location last month.
Divers found the remains in and around a large brake drum in about 18 feet of water near a bridge connecting Louisa and Spotsylvania counties on U.S. 522.
--Bill Freehling
Two charged in robbery of construction workers
A Culpeper man and a Maryland man have been arrested in connection with the Dec. 29 robbery of two construction workers at a Culpeper motel.
Ashley Francis Coram of Blackjack Road in Culpeper and Lorenzo James Ivey of Suitland Road in Suitland, Md., have been charged with two counts each of armed robbery and are being held without bond in the Culpeper County jail, according to Culpeper sheriff's Sgt. Vern Fox.
Coram and Ivey, both 25, are accused of invading a room at the Red Carpet Inn on U.S. 15 and robbing two workers of an undisclosed amount of cash at gunpoint.
The two also are charged with using a firearm in the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm after being convicted of a felony.
--Donnie Johnston