Defendants sentenced in CC

A Highland Springs man has been handed a suspended sentence in Charles City Circuit Court after being convicted of felony marijuana possession with intent to distribute.

But the defendant, who has no prior criminal record, has been sitting in jail for the 10 weeks that have elapsed since his trial when he told the presiding judge he had not used marijuana recently and then tested positive for the drug.

William Curtis Cox, 19, of 9 South Daisy Avenue, was to be released on bond after his Oct. 12 trial during which he pleaded guilty to the charge. Just before court proceedings ended, however, Judge Thomas B. Hoover asked Cox to recall the last time the defendant used marijuana.

Cox told the judge he had not used drugs in recent weeks. Unconvinced, Hoover ordered an on-the-spot urine screening that came back positive for marijuana use. The judge revoked the defendant’s bond and ordered Cox held in jail until a Dec. 21 sentencing date.

Cox was arrested last April 20 after a State Police trooper on patrol on Route 106 at the Charles City/New Kent line checked out two vehicles parked close to the old Chickahominy River Bridge site.

When the trooper pulled into the area, Cox tried to drive away, but first backed his car into a nearby guardrail and then scraped the side of the vehicle along the guardrail. Approaching Cox’s vehicle, the trooper detected the odor of marijuana. A search revealed 17 bags of the drug weighing 15.4 grams and stuffed under the driver’s seat. A set of scales and a smoking device were also found.

During the Dec. 21 sentencing, Cox’s attorney, Carl J. Witmeyer, told the court the April 20 incident was his client’s first brush with the law. Several character witnesses, including the defendant’s mother, coach, and a longtime friend, were in court to testify that Cox is “a very hard-working young man,” Witmeyer said.

Cox, meanwhile, told Hoover, “I know what I did was immature and stupid. All I can try to do is ask for your forgiveness and apologize to you, my family, and my lawyer.”

Hoover sentenced Cox to five years in prison with all suspended for the next 10 years. The defendant will remain on supervised probation for the 10-year period.

The judge indicated the time Cox has spent in jail since trial may be enough to convince him to stay out of trouble.

“I like to have him serve some time and get a taste of it so he never comes back here again,” Hoover said.

Prosecutor Randy Boyd agreed with the suspended sentence, but added, “We’ll see on supervised probation whether in fact he does stay away from [drugs].”

In another, unrelated case on Dec. 21, a Richmond man was handed a stiff four-year prison sentence after being convicted earlier this year of construction fraud. Hoover pointed to the defendant’s long criminal history as a determining factor in the sentence.

Donald Ray Lynch, 44, of 2220 Chalfont Drive, was convicted in July. He accepted an advance payment of $2,500 from Portia Jones to replace vinyl siding on Jones’ house, but never did the work.

Boyd argued that a four-year active prison term, as recommended by the court’s probation officer, is adequate since Lynch has multiple felony and probation violation convictions.

“He has a terrible record, and he has a terrible record of coming back on probation violations,” Boyd told the court. “I don’t think a suspended sentence is appropriate.”

Defense attorney Judy August said her client already faces more than 10 years in prison on other unrelated convictions.

“More jail time just piles it on and doesn’t accomplish what the court wants,” she said.

But Boyd countered that what the court wants can best be accomplished by placing Lynch behind bars.

“When he’s out, he’s going to be stealing from other people one way or another,” Boyd said. “I don’t think [suspended time] will make him learn a lesson at all.”

Lynch apologized to Hoover for his actions, but the judge wasn’t swayed.

“I agree with the probation officer and commonwealth’s attorney,” the judge told Lynch. “You have an absolutely horrible criminal record that goes on for years and years.”

Hoover sentenced Lynch to 10 years in prison with all but the four years suspended for the next 20 years. The judge ordered Lynch to pay $2,500 in restitution to the victim, and refused a defense request to have the four years run concurrently with time imposed earlier.