Charles City man convicted on attempted arson, felony obstruction charges

A Charles City man who attempted to set a home on fire received guilty verdicts on two charges during Friday morning proceedings in Charles City Circuit Court.

Brent Edward Tanner, 47, formerly of the 18000 block of The Glebe Lane, was found guilty on one charge each of attempted arson of a dwelling usually occupied and felony obstruction of justice during the contested trial. One charge of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon was dismissed.

On March 26, Tanner was bailed out of Henrico Jail East and picked up by Timothy English. The duo made a couple of stops before eventually arriving to his home in Charles City. Sandra Dickerson, who co-habited the house with the defendant, testified about the incident and events of the day.

“He [Tanner] came through the backdoor yelling profanities,” Dickerson said. “He said, ‘[explicit] where’s my money?’ He kept saying it over and over again.”

According to testimony, Dickerson said that the defendant accused her of stealing and spending money from his account. After the profanity-laced tirade, Tanner took a shower and when he exited, said that $1,000 that he withdrew from the bank earlier was missing.

Upset, the defendant directed more profanity at Dickerson before going through a bedroom and searching through it. According to Dickerson, the defendant exited outside and begin walking to the steps of the back deck.

“I’m going to burn you and this [explicit] down,” Dickerson testified, saying those were the words the defendant directed at her.

Getting halfway to the deck, Tanner put down the first can and went back to retrieve a second can. The defendant walked onto the deck and slung the gas can filled with liquid, splashing it against the side of the house. Dickerson testified that Tanner pulled out a lighter and sparked it at least once before English grabbed him from behind and fell down the deck. English and Tanner remained in a physical confrontation before police arrived.

English said he heard the argument coming from the house between the two aforementioned parties.

“I tried to calm them down,” he said. “When Tanner said he was missing money, we tried looking for it.

“I was inside talking to Sandy and when I went outside, I smelled gasoline,” English continued. “I saw him with a lighter in his hand and that’s when I tackled him and held him down until the police got there.”

Charles City Deputy Charles Grant responded to the scene, speaking about his interaction and observations.

“When I got there, I heard screaming and two guys fighting,” he said. “I detained them and when I patted down the defendant, I found a switchblade knife.

“I also detected the odor of alcohol,” the deputy continued. “He also smelled of gasoline.”

Grant said that Tanner was placed into his patrol car and attempted to kick out the window. When expecting the premises, the deputy found spots of gasoline on the house, some grass, and the back deck.”

Grant arrested the defendant, taking him to jail. During his incarceration, Tanner called Dickerson, making threats against her if she showed up to the preliminary trial in general district court.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Tyler played a 14-minute long phone conversation between the parties. Dialogue in the conversation could be heard from Tanner, telling her not to show up or something would happen to her and her son.

Defense attorney Richard Collins argued that while the switchblade was presented into evidence, there was no linking evidence between a felony conviction identifying the defendant as the person on the conviction. Judge B. Elliott Bondurant granted Collins’ motion, striking the possession of a weapon charge.

Tanner elected to testify on his behalf, giving his rendition of the events that took place that day of the incident.

“I had just withdrawn $1,000 and had it in an envelope and it was taken while I was showering,” the defendant said.

Tanner said he looked around the bedroom and accused Dickerson. After Dickerson denied taking the funds, the defendant went out to English and asked if he took the money. Tanner testified that an argument led to the confrontation where they wrestled on the deck. While the two were wrestling, that is when the gas can was knocked over and spilled. He also denied having a lighter.

Collins asked Tanner if permission was granted to Dickerson to utilize his funds from his business account. The defendant said that she didn’t and that he believed Dickerson wanted to make him suffer.

“She told me she was going to ruin my life and run my business,” the defendant testified. “She wanted to take control of my life.”

After hearing testimony from both sides, the judge said that while all the facts weren’t exact in the case, it was clear the defendant was guilty of the crimes.

“The defendant’s version was that he and English fought on the deck and the gasoline was already there,” Bondurant said. “What I see is that he was upset and probably intoxicated.

“There is a connection here,” the judge continued. “We have had three people testified about the gas can, gasoline being on the house and deck, and a lighter.

“Are the facts exactly the same? No, they are not,” the judge said as he wrapped up. “But this case is similar to one we had in this very court two years ago where a man had poured gasoline throughout the trailer. He had done everything but struck the match. For those reasons, I find him guilty of the attempted arson and the felony obstruction of justice.”

Formal sentencing for Tanner is scheduled for Oct. 5. In other circuit court matters:

–Derek Christopher Baber, 48, of the 8000 block of Wynbrook Lane, Mechanicsville, entered a straight guilty plea to one count each of extortion and misdemeanor disseminating images.

In a summary of evidence, on Feb. 10, Baber sent text messages to the victim, sending images of a gun he had in his possession. One particular message said that he would “shoot you in front of the police.”

Shortly afterwards, the victim began receiving random phone calls from Craig’s List. The victim went to the site and discovered a picture of her behind was posted along with her work address and a picture of her car, leading to cases where she was constantly being followed. Additional text messages discovered from the defendant revealed that he admitted to posting the image and information online.

A presentence report is being prepared with sentencing guidelines recommending a range from seven months to two years, three months to serve. Formal sentencing for Baber is scheduled for Oct. 5.