Former Company 2 treasurer indicted for embezzlement; Lanexa man indicted on sex crimes involving girls

A longtime member and past treasurer of Quinton Volunteer Fire and EMS Inc. (Company 2) faces felony embezzlement charges in connection with more than $1,700 allegedly taken from the organization over a 16-month span.

And in another, unrelated case, a Lanexa man is charged with three felony sex crimes stemming from alleged incidents involving a pair of underage girls.

A New Kent Circuit Court grand jury indicted both individuals on May 19. Those indictments were promptly sealed pending the suspects’ arrests.

Lucinda Marciniak Crump, 48, of the 9000 block of Essex Hills Road, New Kent, is charged with three counts of embezzlement. The indictments allege the suspect embezzled $200 between Oct. 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013; $623.07 between Dec. 1 and Dec. 19 in 2013; and $897.28 on Jan. 7, 2014. Crump served as the company’s treasurer during those times, said county commonwealth’s attorney Linwood Gregory.

Crump surrendered to authorities last week, Gregory said. She was being held on $2,500 bond. She is scheduled to appear June 9 in circuit court for arraignment and counsel determination.

Gregory described Crump as a veteran member of the fire department, adding she served as Company 2 treasurer from 2011 until January of this year.

State police conducted the investigation after the New Kent Sheriff’s Office declined to pursue the matter, citing possible conflict of interest. Sheriff F.W. “Wakie” Howard Jr. said both he and Chief Deputy Joe McLaughlin are ex officio members of Company 2.

If convicted, Crump faces from one to 20 years in prison on each count, Gregory said.

Last Friday, authorities unsealed indictments involving the sex crimes following the arrest that day of the suspect, Howard Travers, 67, of the 7000 block of Angel View Lane, Lanexa.

Travers is charged with two counts of aggravated sexual battery involving a child under age 13 and one count of taking indecent liberties with a child under age 18. All three felonies carry prison terms of up to 20 years.

The charges involve two underage girls and go back as far as 2006. Gregory said the two sexual battery charges stem from June 2006 while the indecent liberties incident allegedly occurred on July 15, 2013. Travers is being held without bond.