News for New Kent County and Charles City County, Virginia | September 11, 2026
Local News
Charles City bike ordinance comes with restrictions; decision deferred on solar facility
Organizations that are looking to use roads in Charles City County for bike races will now have to go through the process of a public hearing before being decided on by the county. Charles City’s Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance 3-0 on the new regulations during the Dec. 22 regular board meeting. In Aug. 2022, county leaders organized a specially called meeting to address bike racing in the county, looking for a way to compromise on having the events and satisfying county citizens. During the specially called meeting, many citizens spoke about their concerns of local roads being used…
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Biden-Harris Administration grants $25 million for expansion of Interstate 64 in New Kent
The Joe Biden-Kamala Harris Administration has announced the awarding of $25 million in funding to widen Interstate 64 in New Kent County. Funding from the award comes from the new Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program (RURAL) to the Virginia Department of Transportation. The project will add a third lane of traffic in each direction, widen shoulders, add rumble strips, and add wider and flatter clear zones in each direction of Interstate 64. The segment between mile markers 205 to 215 will be the focus on this portion of the project. According to research, 70 percent of crashes along this portion…
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Richmond man eluding New Kent police receives year in jail
A Richmond man will spend a year in jail after pleading guilty to felony eluding in New Kent. Donald Darrell Roberts, 42, admitted to the offense following Monday afternoon proceedings in New Kent Circuit Court. In a summary of evidence, on Mar. 6, New Kent police were notified about a speeding vehicle on Interstate 64 fleeing from James City County. When the vehicle entered radar upon entering New Kent County, it was clocked at 90 miles per hour. Officers began pursuing the vehicle, with speeds reaching 120 miles per hour. The vehicle was eventually stopped and the driver, identified as…
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Quinton man receives three-year prison sentence for assault deputies, possessing gun illegally
A Quinton man who assaulted New Kent Sheriff’s Officers after an altercation will spend the next three years in prison. Da’At Sagoyewatha Olam, aka David Wingfield Williams, 58, of the 5100 block of New Kent Highway, entered guilty pleas to two counts of assault on a law enforcement officer and possession of a firearm by a nonviolent felon as part of a plea agreement reached during proceedings Monday in New Kent Circuit Court. Two additional counts of assault on a law enforcement officer and one misdemeanor count of brandishing a firearm were dropped as part of the agreement. In a…
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Hopewell man assaults wife’s ex-boyfriend, found guilty of unlawful wounding in New Kent Circuit Court
A tale of infidelity in a relationship that led a Hopewell man to follow his estranged wife to New Kent has resulted in an unlawful wounding guilty conviction. Shawn A. Cameron, 37, of the 300 block of Allen Avenue, was found guilty of the reduced charge (originally malicious wounding) following a Monday morning contested trial in New Kent Circuit Court. One additional charge each of misdemeanor simple assault by a mob and misdemeanor trespassing were dismissed. On Sept. 18, Cameron and his wife, Stacey Stephens, had gotten into an argument during the early morning hours in their Hopewell apartment. While…
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New Kent School Board favors $1.9 million in proposed CIP for 2023-24
New Kent’s School Board received its first looked at a proposed Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) in preparation for the FY2023-24 school year. Recommended projects for school staff totaled $1,953,285 in the proposal. Among top expenditures include the purchase of five school buses ($685,285), roof replacement at the high school ($450,000), conversion to LED lighting at George Watkins Elementary School ($425,000), purchase of additional school vehicles ($143,000), and district wide paving ($100,000). School board members voted in favor of the proposed CIP, and it will be incorporated into the school’s proposed budget, which has traditionally been discussed in March.
Former Cumberland Hospital medical director indicted for sex crimes against minors
A former doctor who worked as the medical director at Cumberland Hospital in New Kent County has been indicted by a New Kent grand jury. Unsealed indictments have charged Daniel Davidow with four counts of allegedly committing acts of sexual abuse and assault while working at Cumberland Hospital for Children and Adolescents according to a press release from the office of New Kent County Commonwealth’s Attorney Scott Renick. In the past few years, Cumberland Hospital has undergone scrutiny with several allegations. Former psychologist Herschel Harden was charged with two counts of sexual penetration of a minor from 2018 to 2019….
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Jury finds Charles City man guilty of two counts of abduction, assault and battery
A jury took less than an hour to convict a Charles City man on two counts of abduction and two counts of misdemeanor assault and battery. Paul Ronold Gwaz, 64, of the 9000 block of Barnetts Road, was convicted on the offenses during a Dec. 2 trial that lasted just over six hours in Charles City Circuit Court. Two charges of misdemeanor damaging a phone line and one charge of misdemeanor assault and battery were dropped prior to the trial. On Apr. 5, a witness was with Gwaz in a home of a relative when the witness went out to…
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Longtime Charles City governmental representative Donald McEachin succumbs
Congressman A. Donald McEachin, who has represented Charles City County at a number of governmental levels throughout his tenure, has succumbed at the age of 61. A press release form Tara Rountree, Chief of Staff, was released Monday night to announce his passing. “We are all devastated at the passing of our boss and friend, Congressman Donald McEachin,” the press release began. “Valiantly, for years now, we have watched him fight and triumph over the secondary effects of his colorectal cancer from 2013. Tonight, he lost that battle, and the people of Virginia’s Fourth Congressional District lost a hero who…
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Charles City leaders meet with contractor to discuss timeline of new fire station
Charles City County’s Board of Supervisor sent a message to Henderson Incorporated related to a new fire station that will be constructed; “This means the world to us.” Supervisors and representatives of the construction company met Tuesday afternoon in a special meeting to determine the timeline and groundbreaking for the facility that will be constructed on Roxbury Road. In Nov. 2021, county leaders approved financing to borrow $5 million for construction of the fire station. After receiving the proposed rates, Atlantic Union was selected as the financial choice. The county elected a 15-year fixed rate repayment plan. Later at that…
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