NK grand jury indicts nine

A New Kent Circuit Court grand jury indicted nine individuals on July 21. Five of those nine had their cases resolved during August.

The grand jury indicted:

–Eugene Scott Barham, 23, of 101 Runaway Bay Drive in Virginia Beach, on one count each of felony eluding a police officer and misdemeanor reckless driving (111 miles per hour in a 65 mile per hour zone). Barham was arrested last Feb. 24;

–Kimberly Esther Brown, 40, of 5401 Mountcastle Road, Providence Forge, on one count of child endangerment. Brown was charged after a March 28 traffic stop when a county deputy noticed a child inside Brown’s car was not properly restrained in a safety seat;

–Christopher Russell Holt, 18, of 30 East Lake Drive in Sandston, and Ernest Jerome Conner, 19, of 6150 White Oak Road, also in Sandston, on one count each of grand larceny and vandalism of a motor vehicle. Last April 9, the pair allegedly stole a catalytic converter from a vehicle parked at Jim and Glenn’s repair shop on Route 60;

–Thomas W. Hawkins III, 40, of 3800 Pocahontas Trail, Room 121, Quinton, on one count of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Hawkins allegedly used a 1997 Ford Expedition belonging to Gina Clark without the owner’s permission on Aug. 4, 2007;

–John Michael Palmer, 41, of 1423 Mt. Clinton Pike in Harrisonburg, on one count each of grand larceny auto and misdemeanor petty larceny and vandalism. Last Nov. 21, Palmer allegedly stole a 1991 Ford Taurus belonging to Yocasta Barnes and tools belonging to Donald C. McGuire. The vandalism charge stems from damage to McGuire’s property;

–James Donald Rudolph III, 40, of 2412 Rolling View Court in Virginia Beach, on one count each of felony driving after being declared a habitual offender and misdemeanor reckless driving. Rudolph was arrested last Feb. 24 after the vehicle he was driving was stopped for going 86 miles per hour in a 65 mile per hour zone;

–Patrick W. Smith, 18, of 11835 Cattail Road in New Kent, on one count each of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and misdemeanor vandalism and driving on a suspended license. Smith allegedly used a 1994 Chevrolet pickup last May 19 without the permission of owner Norman Batkins. The vandalism count covers damage to the vehicle;

–Troy Joseph Dennis, 32, of 2780 ODI St. in West Point, on one count each of forgery of a public document, uttering a forged public document, and driving on a suspended license. Last Feb. 23, Dennis allegedly forged another signature on a police summons.

The cases involving Barham, Brown, Holt, Conner, and Dennis went to trial in New Kent Circuit Court on Aug. 18.

Barham pleaded guilty to eluding police and reckless driving. He received five years in prison with all but three months suspended for the next 10 years on the eluding charge and 12 months in jail, all suspended, plus a $2,000 fine on the reckless driving count.

As part of a plea deal, the child endangerment charge lodged against Brown was reduced to misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor. She was sentenced to 12 months in jail with all but four months suspended for the next three years.

Holt’s grand larceny charge was reduced to petty larceny. He received 12 months in jail on the reduced charge and the vandalism count with all but four months suspended for the next five years. The grand larceny charge against Conner was dropped. He pleaded guilty to vandalism and received 10 days in jail and a $250 fine.

In another plea deal, Dennis pleaded guilty to all three charges. He received five years in prison for forgery with all but seven months suspended for the next 10 years and five years, all suspended, on the uttering charge. Twelve months in jail, all suspended, were imposed for driving on a suspended license.