Multi-county burglary ring men to serve more time in jail after New Kent convictions
(L to R) Benjamin Potter, William Lawrence Paige, and James Tracy Thomas all accepted plea deals during Sept. 14 New Kent Circuit Court proceedings.
Three men involved in a rash of burglaries in multiple jurisdictions accepted plea deals during Sept. 14 proceedings in New Kent Circuit Court.
William Lawrence Paige, 52, of the 1300 block of Burma Court, Richmond; Benjamin Potter, 37, of the 9300 block of Horsecastle Court Road, Glen Allen; and James Tracy Thomas, 51, of the 3300 block of Meadowbridge Road, made their pleas during their Monday morning court appearances.
Paige entered a guilty plea to one count each of burglary and grand larceny, with charges of intent to sell stolen property and credit card larceny dropped.
Potter entered an Alford plea of guilt (stipulating while maintaining his innocence the evidence would be sufficient to convict him of the crime) to one count each of burglary and grand larceny, with charges of intent to sell stolen property, credit card larceny, and conspiracy to commit grand larceny dropped as part of the plea agreement.
Thomas’ plea deal saw him enter an Alford plea of guilty to one count each of burglary, grand larceny, intent to sell stolen property, credit card larceny, and conspiracy to commit grand larceny.
In a summary of evidence provided by New Kent Commonwealth’s Attorney Linwood Gregory, last Feb. 3, Jay Young returned home from work to find his garage door open. As he entered, he noticed the door that accessed his home from the garage area was open. He proceeded to call authorities. New Kent deputies arrived and inspected the home with Young. Items stolen included a gun cabinet that housed firearms, knives, and ammunition.
New Kent authorities began to work with adjacent jurisdictions and received information that similar crimes occurred in those area. The investigation eventually led to Paige, who provided information that linked him, as well as Potter and Thomas, to the crime. Authorities later spoke with Thomas and located the gun cabinet in his home. Eventually, the trio was arrested and taken into custody.
Paige and Potter will each serve two years on the one count of burglary, with 18 years suspended on that charge. All 20 years on the grand larceny charge were suspended.
Thomas received an active term of three years, six months out of a possible 20 years on the burglary charge. The remaining 16 years, six months on the burglary charge, as well as a total of 70 years on the four other charges, were suspended.
Each man also received time from neighboring jurisdictions due to similar crimes. Paige and Potter received four years from earlier New Kent convictions and one year from Charles City. According to Gregory, both are expected to receive two years from King William County as part of a plea agreement. Thomas received a two-and-a-half year sentence from King William.
More charges are pending against the men in Hanover county. They have also been indicted on multiple federal charges that include transporting and selling stolen firearms.
In an unrelated circuit court case, a Providence Forge man accepted a plea agreement stemming from arrested following a traffic stop earlier this year.
Christopher Milton Golderos, 37, of the 12000 block of Telegraph Road, entered guilty pleas to one count each of misdemeanor DWI (first offense) and misdemeanor refusal to take a breathalyzer test. One count of possession of heroin was dropped as part of the plea agreement.
In a summary of evidence, Golderos was pulled over during a March 6 traffic stop and refused to comply with a deputy’s request to determine if he was driving under the influence. As part of the plea agreement, he must complete the Salvation Army program, pay a $250 fine, and serve a 10-day active sentence in jail. Also, his driving license is suspended for two years.