Headbutt to New Kent deputy lands Charles City man 40-month prison sentence

A Charles City man whose actions resulted in the injury of a New Kent deputy will now serve the next 40 months behind prison bars.

Michael Leeton Moore, 29, of the 4500 block of Barnetts Road, was found guilty on one count of assault and battery on a law enforcement officer during a May 4 trial in New Kent Circuit Court.

Last December 4, New Kent officers responded to a domestic dispute at a house in the Chickahominy Shores subdivision, located in the Lanexa part of New Kent. Deputies Wyatt Johnston and Brandon Jenkins responded around 6 p.m., locating Moore and his girlfriend in the kitchen. Moore was separated from his girlfriend, and questioned about the incident by Johnston. Meanwhile, Jenkins ran a background check on the defendant, with information returning that Moore had an outstanding warrant from Henrico County.

After deputies advised Moore of the warrant, he became uncooperative with the officers. Apparently intoxicated, the defendant began to fight off the officers before he was handcuffed. The deputies extracted Moore from the house, when the aggressiveness of the defendant resulted in a headbutt to Johnston, who was standing on the left side of Moore. Johnston was dazed as Jenkins and another officer took the suspect down to the ground.

Johnston described his recollection of events that resulted in the deputy receiving a severe headache and bruises on his face.

“I remember taking him outside after he tried to put all his weight on the floor,” Johnston said. “His feet were on the door trying to prevent us from going outside.

“When we got outside, he had lost his shoe and that agitated him even more,” the deputy continued. “The next thing I knew I felt something hit my head.”

Jenkins, who was also escorting Moore outside, said the sound of the headbutt was deafening.

“He was saying he wasn’t going to leave until he talked to his girlfriend,” Jenkins said, mentioning comments the defendant was saying as he was being extracted. “I was behind Mr. Moore and as I went to grip his hands tighter together, I looked up and out of my peripheral vision I saw him cock his head back and strike Deputy Johnston.

“It was a very big thud,” Jenkins testimony continued, demonstrating by slamming his fist down hard on the witness stand. “It was just so loud and after that happened, I took Moore to the ground and radioed for the rescue squad.”

Moore elected to testify in his own defense, saying that he admitted he was intoxicated but his actions were not meant to cause harm.

“I was drinking that night, but I didn’t intentionally try to headbutt him,” said Moore of his actions. “I was hopping on one foot because my shoe was off and I was unaware that my head made contact with him.”

But Commonwealth’s Attorney Linwood Gregory’s cross-examination asked why Moore didn’t express remorse for his actions at the time.

“Why was it so loud?” Gregory said, referencing the sound made from the excessive contact. “Why didn’t you apologize? You said it was an accident.”

“I was unaware,” responded the defendant.

Defense attorney Scott Renick argued that his client’s actions were an accident that was caused by being drunk and agitated, but Judge B. Elliott Bondurant, disagreed, citing code section for the offense.

“In this code it says that if any person, knowing or reason of knowing makes contact with an officer then that’s considered assault on a law enforcement officer,” the judge said. “I didn’t read anything in the code about it being intentional.

“I’m looking at the totality of the incident,” Bondurant continued. “Here we have a man who’s not happy and he finds out he’s wanted. The officers try to remove him from the house but he’s not having any of it. He’s refusing to leave.

“Finally, looking at his criminal history this isn’t the first time he has a run-in with the law,” the judge continued. “He has a previous assault on a police officer that was reduced to misdemeanor assault and battery, as well as a lot of charges dealing with public intoxication.

“This man has a drinking problem and a problem with authority,” Bondurant concluded.

Moore was sentenced to five years in prison with all but three years, four months suspended. A recommendation for the Indian Creek Rehabilitation Program was also made to help the defendant with his alcohol addiction.

In other New Kent Circuit Court proceedings:

–Christopher Thomas Batkins, 22, of the 3600 block of Hopewell Road, New Kent, accepted a plea deal and entered a guilty plea to petty larceny (third offense). Last Dec. 4, Batkins entered the ABC store located in Quinton and stole a bottle of alcohol. Video evidence showed that Batkins was the one who took the item without paying for it. Under the plea agreement, he received a five-year jail sentence, with all but three months suspended.

–Charles Levoister Mickens Jr. 37, of Henrico Jail East, accepted a plea deal to a reduced charge of misdemeanor delivering unauthorized articles to a prisoner. In a summary of evidence, last Oct. 4, Mickens worked as a trustee at Henrico Jail East and was asked to retrieve a bag thought to be filled with heroin. The substance was really a dummy bag, filled with an imitation substance that was switched out by jail officials after learning drugs were entering the facility. Under the agreement, Mickens received a 12-month sentence with all but six months suspended.

–Donald Thomas Watkins, 63, of 84 Sandy Bay Drive, Poquoson, accepted a plea agreement and entered guilty pleas to two counts of misdemeanor assault and battery. Watkins admitted that last July 7, he inappropriately touched a younger relative on his way to returning her to her mother while driving on Interstate 64. The victim reported the information to the authorities, who determined the incident happened in New Kent after she identified a mile marker. Under the agreement, Watkins received a 12-month sentence on each charge, but will only serve one month of active time.