A section of U.S. 1 was closed for several hours yesterday and about 3,500 Dominion Virginia Power customers lost power after a dump truck pulled down a telephone pole near Aquia Towne Center, officials said. Stafford sheriff's public information officer William Kennedy said the incident started about 9 a.m. when the construction driver accidentally snagged some electrical wires in the 2400 block of U.S. 1. The pole came down and blocked the highway. Power company crews spent several hours clearing the roadway and restoring electricity to the area. The road reopened about 2 p.m. U.S. 1 traffic was diverted to Interstate 95, causing heavy traffic backups there. Photo courtesy JOHN McDONALD View and ORDER more photos.

Jury to get double-murder case

By ROBIN KNEPPER

Date published: 9/12/2006

The prosecution in the double-homicide trial of James Henry Long Jr. rested its case yesterday and the jury is expected to start deliberations tomorrow.

Commonwealth's Attorney Diana Wheeler called her last witnesses in the case against Long, with testimony from Orange County Sheriff's Office crime-scene Investigator Pete Siebel and expert witnesses from the Virginia Department of Forensic Science.

Long is charged in the March 18, 2005, slayings of William E. Browning and his girlfriend, Vicki Truax, in the Burr Hill section of Orange County. Their bodies were found in Browning's pickup in the yard of neighbor Daniel Rathbun.

Rathbun reported hearing the truck horn blowing and gunshots, and then saw a red sports car leaving the scene. He discovered the bodies in the truck and called 911.

Subsequent investigation showed that Browning had been killed with a .32 caliber revolver, and Truax had been killed with a .12-gauge shotgun.

William Browning was the ex-husband of Long's girlfriend, Robin Browning.

M. Scott Maye, a forensic scientist expert in gunshot-residue analysis, testified that gunshot residue was found on the red 2004 Corvette belonging to Robin Browning, but not on Browning's or Long's hands.

J.J. Mason Jr., a forensic scientist expert in firearms and tool marks, testified that a shotgun shell case found in the Corvette was definitely fired by the Mossberg shotgun found at Long's house.

He also testified that a .32-caliber revolver belonging to Long and found on his property could not be identified as the weapon that killed William Browning because the bullet was too damaged.

Mason said the angle of the shots fired into Browning and Truax was consistent with being fired by someone sitting in a Corvette. He added Browning had been shot with a revolver held less than 2 feet away, and that Truax had been killed with the shotgun from a distance of about 6 feet.

According to the tire tracks of the pickup and the Corvette in Rathbun's driveway, Mason said, the shots may have been fired at another location, but he did not explain.

Date published: 9/12/2006