Fredericksburg | I'm Surrounded By Idiots

Ever heard of checking the Code of Virginia before charging someone?

From Fredericksburg.com: Bouncer cleared of Taser use charges:

Charges against a bouncer accused of using a Taser on an unruly patron were dropped Tuesday in Fredericksburg General District Court.

Richard A. Sullivan, 24, of Stafford County was charged in May with carrying a concealed weapon and discharging a firearm within a building. The latter charge is a Class 6 felony.

City prosecutor Andy Cornick determined that Sullivan had been improperly charged after a more thorough review of a state law.

Cornick said it is not technically illegal to conceal a Taser unless you are a convicted felon, which Sullivan is not.

He also said that the Taser does not qualify as a firearm under the felony statute Sullivan was charged under.

According to city police, Sullivan was working as a bouncer at Buffalo Wild Wings in Central Park early May 19 when he became involved in an altercation with two Marines.

During the incident, police said, a Taser was used on one of the Marines.

Later that morning, police said, Sullivan encountered the two Marines he’d kicked out of the club at a nearby Wawa. This time, Sullivan was assaulted.

During the investigation, police learned about the Taser and filed charges the next day.

What next? Arresting a homeowner that shoots a burglar? Charging someone with “discharging a gun in an occupied building” requires the discharge to be unlawful, if there was any evidence of unlawfulness why wasn’t he (Sullivan) charged with assault and battery? Why is it, that the names of the Marines are not released if they later assaulted him at a Wawa? Why is it, that the one that was innocent of all charges is named and has his name dragged through the mud?

What a bunch of geniuses

From Fredericksburg.com: Bizarre chase follows shoplifting report:

Police say a shoplifting suspect ran across Interstate 95 at rush hour yesterday in an effort to elude arrest.

A loss prevention manager at Kohl’s in Central Park notified officers at about 5:30 p.m. that she saw two white males conceal items under their clothes.

When police arrived, one of the suspects was driving a Chevy pickup in the parking lot and was stopped there.

Authorities say the bed of the pickup was loaded with stolen merchandise.

Police approached the second suspect as he left the store and authorities say the man threw merchandise into bushes in front of the store and bolted on foot.

He ran behind Best Buy with an officer chasing behind him, police say.

Authorities say the suspect then jumped over a barrier fence, ran onto I-95, crossed traffic lanes and ran south on the highway median.

A police K9 arrived and finally tracked the suspect near the Bob Evans restaurant on State Route 3.

The driver of the pickup, George Moore, 38, of Spotsylvania was arrested and charged with receiving stolen propery [sic].

The other suspect, Jason Salisbury, 28, of Spotsylvania was arrested and charged with felony shoplifting, obstruction of justice, and use of a controlled access highway as a pedestrian.

Both men were placed in the Rappahannock Regional Jail. Salisbury is being held on no bond, while Moore was being held on a $1,500 bond.

I guess they don’t require IQ tests to be a criminal nowadays.

He must have really pissed off that officer: “Use of a controlled access highway as a pedestrian.”

Hot pursuit in Caroline County.

From Fredericksburg.com [photo credit: Lippa for Sheriff]: Woman faces charges in two localities:

A Fredericksburg woman was charged yesterday with hit-and-run and eluding police in episodes in two localities.

Beth A. Egnar, 43, was charged with DUI and eluding police in Caroline County and was served a warrant for a felony hit-and-run in Fredericksburg Sunday night.

[…]

Caroline Sheriff Tony Lippa said his office got a call about 11 p.m. Sunday to be on the lookout for Egnar. A man had called 911 and told Fredericksburg police that he was following a woman who struck his vehicle and drove off.

Fredericksburg spokeswoman Natatia Bledsoe said Egnar was driving a 2003 Subaru wagon when she allegedly hit a Dodge pickup truck on State Route 2.

Lippa said his department put out two sets of road spikes on Route 2 before they were finally able to stop the car, which was southbound.

Lippa said the car stopped for police at an intersection just north of Bowies Pond with all four tires flattened and surrounded by six to seven police cars.

Good thing Lippa bought those spike strips (at no cost to the county by using drug seizure money).

It’s five o’clock somewhere.

From Fredericksburg.com [photo credit: Ibid]: Frawley’s blood alcohol was 0.21:

The blood alcohol content of former University of Mary Washington President William Frawley was 2 1/2 times the legal limit when he flipped his university car in Fairfax County on April 10, according to court documents.

The analysis from the Department of Forensic Science in Richmond, filed in Fairfax General District Court, shows that Frawley’s blood alcohol level was 0.21 when the accident occurred on Georgetown Pike.

[…]

According to police, Frawley was driving a 2006 Toyota Avalon on Georgetown Pike near Great Falls National Park when he ran off the road and flipped the car, owned by the UMW Foundation, onto its roof around lunchtime April 10.

Fairfax County police Officer D.J. Montgomery pulled nine unidentified bottles from Frawley’s car, eight of them containing liquid, according to evidence now in the court file.

Not only is he a drunk, but he’s a morning drunk too. I guess he hadn’t had time to drink his six bottles of cough syrup yet that day. Due to the fact that his blood alcohol level was above 0.20 he’ll be getting a mandatory minimum of ten days in jail after he is convicted (§ 18.2-270).

Richmond Times-Dispatch needs a new editor plus an update on "Store owner knew the risks".

