Assault with table on uncle nets Charles City man six years in prison

A Charles City man who assaulted his uncle last summer during a domestic dispute will serve a six-year prison sentence.

Eric Karl Allen, 51, of the 4400 block of Old Union Road, was sentenced to 20 years in prison with 15 of those years suspended on one count of malicious wounding during March 20 proceedings in Charles City Circuit Court. He earned an additional year in prison as a result of violating probation. Allen also received a suspended one month jail sentence on misdemeanor possession of marijuana, but must pay a $100 fine and $270 in restitution.

Last December, Allen was found guilty in a contested trial where he assaulted his elderly uncle, Joseph Allen, last Aug. 30. The attack stemmed from a confrontation after Joseph Allen was asked by Eric Allen’s wife to pick up her children after the defendant displayed characteristics of being intoxicated. After Joseph Allen picked up the children and transported them to his house next door, Eric Allen walked to the victim’s house. An argument ensued, resulting in a physical altercation and Joseph Allen struck in the head with a metal table. The fight was witnessed by Eric Allen’s oldest stepdaughter, who testified that she feared for her safety and her siblings’ safety. At the December trial, Joseph Allen testified that he suffers from dizziness and the inability to walk for periods of time as a result of the attack.

Eric Allen’s rested on the table as Judge Thomas B. Hoover read the sentence and reiterated the pain the defendant caused to his victims.

“This was just a vital and brutal attack,” the judge said, reviewing his notes from the previous trial. “It was unprovoked as the uncle was doing a favor by removing the children from a dangerous environment.

“Mr. Eric Allen did not approve of that decision and responded with this assault that even to this day has left the victim suffering from it,” concluded Hoover.

In an unrelated case, a King & Queen man with an extensive history of burglaries will serve four and a half years in prison.

Raymond Allen Hall Jr., 37, of the 300 block of Taylorsville Road, Shacklefords, received his formal sentencing after entering Alford pleas of guilty circuit court proceedings last Dec. 19. Hall said while evidence stipulated would find him guilty, he maintained his innocence.

At the December trial, evidence depicted that three homes were burglarized from April 28 to May 3, 2014. Upon inspection of the damage, one victim noticed the smell of cigarettes in the home. Because that particular victim did not smoke, he searched the premises, locating a cigarette butt. Upon further investigation, a reminder note for the defendant to appear in general district court in Petersburg was also discovered. DNA evidence linked the defendant to the scene and he was arrested.

On two charges of grand larceny and one charge of burglary, Hall received a 10-year prison sentence on each with all but one year suspended on each sentence (a total of three years to serve). On a second burglary charge, he received a ten-year sentence with all but one and a half years suspended. He must also pay restitution in the amount of $7,103.