On the second day of his jury trial, prominent realtor Andrew Middleditch, 56, pleaded guilty to his second DUI offense and entered an unexpected Alford plea before the closing statements related to his involuntary manslaughter charge, which came from a Memorial Day car crash that killed 78-year-old Lonnie Branham. When the judge asked Middleditch […]
On the second day of his jury trial, prominent realtor Andrew Middleditch, 56, pleaded guilty to his second DUI offense and entered an unexpected Alford plea before the closing statements related to his involuntary manslaughter charge, which came from a Memorial Day car crash that killed 78-year-old Lonnie Branham. When the judge asked Middleditch […]
The high-end realtor charged with involuntary manslaughter and his second drunk driving offense for killing an elderly driver in a Memorial Day car crash last year stands trial in Albemarle Circuit Court. On April 26, a 12-person jury made of nine women and three men was selected to hear the case against Andrew Blackwell […]
The man charged with brutally beating to death special education teacher Robin Aldridge and her daughter, Mani, and then setting their Rugby Avenue home on fire in December 2014, appeared before a judge for a motions hearing April 21. One of his three attorneys argued that he’s at a disadvantage because, in her words, he’s […]
City Manager Maurice Jones announced Lexington Police Chief Al Thomas as his pick to head the Charlottesville Police Department, and City Council approved Thomas, who is the city’s first black police chief, April 18. Thomas was one of 63 applicants, says Jones, in a search that was “deep” and involved three rounds of interviews. And […]
Does an employer’s request for a welfare check on a man who has a gun but has made no threats to harm himself or others warrant holding him for two hours? That’s what a judge will determine in Benjamin Burruss’ lawsuit against five Albemarle police officers and the county for unlawful seizure, false imprisonment and […]
City Council heard from around three dozen people at its marathon five-hour April 18 hearing on the statue of General Robert E. Lee and the forming of a blue ribbon commission on race, memorials and public spaces. Much like the citizens that spoke before them, the councilors found themselves split on how to move forward. […]
In an effort to “Save Lee Park,” the Virginia Flaggers hosted an April 18 rally in front of the park’s General Robert E. Lee monument to advocate for keeping the historic statue in place, after the group made their opposition to removing it known at a rally last month, which was hosted by Vice-Mayor Wes […]
Imagine, if you will, an alternate reality version of our beautiful commonwealth. A bizarro Virginia where Ken Cuccinelli won the governorship in 2013, and E.W. “Yoga is a tool of Satan” Jackson was elected lieutenant governor. Now imagine that this dynamic duo were in charge when Senate Bill 41, which would exempt religious organizations from […]
Thomas Andrew Eagleson, 45, was denied bond April 12 after being charged with two felony counts of unlawful filming of a juvenile and three misdemeanor counts of unlawful filming of adults. Albemarle police say Eagleson, who lives in the 3100 block of Turnberry Circle, was pet sitting for his neighbors in March when he installed […]
Bryan Silva, the 25-year-old social media celebrity jailed after a January 3 SWAT standoff, pleaded guilty April 11 to brandishing and possessing a firearm. Though he has been denied bond twice since January, Charlottesville Circuit Court Judge Rick Moore agreed to release him from jail on a $20,000 bond and under a stricter than usual […]