Caroline County | I'm Surrounded By Idiots

How utterly priceless…

From the Richmond Times-Dispatch: 1st District race run on contrasts:

Wittman holds a doctorate in public policy and administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. He plans to retire next month as field director for the Virginia Department of Health’s division of shellfish sanitation.

“We make sure our seafood is safe,” he said.

[…]

Forgit (pronounced with a soft “g”) ran for the House of Delegates in 2003 but was defeated.

A naval reservist, he was mobilized from his job as a fourth-grade teacher in James City County. Forgit won a Bronze Star for serving with a special warfare unit as an adviser to the Iraqi army in 2005-2006.

“I was not a war hero, I just did my job well,” Forgit said.

He thinks he can bring a different perspective to Congress because of his service in Iraq, and, since returning home, as a counselor to returning Navy veterans.

Humble war hero, counselor, and teacher versus arrogant shellfish cleaner and career bureaucrat?

Six of one, half dozen of another…

Witnesses sought in Raquel Hunter case

From The Free Lance-Star: Witnesses sought in shooting case:

Two men are believed to have been with Lashawn Montque Monroe Saturday night when a teenager was shot in the head and killed in Caroline County.

Monroe, 22, was later charged with the murder of 16-year-old Raquel Hunter of Ruther Glen and was also charged with possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony. At his arraignment yesterday, a preliminary hearing date was set for Jan. 15, 2008. He requested a court-appointed attorney, but one has yet to be assigned.

A search warrant filed yesterday in circuit court says Monroe told police he traveled in a 1993 Dodge Caravan with two other people to the Madison Ruritan Club, where the shooting occurred.

[…]

These recent charges are not the first for Monroe in Caroline County. He had a 2004 concealed weapon charge following stabbings and shootings at a party. That charge was later dropped.

And he has convictions in General District Court for trespassing on private property and littering.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Harvey Latney has refused to discuss the cases. Court records do not say why the weapons charge was dropped.

Caroline man’s trial in manslaughter case expected to be postponed

From The Free Lance-Star: Caroline man’s trial in manslaughter case expected to be postponed:

The two-day jury trial of a Caroline County man charged with manslaughter scheduled to start today is expected to be postponed until next year.

According to a court order last week, Commonwealth’s Attorney Harvey Latney asked the court to appoint a “substitute attorney” in the case of John Wayne Peck, 27, because “it would be improper for him to act.”

Judge Horace Revercomb then appointed Spotsylvania Commonwealth’s Attorney Bill Neely to the case and the jury was called off.

Neely said yesterday the reason Latney asked to be excused from trying the case was because of complaints.

“Apparently, the victim’s family was upset in the handling of the case,” Neely said.

Latney’s motion came before he lost last week’s race for re-election to Tony Spencer, who takes over the office in January.

Latney refused to talk about why he would not prosecute Peck.

Neely said that after the election, he called Revercomb and asked if Spencer could be put on the case. There should be a decision in Circuit Court today.

Peck was charged with first degree murder in October 2006 after his hunting buddy, Jerry Curtis Beverly, was fatally shot in the chest. Latney later reduced his charge to manslaughter.

Sheriff Tony Lippa said Peck and Beverly had been hunting and drinking before getting into an argument. Beverly was later found dead.

Comment that was left:

Lesa said,

November 14, 2007 at 1:48 pm

I am the victim’s daughter in this case. I want to first say Thank you for your concern for my family. We are not at all disappointed about having to wait until next year to have the case tried. We fought hard to get Mr. Latney off my father’s case. So today was a bittersweet day. We were happy to have Mr. Latney off the case, but never the less it does not change the fact that my father is not here.
I feel strongly that with Mr. Spencer as Commonwealth victim’s rights will no longer be trampled on.

No bond for Lashawn Monroe

From the Richmond Times-Dispatch: No bond for slaying suspect:

Lashawn Monroe, 22, accused in the slaying of a 16-year-old Saturday outside a Ruritan clubhouse in Caroline County, will stay locked up at least until he gets a lawyer.

