Plea agreement rejected by judge in felony eluding case

An attempt at a plea deal during New Kent Circuit Court Monday morning turned sour for one Richmond man.

Joseph Junior Boyd, 44, of 1505 Tree Ridge Road, accepted a proposed deal to plead guilty to one count of felony eluding police, driving as a habitual offender, misdemeanor hit and run, and misdemeanor reckless driving, with a misdemeanor count of reckless driving and destruction of property dropped.

In a summary of evidence, on May 28, 2012, a New Kent deputy executed a traffic stop on Interstate 64 and pulled over Boyd. When Boyd handed the office an identification card and not a license, the deputy proceeded to his vehicle to look up the information on the driver. Boyd took off in his vehicle in a chase, heading westbound before using the emergency crossover to return in the other direction. After Boyd stopped again, the officer got out of the car before Boyd executed a U-turn maneuver and headed westbound in the eastbound lanes, forcing the officer to terminate the pursuit. During the pursuit, Boyd clipped another officer’s vehicle.

After reading the proposed plea deal, Judge Thomas B. Hoover questioned assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Randy Del Rossi on the length of jail time.

“Why such a plea deal?” questioned the judge. “Two years?”

Del Rossi explained his negotiations with defense attorney stemmed over a time period of an additional three months, which would have extended the sentence to two years, three months for the defendant, the mid-point of the guidelines.

“We removed three months because he turned himself in,” added Del Rossi. “He could have still been on the run, but he turned himself one year later and he want to man up for his crimes.

Hoover, however, didn’t find the explanation as justification.

“What a joke,” said Hoover. “Two years for this? This is poor judgment by you Mr. Del Rossi, Mr. (Linwood) Gregory, and the Commonwealth’s office.”

“You don’t have to sign it,” responded Del Rossi. “It is the right of the court to reject it.”

Hoover began reading Boyd’s criminal history. Among the eight previous felonies on the defendant’s record include grand theft auto, unauthorized use of a vehicle, domestic assault and battery of a family member, and several drug possession charges.

“You’re right Mr. Del Rossi,” the judge said. “I’m not accepting this. I’m not signing anything that let’s this guy get out in two years where he may kill someone.

“You are trying to tell me he gets only two years when he drove the wrong way on the interstate?” continued Hoover. “Let another judge hear this case because I will not have my signature on this document and when he is out and he kills someone it will come back on me.”

In other court proceedings Monday morning:

–Daniel Grayson Vaughan, 23, of 8030 Old Roxbury Road, Quinton, accepted a plea deal to three counts of grand larceny, one count each of misdemeanor unlawful entry and misdemeanor obtaining a credit card under false pretenses. Vaughan admitted he stole jewelry and coins from Angelo Franceschi beginning in Oct. 2012 to April of this year. Under the agreement, Vaughan received a 20-year jail sentence with all but one year, six months suspended on one of the grand larceny charges. Twenty years apiece were suspended on each of the other grand larceny charges, as well as one year each on both misdemeanor charges. He must also pay $32,750 in restitution.

–Myles Konrad Beverly, 20, of 9410 Boulevard Road, Providence Forge, will serve a six-month sentence out of 10 years in jail on one count of firearm larceny. Beverly was convicted during a June 24 trial on stealing a firearm belonging to David Lee Sharpe.