Charles City man convicted of felony hit and run in NK

A Charles City resident who fled the scene of an accident received a guilty verdict during Oct. 28 New Kent Circuit Court proceedings.

Michael Lee Wallace Jr., 41, of 11805 Canora Lane, Providence Forge, was convicted of one count of felony hit and run (not reporting an accident and damage) stemming from the Dec. 22, 2012 incident.

In the contested trial, assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Randy Del Rossi recalled events from the day. According to Del Rossi, Wallace struck the vehicle of Michael Ballard, a Toano resident, and another vehicle on Pocahontas Trail (Route 60) just before reaching Providence Forge.

Ballard’s testimony indicated that the defendant’s vehicle drove erratically down the highway.

“He was driving very aggressively and I wanted to avoid any interaction with the driver of the burgundy car,” said the witness. “I pulled my car to the right side of the road on a narrow pathway.”

Unfortunately, Ballard’s car was hit, along with another white car that was travelling in the left lane parallel to Wallace’s vehicle. Ballard regathered his thoughts and continued to Providence Forge. There, he pulled over and phoned authorities

Responding to the call, trooper Brad Fleener and another trooper searched the scene of the accident, recovering a license plate. The identification matched that of Wallace’s Burgandy Cadillac. After interviewing witnesses, Fleener proceeded to the defendant’s house, where the vehicle was discovered in the front yard with a dismantled front end, and a missing license plate.

After the commonwealth finished presenting the case, defense attorney Todd Duval claimed his defendant stopped at the scene of the accident and that the cause was not his defendant’s fault.

“The victim and the white vehicle continued down the road after the accident while my client stopped,” contested Duval. “He may have stopped temporarily, but he stopped.

Duval continued, saying his client left the scene after waiting momentarily because the other vehicles left. However, Del Rossi presented evidence deemed suspicious in the defendant’s exit strategy, showing two different routes to Wallace’s home.

“According to the first map, if the defendant took a direct route, it would take him 12 minutes to get home,” said the assistant commonwealth’s attorney. “According to the defendant’s statement, he took another route, which was 24 minutes long.

“In the end, it sounds like he was trying to get away and in the end, just got caught because of bad luck,” concluded Del Rossi.

While Duval argued that the defendant took the alternative path to visit a relative (who wasn’t home) and then to his house to report the accident, Judge Thomas B. Hoover agreed with Del Rossi, saying Wallace’s efforts to report what occurred was miniscule.

“The defendant could have used one of his friends’ cell phones to call in the accident,” said Hoover, speaking on other occupants in the car. “He could have stopped somewhere going to his friend’s house or at a local business. He didn’t do any of that and I find him guilty.”

Wallace’s formal sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 6.

In an unrelated traffic case, a Chesterfield man accepted a plea deal to a reduced charge of hit and run.

Cody Jacob Daniels, 22, of 20005 Oakland Avenue, admitted to striking the car of Nathan Poe on July 5 on Interstate 64 and leaving the scene.

In a summary of evidence, Poe had pulled onto the left shoulder of the interstate just before the Bottoms Bridge exit to avoid an accident. As he pulled over, another vehicle collided with his car. That vehicle quickly darted across two lanes of traffic and detoured onto the exit ramp. After making an emergency call, the vehicle driven by Daniels was located hiding behind a Food Lion parking lot. After being detained by New Kent Sheriff’s deputies, Daniels was arrested.

Under the agreement, Daniels received 12 months in jail with three months to serve. He must also pay $1,001.30 in restitution and a fine of $250.