At a hearing yesterday morning on charges of murder and illegal use of a firearm in Caroline Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, Judge Phillip U. Fines ordered Monroe held without bond at least until he is represented by a lawyer.

The next scheduled hearing for Monroe is Jan. 15.

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael Weise said the state will oppose any bail for Monroe.

The body of the victim, Raquel Hunter, was found on the ground outside the Madison Ruritan Club hall in Ladysmith about 11 p.m. Saturday. The hall had been rented for a birthday party for another teen. That party started about 7 p.m. and was just ending when the shooting occurred.

Monroe and a juvenile who was injured were later located by police at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg and Monroe was arrested, authorities said.

Monroe told an investigator that he fired shots during the incident, according to a court affidavit filed yesterday in connection with a search warrant issued in the case.

Authorities searched a 1993 Dodge minivan that they say Monroe was riding in when he arrived at the birthday party. Investigators were looking for cartridge casings, gunshot residue, DNA, fingerprints and other potential evidence.

They seized several clothing items and a front passenger-seat headrest cover.

“Monroe also told [an investigator] that he had a firearm on his person while in the vehicle and did fire shots during the time of the incident,” an investigator wrote in the affidavit, which also revealed that Hunter had apparently been shot in the head.

After talking with Monroe, who had sought medical treatment at the Fredericksburg hospital for what police described as a grazing gunshot wound, authorities stopped the Dodge minivan with two other people inside it. Court papers described the occupants as possible witnesses or accomplices.

Caroline Sheriff Tony Lippa Jr. said Monday that Monroe was the only suspect at that time. Lippa could not be reached for additional information last night.

Also yesterday, Caroline Commonwealth’s Attorney Harvey Latney Jr. said he decided in 2005 not to prosecute Monroe on a concealed-weapons charge because “the evidence wasn’t there.”

And it only took you five hearings and 228 days to figure it out…

Great lawyering there…

That charge arose from a 2004 Labor Day weekend melee at the Dawn Progressive Center. Several suspects were charged in that incident, in which eight people were shot and two stabbed.

“If I could have prosecuted, I would have,” Latney said.

Just like you would have prosecuted Irvin Stevens, Saleem Stevens, Sherenda Stevens, Edward Arrington, Jermaine Shepherd, ad infinitum and ad nauseam.

Also according to records from Caroline General District Court, Monroe was charged in March with trespassing, was subsequently found guilty and fined $50 plus court costs of $76.

Latney lost his campaign for another term in last week’s election to Anthony G. “Tony” Spencer, who accused Latney of dropping too many charges and making too many plea deals.

NBC 12 is still a bunch of idiots…

From NBC 12 in Richmond, Virginia: Following shoot-out rumor, extra security still on hand at Caroline High:

The man accused in a deadly shooting at a birthday party in Caroline County will be arraigned today.

Lashawn Monroe is accused in the weekend shooting death of 16-year-old Raquel Hunter.

Meanwhile, extra security will be on hand again today at Caroline High School.

Yesterday, more than 200 students were pulled from class by lunchtime after rumors circulated about a shootout on campus.

There was no shoot-out.

Wait a second. Yesterday, you reported that “classes were nearly empty by fifth period” and that 80% of the students had left. Now it’s only 16.4% of the students that had left. Which one is it NBC 12? Or did you just bother running a story with no official comment (except for two seconds of video from Sheriff Lippa after you criticized the Sheriff for half a minute for increasing security of all things)? If you’re going to fearmonger, at least get your facts straight. Maybe you should leave the real reporting to WTVR next time. You freakin’ mooks.

The Caroline Sheriff’s Dept. wants parents to know that deputies are only on campus as a precaution, not because they’ve heard anything reliable about a plot for revenge.

What a joke you guys are as a news station…

From NBC 12 in Richmond, Virginia: Security, tensions run high at Caroline County school :

Parents pulled their children from classes at Caroline High School after a student was gunned down at a weekend party. Fear about retaliation for that deadly shooting prompted some parents to pick their kids up from school early Monday.

