Builder handed more prison time for violating jail rules

A once-respected contractor who defrauded three families to the tune of more than $200,000 will serve another six months behind bars after being kicked out of the work release program managed by the jail where he was being held.

Bane “Mike” Van Dyke III, 62, was convicted on six counts of felony construction fraud in September 2006 in New Kent Circuit Court. The charges stemmed from money advanced to Van Dyke who was to build houses for Gary and Robin Tate and Melvin and Shirley Matula. The third family, Steve and Judy Harris, won a settlement in civil court and did not take part in criminal proceedings.

Judge Thomas B. Hoover sentenced Van Dyke to five years in prison, but last June 25 reduced the sentence to two-and-a-half years so that the defendant would be eligible for work release and thus able to pay back money owed to the families at a faster rate.

Van Dyke was ordered to pay $500 in restitution each month he was behind bars. The amount is to rise to $1,000 per month after the defendant is released. Van Dyke was scheduled for release next September.

But that date has been pushed back into 2009 following a Jan. 7 hearing in New Kent court. Hoover revoked six months of Van Dyke’s suspended sentence after determining the defendant violated a condition of work release that he travel directly to and from a job site.

Officers who administer the work release program at Henrico Jail East where Van Dyke is being held testified last week that the defendant visited the residence of his ex-wife while on work release last Aug. 20. Doing so violated a contract Van Dyke had signed, thus the defendant was removed from the work release program.

Van Dyke testified that he went to his ex-wife’s home to retrieve tools that belonged to him. Apparently, the ex-wife reported the violation to Henrico authorities.

“Why would you risk your probation over a few dollars in tools?” prosecutor Linwood Gregory asked the defendant.

“The tools meant a lot to me,” Van Dyke replied, adding that some had belonged to his father. “I’ve lost everything. I didn’t want to lose anything else.”

Gregory recommended that the judge impose an additional six months behind bars, saying that Van Dyke’s actions fell short of egregious.

Hoover agreed, but made a point of scolding the defendant.

“Mr. Van Dyke did not take the most direct route to and from work, and there was no imperative reason for him to get tools that day,” the judge said.

“He sets rules for himself, takes money from homeowners, and applies it where he wants to. Mr. Van Dyke continues to set rules as he wants to set them, he violates rules, and I don’t know where it will stop,” Hoover said.

The judge ordered Van Dyke transferred from jail to the state’s prison system since the defendant is no longer eligible for work release.

Based on figures produced in court last week, Van Dyke still owes $33,882. The amount includes restitution to the families involved plus interest and court costs.

In other, unrelated cases on Jan. 7, a New Kent County man was found guilty of two driving after being declared a habitual offender violations and a Highland Springs man was sentenced for forgery.

John Thomas Brandon Jr., 53, of 4830 Mountcastle Road, Providence Forge, pleaded not guilty to a March 25 habitual offender count. But New Kent Deputy Joey McLaughlin testified that Brandon was behind the wheel of a 1992 Pontiac that had stolen license tags. A check of Brandon’s identification revealed he was a habitual offender.

Then on Nov. 8, McLaughlin arrested Brandon a second time. This time, the defendant was driving the same Pontiac, but the car bore tags belonging to 2007 Acura. Brandon pleaded guilty on Jan. 7 to a second offense driving after being declared a habitual offender charge. Sentencing for both charges is scheduled for April.

William Donald Poulson Jr., 29, of 320 Bernie Court in Highland Springs, was sentenced to five years in prison on each of two forgery of a public document charges. Hoover suspended all but 18 months for the next 20 years.

Poulson signed the name Troy Hockleman on a pair of summonses on March 19, 2003 after he was stopped by police for driving off from a New Kent convenience store without paying for gasoline.

New Kent authorities were unable to uncover the defendant’s true identity until his fingerprints matched those of a suspect arrested in Henrico County last June.