Car’s ownership, occupants raise doubts in dismissed charge

Concerns over the ownership of a car along with doubts about the car’s occupants over a one-day time frame have led to dismissal of a felony charge lodged against a Petersburg man.

Lavale Shurdall Wright, 48, of the 800 block of N. Hampton Road, had one charge of possession of cocaine dismissed during Sept. 29 New Kent Circuit Court proceedings.

On Sept. 24, 2013, Trooper Michael Morehead executed a traffic stop for a vehicle that sped westbound on Interstate 64. Upon approaching the vehicle, the trooper detected an odor of alcohol. Identifying Wright as the driver, Wright confessed that he had been drinking and did not have a license.

A subsequent background check on the license plates revealed that they did not match the current vehicle the defendant was driving. Wright’s nervousness roused suspicion for the state trooper, who asked to inspect the vehicle. The defendant agreed, allowing Morehead to search the vehicle.

The state trooper testified that as he searched, he noticed a white, knotted bag filled with a powdery substance on the floorboard on the rear passenger’s seat side. He removed the item and asked Wright who it belong to. Wright denied knowing anything about the substance and said it didn’t belong to him. Wright was detained and while admitting to his other driving offenses, he adamantly denied knowledge of the substance, later identified as cocaine.

Wright testified, saying he borrow his friend’s vehicle. When Commonwealth’s Attorney Linwood Gregory asked about why the plates didn’t match, Wright responded that he was in the process of purchasing the vehicle from his friend.

Gregory continued, asking for a timeline of events for the day. The defendant responded, indicating he drove to Portsmouth for a court appearance, and later spent time with family and friends.

Judge Thomas B. Hoover asked the defendant about the whereabouts of witnesses that could verify his story.

“Why didn’t you subpoena the witnesses?” asked the judge. “Why didn’t you ask your son or brothers-in-law to come here today?”

Wright shrugged, saying that he didn’t think about asking the witnesses to appear. Defense attorney Scott Renick argued that there are too many instances of doubt that appear in the case.

“As my client has testified, it was his first day driving the vehicle and he testified over and over again that there were three other occupants in the vehicle,” Renick said. “He admitted he was wrong in driving and the other offenses, but has consistently denied knowing anything about that substance.”

Hoover agreed with the defense attorney, pointing out loopholes in proving the case.

“How do we know the other passengers didn’t drop it [the bag] on the floor?” Hoover questioned the commonwealth’s attorney. “Here we have a man that is consistently denying any knowledge of the cocaine.

“I have doubts myself because of the ownership of the vehicle and the passengers inside the vehicle, and the charge is dismissed.”

In other New Kent Circuit Court proceedings:

–Dana Michele Kosky, 44, of the 100 block of Harris Creek Road, Hampton, accepted a plea deal to one count of felony eluding police and misdemeanor DUI (1st offense). One charge of misdemeanor marijuana possession was dropped. In a summary of evidence, last Feb. 10, Kosky was stopped by a state trooper on Interstate 64 westbound after the trooper saw a piece of metal hanging from the vehicle. The trooper detected the odor of marijuana from the vehicle as he approached. As the trooper was returning to his vehicle to execute a background check, Kosky fled, initiating a six-mile chase that exceeded speeds of 110 miles per hour. Kosky eventually stopped once again and was taken into custody.

Under the plea agreement, she will receive formal sentencing after a presentence report is prepared. Recommended guidelines call for a sentence range from one day to six months.

–Kheang Rothdarra Samoun Pok, 36, of the 200 block of Bartee Road, Richmond, accepted a plea deal to two amended charges of misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor (originally two charges of child endangerment) and one count each of misdemeanor DUI (second offense), refusal to take a breathalyzer test, and reckless driving (excessive speed). In a summary of evidence, shortly after midnight on June 23, a state trooper pulled over Pok for speeding 102 miles per hour on westbound Interstate 64. The trooper noticed two young children in the back seat upon approaching the vehicle, as well as a stench of alcohol on the defendant. The trooper asked Pok to perform field sobriety tests. After partial failure, the trooper asked Pok to take a breathalyzer test, which the defendant refused. Pok was arrested shortly afterwards.

Under the plea agreement, he will serve a 10-month active jail sentence on all five charges. He must also pay a total of $4,500 in fines.

–Marcus Akeem Pryor, 26, of the 3000 block of Montrose Avenue, Richmond, accepted a plea agreement to one count of possession of a controlled Schedule II substance (methamphetamine). During a March 16 traffic stop, Pryor, one of the passengers, was searched after a New Kent deputy detected an odor of marijuana coming from the car. Pryor possessed pills in a small plastic bag, later identified as methamphetamine. Under the plea agreement, no formal finding of guilt will be found and the defendant will enter the state’s first offender’s program.