From the Richmond Times-Dispatch: Frawley drank cold medicine:

Ousted University of Mary Washington President William J. Frawley told police he had consumed six bottles of cough medicine before he was arrested for driving under the influence, according to a police report.

[…]

Police also noted the presence of one bottle of cough medicine. The police report did not indicate whether the cough medicine was prescription or over-the-counter.

Once again, a newspaper writes a statement from someone as a statement of fact. They also fail to say what police report “noted the presence of one bottle of cough medicine”. The criminal complaint does not mention it . It states the officer smelled the “strong odor of alcoholic beverage coming from his [Frawley’s] person and he was unsteady on his feet.”

And as previously noted, even if he was in fact under the influence of cough syrup he would still be guilty of driving under the influence, from Code of Virginia § 18.2-266 [emphasis mine]:

It shall be unlawful for any person to drive or operate any motor vehicle, engine or train […] while such person is under the influence of any narcotic drug or any other self-administered intoxicant or drug of whatsoever nature, or any combination of such drugs, to a degree which impairs his ability to drive or operate any motor vehicle, engine or train safely.

UPDATE: July 24, 2007, 0200 (2:00 AM): The Richmond Times-Dispatch claims that the cough medicine bottle was noted in a separate police report (not the criminal complaint).

Again, from the Richmond Times-Dispatch: Chesterfield shop owner is buried [emphasis mine]:

Chesterfield County shop owner Farooq Anwar was buried yesterday, less than 48 hours after he was fatally shot during an apparent robbery at his store.

[…]

Anwar, a native of Pakistan, was killed about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday during an apparent robbery of the Fast & Friendly Convenience Store at 6249 Jefferson Davis Highway, which he had owned or operated since 1990.

He died of a gunshot wound to the head, according to the state medical examiner’s office. He was initially identified by authorities as Anwar Farooq, but yesterday, the medical examiner’s office and police confirmed his name as Farooq Anwar.

[…]

Anwar, 52, left behind a wife, Lubna, and two children. Their son and daughter attend the University of Virginia.

Chesterfield police are pursuing the case, but the investigation has yielded few substantial leads, officials said. Investigators have declined to say whether anything was taken from the store, or whether surveillance cameras inside recorded any useful images.

You have some nerve even writing about this man, Mr. Mark Bowes. As I noted about your article, “Store owner knew the risks” this man was trying to provide for his family and help put his children through school and you attempt to blame him for his own death.

From the more respectful people at WTVR 6 in Richmond:

Chesterfield police are investigating the case. They’re asking anyone with information about the murder to call them at [(804)] 748-1251, or Crime Solvers at [(804)] 748-0660.

And this guy was president of an university?

See Previous Article.

From Fredericksburg.com: Report: Frawley drank cough syrup:

Former University of Mary Washington President William Frawley told a police officer he had consumed six bottles of cough medicine on the day of his April 11 arrest in Fredericksburg, court documents show.

The officer also smelled a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage, the police report states.

Frawley, 53, was charged in the city with driving under the influence and refusing a Breathalyzer test. He had been charged the previous day in Fairfax County with driving while intoxicated after flipping a vehicle owned by the UMW Foundation.

UMW’s board of visitors fired him “for cause” at the end of April. His trial in Fredericksburg General District Court had been scheduled for yesterday but was pushed back until Sept. 18.

He’s scheduled to appear in Fairfax General District Court on Sept. 21.

Fredericksburg Commonwealth’s Attorney Charles Sharp said prosecutors requested the delay because they’re still awaiting Frawley’s blood test results subpoenaed from Mary Washington Hospital.

You have to laugh when a newspaper gets a headline that incorrect. It should be something around the lines of “Frawley claims he drank cough syrup” and not a statement of fact that he did in fact drink cough syrup. And even if he was in fact under the influence of cough syrup he would still be guilty of driving under the influence, from Code of Virginia § 18.2-266 [emphasis mine]:

It shall be unlawful for any person to drive or operate any motor vehicle, engine or train […] while such person is under the influence of any narcotic drug or any other self-administered intoxicant or drug of whatsoever nature, or any combination of such drugs, to a degree which impairs his ability to drive or operate any motor vehicle, engine or train safely.

Criminal Complaint:

UPDATE 8:48 PM: They have now changed the headline after I left a comment.

Former University of Mary Washington president’s trial delayed

From Fredericksburg.com: Frawley’s trial posponed [sic]:

Ousted University of Mary Washington President William Frawley won’t be tried in Fredericksburg tomorrow on a DUI charge as scheduled.

Fredericksburg Common wealth’s Attorney Charles Sharp said the reason for the delay is that the prosecution is still awaiting Frawley’s blood test results from Mary Washington Hospital.

Frawley is also charged in the city with refusing a Breathalyzer test.

He said he expects Frawley’s appearance at Fredericksburg General District Court to be rescheduled for sometime in September.

Frawley was fired at the end of April after he was charged with driving under the influence twice in two days.

The first charge occurred April 10 in Fairfax County, where he flipped a university-owned vehicle. His court date at Fairfax County General District is scheduled for Sept. 21.

The second occurred the next day in Fredericksburg, after a woman reported seeing him driving in a car with a missing front tire.

How awfully convenient. Three months and they’re still waiting for blood test results? That’s a real go-getter there as Commonwealth’s Attorney.