Convicted sex offender’s words earn more jail time
A convicted sex offender received significant time in jail for violating a court order that prohibits him from entering school property. Visibly unhappy with the sentence, the defendant failed to curb his mouth, resulting in more time behind bars.
Events transpired in New Kent Circuit Court on Monday involving the case of Robert Allen Lawrence, 54, of 2330 Hubbard Lane, Lanexa.
The defendant expected to receive only time already served on two counts of entering school property after being registered as a sex offender. And although Lawrence’s plea deal did account for a sentence of five years in jail with six months active on one of the charges, Judge Thomas B. Hoover sent a stern message to the defendant by imposing a consecutive sentence of five years in jail with all but six months suspended on the second charge.
The two incidents, occurring on Nov. 9 and 19 of last year, triggered a probation violation for Lawrence, adding an additional six months thus running up the defendant’s total time to a year and a half in jail.
When asked why he was on school grounds, Lawrence admitted his decision was “stupid,” but said he didn’t want to disappoint his step-grandchildren.
“You were just hard-headed,” commented Hoover.
“You did this not once, but twice,” the judge continued, reading off the defendant’s record before sentencing.
Lawrence read a four-page letter to the court explaining his reason for being on school property, but Hoover’s decision pushed the defendant over the top. Exiting the courtroom after his sentence was announced, Lawrence crumpled his letter and mumbled an expletive as he was led away. Those words, however, did not escape the ears of a bailiff, who notified the judge.
Hoover ordered the defendant returned to court. The judge then asked Lawrence what had been said, and Lawrence repeated aloud the expletive (that contained the f-word plus you) earning another 10 days for contempt of court.
Hoover then informed the defendant’s attorney, Todd Duval, that his client’s inappropriate behavior may trigger another probation violation that could earn additional time.
Two other matters in court on Monday involved plea deals.
–Alexander Nicholas Davis, 21, of 7570 Elko Road, Sandston, pled guilty to three counts of credit card fraud, three counts of obtaining money under false pretenses, and one count of burglary. In a summary of evidence, Davis admitted burglarizing the home of Tommy Ellis on the dates of Aug. 16-28 of last year. He also confessed that he used credit cards belonging to John and Debbie Rigdon, who are the grandparents of his child. Using the cards, Davis obtained $1,100 from C&F Bank.
Under the plea agreement, commonwealth’s attorney Linwood Gregory will recommend a sentence of one year, 11 months, but the defendant could be placed in the state’s Detention and Diversion program if eligible. Hoover informed the defendant that no guidelines for sentencing were established by the plea deal and the court could impose a punishment of any length of time.
–Michael Scott Davis Jr., 23, of 9616 Crumps Mill Road, Quinton, pled guilty to three counts of petty larceny and one count each of entering a structure to commit a crime, grand larceny, credit card theft, and obtaining money under false pretenses. Davis admitted that he and two co-defendants, Brandon Patrick Davis (his brother) and Christopher Shane Goode, broke into vehicles in the Greenwood Estates neighborhood and in the area of George Watkins Elementary School on Nov. 4-5 of last year. Items stolen included a set of drums, a black powder rifle, arrows, and a credit card belong to Elizabeth Hensley.
As part of the plea agreement, Davis received a 20-year prison sentence on the burglary charge with 18 years, five months suspended and must pay $1,337.13 in restitution. A total of 65 years on the other six charges were suspended.