Saturday night, 16-year-old Raquel Hunter was shot and killed outside the Madison Ruritan Club. The building was rented for a 16th-birthday party and had adult chaperones.

Lashawn Monroe, 22, is charged with murder. Another teen is being investigated for possible involvement.

Raquel Hunter was a student at Caroline County High School. On Monday, fear of more violence overtook the campus.

The rumor mill started Monday morning, when someone said there was a shooting at the high school. It did not happen — neither did the teaching of hundreds of students, because of the rumor.

Parents started driving up to campus once rumors began that something had happened.

When they found out nothing had occurred, there was already another rumor running rampant: there was supposedly going to be a shootout after school.

That was the last straw for Roy Gray, who picked his daughter up from school.

“You definitely get nervous, worried,” he said.

Shannon said her classes were nearly empty by fifth period. Seeing all the sheriff’s deputies on campus may have triggered some parents’ fears once they arrived.

The sheriff said the extra security was meant to be a precautionary measure as a result of the weekend violence.

“We care about our children,” Sheriff Tony Lippa said. “That’s why we did what we did.”

There is a perception that the weekend shooting was the result of some deep-seated rivalry between two Caroline County communities: Dawn and Bowling Green.

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2434304036206046469]

Uh, NBC 12, are you a bunch of idiots?

You have rumors going around that there is going to be a shootout after school and you wouldn’t increase security?

Jesus Christ, Lord Almighty, I’m surrounded by idiots…

One Teen Fatally Shot – Another Teen Injured, Caroline County Sheriff’s Office Arrest Perpetrator

From the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office: One Teen Fatally Shot – Another Teen Injured, Caroline County Sheriff’s Office Arrest Perpetrator:

According to Sheriff Tony Lippa, at approximately 11:06 pm, last night November 10, 2007 the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Madison Ruritan Club, 18206 Timothy Drive, Ladysmith, in reference to a shooting. The Ruritan Club was rented for a 16^th birthday party celebration. Sgt. Lambert was the first unit to arrive at approximately 11:12pm, along with Caroline County Fire and Rescue, 12 other Sheriff’s Office personnel, and approximately eight Virginia State Police Troopers and one Sergeant.

Investigator J. W. McCarty is the lead investigator and upon consulting with the Caroline County Commonwealth’s Attorney, Mr. Harvey Latney, warrants were obtained. Subsequently, Lashawn Montque Monroe, 22, of 12438 Golansville Road, Ruther Glen, VA, was charged and arrested for:

Murder

Use of a firearm in the connection of a felony

Monroe is being held without bond in the Pamunkey Regional Jail until 11/13/07 for a bond hearing in the Caroline County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the victim, a 16 year old, was lying on the ground of the parking lot approximately 30 yards from the front door. The perpetrator(s) left the scene. Another teen arrived at Mary Washington Hospital with an apparent gunshot wound. This other teen is 15 years of age and the shootings are related. This is an extensive on-going investigation and no further details will be released at this time,” according to Sheriff Lippa.

UPDATE: From The Free Lance-Star: Sweet 16 party turns deadly:

The suspect arrested—Lashawn Montque Monroe, 22, of Ruther Glen—also was charged the last time a party erupted into violence in Caroline.

That was in September 2004, when eight people were stabbed and two were shot during an early morning gathering at the Dawn Progressive Center.

In 2004, Monroe was charged with having a concealed weapon, but the charge was later dropped.

UPDATE #2: From the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office: *UPDATE* One Teen Fatally Shot – Another Teen Injured, Caroline County Sheriff’s Office Arrest Perpetrator:

According to Sheriff Tony Lippa, at approximately 11:06 pm on November 10, 2007 the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Madison Ruritan Club building on Timothy Drive in Ladysmith for a reported shooting. The building had been rented for a 16^th birthday party with adult chaperones present. 12 Sheriff’s Office deputies and one sergeant responded along with approximately eight State Police Troopers and one State Police Sergeant.

