Feds may take over NK case

Federal authorities may be taking over prosecution of two firearm charges lodged against a Chesapeake man who allegedly was in possession of a sawed-off shotgun when he was arrested this summer in New Kent County.

But local authorities also got their shot at Antonio Donta Goodson who pleaded guilty to a third charge, driving after being declared a habitual offender, during a trial last Thursday in New Kent Circuit Court.

Goodson, 39, of 3012 Parkside Drive #3, was arrested just after midnight on Aug. 3 after a State Police trooper responded to a report of a vehicle on fire on Interstate 64, prosecutor Linwood Gregory told the court. Goodson told the trooper he heard a popping noise emanating from the engine and the car, a Pontiac Sunfire, burst into flames as he pulled to the road’s shoulder.

A check of Goodson’s identification card revealed he was a habitual offender. The trooper then searched a backpack the defendant was carrying and found the sawed-off shotgun.

Gregory said the weapon was loaded and been modified so that it could be fired like a handgun. Also found in the backpack were two dozen 12-gauge shotgun shells.

As part of a plea deal, Goodson pleaded guilty to the habitual offender charge that carries a one-year mandatory prison sentence. Judge Thomas B. Hoover sentenced the defendant to five years with all but one suspended for the next 10 years.

Gregory said federal authorities are interested in Goodson since the defendant is already on probation for a previous firearm conviction in federal court. But the case could return to New Kent court early next year. The charges Goodson faces are possession of a sawed-off shotgun and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

In another, unrelated case last Thursday, a Toano man entered an Alford plea of guilty to one count of distributing cocaine. (An Alford plea means a defendant maintains innocence, but stipulates evidence in the case is sufficient for a conviction.) As part of a plea deal, a second distribution count was dropped.

The charges against Brandon Oneil Jackson, 20, stemmed from sales of crack cocaine on May 11, 2006 to a pair of undercover informants working for the Twin Rivers Narcotics Task Force.

Gregory told the court the task force was targeting a dealer known only as “Buddha” and had the informants contact the target by phone. Buddha turned out to be Jackson.

The sale was arranged to take place in the parking lot at Liberty Baptist Church in Lanexa. There, Jackson made a $200 sale to one informant and a $100 sale to the other, Gregory said.

The prosecutor noted that an audio recording device mounted in the informants’ vehicle taped the sales. On the tape, Jackson was heard to say what he was selling was “good stuff,” Gregory added.

Following terms of the plea deal, Hoover sentenced Jackson to 10 years in prison with all but one suspended for the next 40 years. Gregory said the defendant has a cocaine distribution charge pending in York County.

Also in court last week, Hoover agreed to a request by a Chesterfield County man to withdraw the man’s guilty plea entered this past summer.

James Wilbur Katcham, 43, of 10300 Lenadoon Drive, pleaded guilty back in July to his fourth offense in the past 10 years of driving under the influence. As part of a plea deal, a charge of felony driving on a suspended license after three DUI convictions was dropped.

But now with the guilty plea thrown out, both charges will come into play when a new trial is scheduled sometime early next year.

Katcham was arrested on the night of Nov. 9, 2006 after a police chase. He bolted from his vehicle and fled into nearby woods, but New Kent deputies in foot pursuit found the defendant a short distance away and unconscious at the base of a tree. Officers theorized the defendant ran into the tree in the dark.

Katcham sustained head injuries. His lawyer, Scott Renick, said his client maintains the injuries resulted from being kicked in the head repeatedly by the arresting officer.

The defendant had been due in court on Aug. 27, but failed to show. He was later found and placed in jail pending court action on Oct. 29. On the October date, Renick said his client suffers from short-term memory loss as a result of the head injuries and did not recall having to be in court in August.

A mental evaluation of the defendant was ordered. On Thursday, Renick said the evaluation revealed Katcham is competent to stand trial, but issues exist with short-term memory.

“[Katcham] may have been rushed and confused when he entered the guilty plea,” Renick told the court.

Hoover agreed to set aside Katcham’s earlier plea. Renick, meanwhile, has withdrawn from the case, and a hearing takes place later this month to determine if the defendant has hired another attorney. Katcham is to be held in jail until the next trial date.