College hopeful flunks urine test

A New Kent man was set to walk out of county circuit court on Monday with his jail term, incurred for a pair of felony convictions, postponed so that he could finish his first semester of college work. That is until a court probation officer intervened.

Probation officer Jeff Seeley, meeting with Michael Douglas Mayer following Monday’s trial, ordered the defendant to undergo urine screening for drugs. That was after Mayer had told Judge Thomas B. Hoover that one to two years had elapsed since he last used drugs. The test, meanwhile, proved positive for marijuana.

Earlier and as part of a plea deal, Mayer, 24, of 8022 North Henpeck Road in Quinton, pleaded guilty to a pair of charges involving petty larceny after two or more larceny convictions. The charges stemmed from theft of a soda and a package of beef jerky last Sept. 20 from the Quinton Exxon Pit Stop convenience store on Route 249 and theft of two energy drinks from the same store on Aug. 24.

The charges evolved from the store’s manager reviewing security camera tapes that recorded the thefts, prosecutor Linwood Gregory told the court. Mayer has previous larceny convictions in other jurisdictions, the prosecutor added.

Following terms of the plea deal, Hoover sentenced Mayer to five years in prison on each charge, suspending all but 12 months for the next 10 years. The defendant must also pay $600 to the store’s owner, Woodfin Oil, to cover other thefts caught on tape over a 30-day period.

In asking that the jail sentence be postponed, Mayer told Hoover he was taking algebra and other courses at a local community college in preparation for pursuit of an engineering degree. He said the semester ends on May 5, thus Hoover ruled the defendant could report to jail on May 9.

Upon hearing the results of the urine test, Hoover told Mayer an adjustment would be made to the earlier sentence. The judge did not buy the defendant’s explanation about a tooth problem and being nervous and thus forgetting about marijuana use two to three weeks ago.

“You’re future as an engineer is going down real quick,” the judge told Mayer in ordering the defendant to be taken into custody immediately to begin the jail sentence.

In another, unrelated case on Monday, Hoover found a New Kent man who tussled with a mother and son in an aborted car theft incident guilty of attempted unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

Shawn Wade Walker, 29, of 2500 Dispatch Road in Quinton, is being held in jail until sentencing is held in April. Walker was arrested last Oct. 8 following an incident at the Quinton Exxon Pit Stop convenience store on Route 249.

Teresa Sellers testified that she and her son, Brandon Holloway, drove into the store parking lot in separate vehicles. Sellers said she briefly encountered Walker before entering the store. The store’s manager, meanwhile, testified that Walker had been accosting other customers in attempts to get a ride to Richmond.

After his mother had entered the store, Holloway said he watched Walker jump into his mother’s Jeep Grand Cherokee and start the vehicle. The keys had been left in the car.

Holloway said he reached through the open driver’s side window and pushed Walker over while grabbing the keys from the ignition. He ordered Walker out of the car, and when Walker refused, he opened the door and dragged out the defendant.

The two then got into a struggle and were knocked to the pavement when Sellers entered the fray, tackling both. Eventually, the two men separated and Walker walked across Route 249 to another convenience store. That’s where police found the defendant.

Deputy Joey McLaughlin testified that Walker was “very intoxicated” and told deputies that he planned to take the Jeep to his house where the owners could pick it up.

Defense attorney Todd Duval told the court his client, who pleaded not guilty, has no recollection of the events that transpired. He argued that Walker never drove off in the Jeep and was unable to get the vehicle in gear.

Hoover, however, said evidence against Walker is “overwhelming and very compelling,” adding, “The defendant makes a Miranda statement that he wanted to take the Jeep to his house and the owners can pick it up the next day.

The judge ordered Walker held in jail until sentencing is held in April.

In another matter on Monday, a Surry County man pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of misdemeanor carrying a concealed weapon. Joseph M. Moseley II, 43, of 25 Mooring Road in Dendron, had been indicted for felony possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

A New Kent deputy found a .380 Jennings handgun in Moseley’s camper/trailer last July 17. As part of the plea deal, the defendant must spend 12 months in jail.

Also on Monday, a construction fraud charge lodged against a New Kent man was dropped after Gregory told the court that conflicts exist in the victims’ testimony.

Timothy Randolph Wallace, 48, of 9447 Allforgod Lane, was indicted on the construction fraud count for allegedly accepting a payment in advance from Joe and Mary Brown and failing to do the work. Gregory, however, said $3,500 had been paid back to the Browns, thus Wallace has “satisfied the financial claims of the victims.”