Lead Investigator J. W. McCarty has obtained and served warrants on Lashawn Montque Monroe, 22, of Golansville Road in Ruther Glen. The charges are:

Murder of Raquel Hunter, 16, of Ruther Glen

Use of a firearm in the commission of a felony

Monroe is being held without bond in the Pamunkey Regional Jail until his arraignment in the Caroline County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court on November 13^th.

“Preliminary investigation indicates that the victim was lying on the ground outside the building. The suspects were not on scene. Based on a lookout issued by Caroline, officers from Fredericksburg and the State Police detained 2 subjects as they arrived at Mary Washington Hospital seeking treatment for apparent gunshot wounds. The suspect and a juvenile were turned over to Caroline investigators and the warrants were served. This is still an active investigation and no further details will be released at this time,” according to Sheriff Lippa.

UPDATE #3: From the Richmond Times-Dispatch: Caroline slaying suspect faced weapons charge in ’04:

A Caroline County man charged with murder in the weekend shooting of a teenager at a Ruritan clubhouse was arrested three years ago in a melee at another civic organization.

Lashawn Monroe, 22, was one of several people arrested after a Labor Day weekend shoot-up during a late-night party at the Dawn Progressive Center in September 2004. Eight people were shot and two were stabbed, but no one died in that incident.

Then 19, Monroe was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, but Caroline Commonwealth’s Attorney Harvey Latney Jr. told a judge several months later that he had decided not to prosecute.

Now, Monroe is charged with murder in the slaying of Raquel Hunter, 16, at the Madison Ruritan Club on Saturday about 11 p.m. Monroe was being held at the Pamunkey Regional Jail pending an initial scheduled appearance in Caroline Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court today.

Caroline Sheriff Tony Lippa Jr. said yesterday that the event Saturday, a birthday party for another 16-year-old, was being chaperoned by adults. “Good, church-going people,” he said.

The Board of Supervisors still can’t find anything more important to do…

Than requiring building permits for fencing?! And then lying about it!

Click the thumbnail for a bigger image:

And it’s amazing how they have the nerve to lie on their own agenda:

TXT-17-2007: AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF CAROLINE COUNTY BY AMENDING ARTICLE XV, SUPPLEMENTAL REGULATIONS, BY REPEALING AND REPLACING SECTION 2, FENCES, WALLS AND HEDGES. The purpose of this zoning ordinance text amendment is allow for fences in the front yards that exceed 3 feet in height in the Rural Preservation and Agricultural Preservation zoning districts. (First Reading)

They fail to note the requirement for building permits, but I’m sure that just skipped their minds, right?

And now some guess commentary from the person that alerted me to this outright stupidity:

The problem is there will always be unintended consequences with something like this. I met a couple at a BOS meeting who can’t build a barn for their horses in their field because their field is in front of their house. The County should not be distinguishing between front and back yards in agricultural areas (AP & RP).

What if your fence is next to a steep hill or another place where the animals can get up high? No problem, as long as you dish out the $100/$200 for the building permit to get over six feet and the $1000 for the special exemption permit to get over seven feet.

I asked the Planning Dept. about the fees and they said they won’t know until next year (after the ordinance is passed of course).

The meeting on this idiocy will be November 15th (not the 13th!) and should take place after public comments (which are done at 7:30 P.M.). So if you have to come late, at least come, and let the Board know that they’re a bunch of idiots!

What a mook… (Not Robert Wittman! Part 2)

UPDATE: Hi, to all the folks from Raising Kaine and VB Dems. Note: Most of the rest of the stuff on this blog will probably bore you to death (unless you live in Caroline County!).

From Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary [emphasis mine]:

Main Entry: mook

Function: nounslang : a foolish, insignificant, or contemptible person

Delegates, what the hell were you thinking? You nominate this mook, Robert Wittman? What the hell has this guy ever done?

Director of field operations, Division of Shellfish Sanitation? What the hell?

