Gene Washington appears for last motions hearing of the year

The man charged with brutally beating a mother and daughter to death before setting their Rugby Avenue home on fire one year ago appeared in Charlottesville Circuit Court December 7 for a motions hearing. Gene Washington faces capital murder charges for the death of special education teacher Robin Aldridge and her daughter, Mani. Judge Rick […]

SWAT PTSD: Albemarle police sued for false imprisonment

How many cops does it take to check on a man when his employer is concerned that he hasn’t shown up for work? At least a dozen, by Benjamin Marshall Burruss’ estimate. According to his November 19 lawsuit filed in federal court, Albemarle County Police held Burruss for two hours in his truck after he […]

Dog fights: Fluvanna SPCA sued for aggressive dog incident

Following a string of less-than-perfect adoption incidents, a family has filed a lawsuit against the Fluvanna SPCA alleging gross negligence after a dog bit their 5-year-old child’s face, just days after they adopted the dog from the shelter. “He had a bite wound to his right eye with puncture wounds encompassing the entire orbit,” says […]

Nelson sheriff candidate indicted for election fraud

William Everette “Billy” Mays, the Nelson sheriff’s office investigator who led the Alexis Murphy missing teen case, was indicted on two counts of election fraud November 24. Mays ran for sheriff and lost to David Hill in the November election. Both men were the subjects of Virginia State Police investigations after a private citizen complained […]

Unsettled: Syrian refugees and the politics of fear

You know, it takes a special kind of politician to unite elected officials from all points of the political spectrum. When was the last time you can remember a lone figure whose bold actions drew the same response from his own party and his opponents, from liberals and conservatives, and, indeed, from all right-thinking Americans? […]

John Wayne Jordan escapes by Gator—briefly

John Wayne Jordan, 50, a trustee at the Albemarle Charlottesville Regional Jail, disappeared on a John Deere Gator and was on the lam for about 11 minutes from the time he was reported missing until he was captured November 24. Jordan was working for the Virginia Department of Forestry on Natural Resources Drive and was […]

Unwelcoming cities: Chasm grows in our nation’s reaction to refugees

In the week since terrorists waged the largest attack in Paris since World War II, sympathy to the French has been pretty much universal. To Syrians fleeing slaughter in their country, not so much. On the evening of November 20, two Syrian refugees flew into Charlottesville after Kansas Governor Sam Brownback uninvited them. “That’s so […]

ABC officials file motion to dismiss Martese Johnson’s lawsuit

Three ABC agents and its director filed a motion in U.S. District Court November 16 to dismiss all seven claims in UVA student Martese Johnson’s $3 million lawsuit stemming from his encounter with agents last March that left him bloody and needing 10 stitches. Johnson alleges false arrest, excessive force, negligence and battery against special […]

‘Almost instantaneous’: Realtor’s DUI manslaughter charges go to grand jury

  High-end real estate agent Andrew Middleditch’s charges for driving under the influence for the second time and for involuntary manslaughter stemming from a Memorial Day crash that killed 78-year-old Lonnie Branham were certified to the grand jury in a November 19 preliminary hearing. Witness Victor Schiller was driving behind Middleditch’s silver SUV and Lonnie […]

Toscano resigns, reconsiders House minority leader position

Delegate David Toscano made two surprise announcements within two days. On November 12, he sent an e-mail to the Democratic caucus in the House of Delegates saying he was stepping down as minority leader. One day later, he says he changed his mind “when my cell phone blew up with caucus members and federal and […]