Charles City man convicted on extortion charge in New Kent Circuit Court

A Charles City man who sent threats through a letter was convicted of extortion during Monday afternoon proceedings in New Kent Circuit Court.

David Scott Yates Sr., 48, of the 4500 block of Rocking Horse Lane, was found guilty on a single count of extortion during the contested trial.

The victim, a woman who was dating Yates at the time, received a letter in her Quinton post office box from him dated May 6, 2015 while he was incarcerated at Haynesville Correctional Center. At the focal point of the letter were threats by the defendant to expose her for crimes she allegedly participated in with him. Yates also wrote in the letter that he would not take that supposed information to the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office in exchange for the victim placing $200 a month on his books while he was incarcerated.

Feeling threatened, the victim took the letter to the authorities at Haynesville Correctional Center. There, intelligence officer Tony Wright said steps were taken to investigate the matter.

“We moved Mr. Yates to isolation and then searched his cell,” testified Wright. “Upon searching his property, we discovered another letter.”

That unsent letter was dated May 9, 2015. According to special prosecutor Rob Tyler, that letter also contained content similar to the one received by the victim.

Wright contacted Chris Gibson, who worked as a special investigator for the Virginia Department of Corrections at that time. Gibson interviewed Yates, mentioning the defendant did not deny writing the letters.

“Mr. Yates admitted to me that he wrote the letter,” Gibson said. “But according to him, it was to intimidate the victim.

“After my interview with Mr. Yates, I spoke with the victim and told her to terminate payments and contact with him,” added Gibson.

But Tyler said a third letter had reached the victim about two weeks later despite Yates being placed in the special housing unit. The special prosecutor pointed out the final few pages of the document to Judge B. Elliott Bondurant.

“While most of it is mumble-jumble, the last three pages claimed how apologetic he was,” said Tyler. “That was a way for him to try to smooth things out and cover his tracks. He knew what he was doing.”

Defense attorney Todd Duval disagreed with Tyler’s accusation of a ploy, stating that Yates wrote the letter as a way to garner the attention of the defendant.

“Here is a woman that this man was in love with and she had not contacted him in a while,” argued the defense attorney. “He sent the letter on May 6 and before his girlfriend received it, she called him and they talked on the phone.

“He told her not to open the letter and throw it away,” Duval continued. “All he wanted to do was get her attention and while I don’t condone the way he went about it, there was no attempt to extort her here.”

Duval rehashed testimony made by Gibson during cross-examination, indicating the special investigator admitted that most of his conversation with Yates revolved around his concerns that his girlfriend was committing infidelity.

Yates testified on his behalf, saying that he had no intent of extorting the victim.

“I was just trying to get a reaction out of her,” the defendant said. “I was never going to send the second letter.”

But when asked by Tyler why he wrote the letter in first place, Yates gave the same answer three consecutive times.

“I just wanted her to get in touch with me,” Yates said.

Tyler declined closing remarks, saying the evidence spoke for itself. However, Duval reiterated that no malice was intended in the dialogue between Yates and the victim.

“My client has been hurt in previous relationships and that’s why he did what he did,” concluded Duval.

Bondurant reviewed the evidence, including taking a 20-minute recess to read all three letters in detail. In the end, the judge sided with the prosecution.

“I have read all three letters that were written and I have read what the statute says,” the judge commented. “I take the May 6 letter as a threat.

“The letter speaks for itself,” Bondurant continued. “I see that not only does he try to extort her for money, but he asks for a specific amount of money.”

Formal sentencing for Yates is scheduled for Apr. 10.