You turn down the retired firefighter (Chuck Davis), the retired FBI agent and Marine (David Corderman), the retired 20-year military veteran (Jim Browden) for this guy?!

What has he done besides get local party officials to endorse him that then run a crooked mass meeting for him?

I’m sure that crooked mass meeting had nothing to do with the following, from The Free Lance-Star: Wittman seeking Davis’ seat:

Wittman said he would step down from his House seat and help find a Republican candidate to fill it, if he wins the congressional seat.

And guess what? The Republicans have lost another seat in the House of Delegates in the mean time! From The Free Lance-Star: Wittman wins district nod:

If Wittman wins, there will be yet another special election to fill his seat. That’s likely to be set by House Speaker Bill Howell, and it’s not yet clear whether it would run afoul of a state law prohibiting elections in the 60 days before a primary–in this case, the presidential primaries in February.

It’s possible Wittman’s seat, which covers the Northern Neck, would be empty during the 2008 legislative session.

[…]

In a speech to delegates, Jost supporter Del. Jeff Frederick earned some boos from Wittman supporters for saying Wittman had supported “one of the largest tax increases in Virginia” and that delegates should remember that.

Don’t forget the abusive driver fees!

And further proof this guy is an ass, from his biography:

Rob was elected to the Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors in 1995, where he was the chair from 2004 [through 2005] until he resigned to fulfill his role as delegate.

Well, consider the following, from The Free Lance-Star: Westmoreland faces civil action:

A civil-liberties group and a state agency have raised possibilities of legal action against Westmoreland County for failing to provide handicapped access to public buildings.

In a letter sent Monday, an attorney for the Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy charged that the county had not complied with all terms of a 2003 settlement agreement to provide handicapped access to the George D. English Sr. Memorial Office Building in Montross.

“It is my hope we can bring this matter to a swift conclusion without the need for litigation,” wrote VOPA Managing Attorney Jonathan G. Martinis. “After three years, Westmoreland County owes its citizens with disabilities nothing less.”

On Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia notified the county that it intends to file a lawsuit under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act unless the county promptly provides handicapped access to the offices of the Circuit Court clerk.

County Administrator Norm Risavi said that a team composed of a professional engineer, a building inspector and the county’s maintenance supervisor inspected all county buildings yesterday for ADA compliance.

Risavi said he hoped to have a plan and a budget for ADA projects ready for approval by the Board of Supervisors at its April 10 meeting. A supplemental appropriation by the supervisors may be necessary to fund the work, he said.

Risavi would not estimate when the various ramps, curb cuts, bathroom renovations and signage would be installed.

He said some of the work could be done by county staff, but other jobs would be put out for bids under the county Procurement and Contract Administration Policy.

But last year, Risavi waived bid requirements for renovating the old courthouse’s second floor as an office for Circuit Court Judge George Mason III.

“I have determined that competitive sealed bidding would not be practicable or fiscally advantageous to the county,” Risavi wrote in a finding on the judge’s office. “Competitive negotiations would better serve the county.”

Last year, the judge’s office was expected to cost $100,000. Now, Risavi said it will cost $140,000.

Crookery isn’t just for Caroline County!

A story in the March 15 Free Lance-Star attracted the attention of both the ACLU and VOPA, Willis and Martinis said. The story described Mason’s expensive office and problems of handicapped accessibility at it and other county buildings

“This is almost hard to believe,” said Willis.

“It’s bad enough to flaunt the law by ignoring the rights of disabled persons, but it is an outright affront to human decency to spend more than $100,000 to renovate a building without adding something as simple and inexpensive as ramps that rise 3 feet.”

In a March 17 letter to Gayle Harding, a wheelchair-bound resident of Coles Point, Martinis said he had sent a VOPA paralegal to survey the English Building and the old courthouse 200 yards away.

Harding complained to the county and VOPA in 2000 about accessibility problems at the English Building. In April 2003, the county finally agreed to fix them.

It only took you guys over six years to do it!

“What, me worry?”