Carter convicted again

Former fugitive John Steven Carter now stands convicted on six of seven felony counts incurred in New Kent.

Yesterday (Wednesday), a county circuit court judge found the 58 year-old self-proclaimed “medicinal botanist” guilty on two counts each of forgery and uttering in connection with signing a deceased friend’s name on a pair of traffic summonses back in 2006. In October, meanwhile, Carter was convicted on marijuana manufacturing and distribution charges.

But the verdict on the seventh felony — possession of a firearm by a convicted felon — remains up in the air. At the conclusion of yesterday’s three-hour trial, Judge Thomas Nance ordered attorneys on both sides to submit briefs on the matter by Dec. 20. And the judge laid groundwork that reduces the prosecution’s chances of gaining a conviction on the charge.

A U.S. marshal involved after Carter’s capture in Alabama in March 2009 testified that the defendant openly talked about picking up a handgun to defend himself and fatally shooting one of four teens who attempted to rob him of marijuana at his Lanexa rental house the night of Oct. 14, 2008. Christopher Greene, 18, died from two gunshots fired from what authorities believe was a .357 revolver.

A Williamsburg tow truck driver, who frequently worked on Carter’s two Cadillacs, testified about spotting a revolver inside the defendant’s rental house a few months before the shooting. William Brent Ford also said Carter called him the night of the shooting to report he had shot somebody.

But Nance noted that no evidence had been presented to prove that Carter owned the handgun, and witness testimony only indicated that the defendant grabbed and fired the weapon out of necessity.

“I’ve got to assume [the handgun] doesn’t belong there, but it’s there,” the judge said. “When [Carter’s] life is threatened, he picks it up and uses it to defend himself.”

Afterward, prosecutor Linwood Gregory admitted that prospects for a conviction on the firearm charge appear dim, but he added, “Carter is still facing a potential 80 years in prison.”

The forgery and uttering counts each carry up to 10 years. Maximum for marijuana manufacturing is 30 years while the distribution count carries up to 10 years. Penalty for the firearm possession charge is two years mandatory and up to five years.

All, including the fate of the firearm count, is scheduled to be resolved on Feb. 2 when Carter returns to court for sentencing. He is being held in Henrico Jail East and is already serving 10 years on federal drug and weapons convictions from Florida.

At yesterday’s trial, Nance had no problem finding the defendant guilty on the forgery and uttering charges. The judge denied defense attorney Tim Clancy’s motion to strike all four or merge the charges into a single count.

Carter was behind the wheel of one of the Cadillacs on Nov. 28, 2006 when Detective Joey McLaughlin, working then as a patrol deputy, followed the car into the driveway of the Lanexa rental house and issued citations for no license tags and driving on an expired license.

The defendant signed the name of a deceased friend, William J. Benton Jr., on both summonses after producing an expired South Carolina driver’s license that bore Benton’s name. Carter, meanwhile, lived for more than two years in the rental home using the Benton alias.

Clancy questioned McLaughlin’s memory concerning the more than four year-old encounter. The detective stood firm in identifying Carter as the man posing as Benton.

Pointing to Carter, Nance asked, “Can you look right at that man and tell he’s the man you were talking to?”

McLaughlin replied, “Yes sir, I can.”

On the bright side for the defendant, Nance cited statute of limitations in dismissing a lower court conviction, and $200 fine plus 90 days in jail, for giving false identification to a police officer. A warrant on the charge was not filed until more than a year had passed.