Marian Bragg court date set for February
Grand jury indicts three in busy Circuit Court session
Circuit Court Judge Jeffery W. Parker has scheduled a two-day bench trial for February 20 and 21, 2020 in the matter of Marian Bragg v Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors, a case known as Bragg 1. Filed in 2016, the suit will finally be heard on the merits after having generated hundreds of pages of documents and clocked hours and hours of court and attorney time.
Parker also ruled that Bragg must supply to the defendants information regarding any lawyer fees that have been accrued, as well as the fee agreement with her attorney, David Konick.
A federal government employee and llama farmer, Bragg charges the county’s Board of Supervisors violated Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by going into closed sessions on several occasions — without public notice — to discuss the hiring of a county attorney in 2016.
The case is separate from a second petition Bragg filed in October 2018. In Bragg 2, she again charged the BOS with violating FOIA during selection of the county administrator.
In the same court session, Konick also represented James Grigsby of Castleton in a zoning dispute against the National Pentecostal Evangelistic Association (NPEA). Grigsby charges that the NPEA, which owns 9 acres adjacent to Grigsby’s property, is violating a 1981 consent decree by operating a campground for an annual religious retreat.
Zoning Administrator Michelle Somers, in two violation letters, charged NPEA with failing to obtain a required special exception permit and maintaining water and sewerage hook-ups on part of the property prohibited by the consent decree.
GRAND JURY INDICTMENTS
The Rappahannock County Grand Jury this week handed down indictments for three individuals.
Miguel Montana Lorenzo-Day, 24, of Charlottesville was indicted for possession of a controlled substance. Charges of a second drug possession, possession of unauthorized drug paraphernalia, and public swearing/intoxication were dropped in district court last August. Lorenzo-Day did not appear in court on Monday. Parker ordered that a warrant be issued for his arrest.
Dale Thomas Yake, 32, of Castleton was indicted on two charges of possession of a controlled substance, which later proved to be heroin and fentanyl. At the time of his arrest February 16, 2019, he was also charged with unauthorized possession of drug paraphernalia and found guilty of that misdemeanor charge on April 16. A trial is scheduled for August 1.
Casey Andrew Soulsby, 42, of Crossville, Tenn., was indicted for making repeated threats of death or bodily injury to his wife and five young children. Appearing before the court in an orange and white striped jumpsuit stamped “RSW Inmate,” Soulsby pleaded guilty. He faces one to five years in prison or 12 months in jail and a fine. Sentencing is set for July 18.
OTHER CRIMINAL COURT ACTIONS
Adam Christopher Beamer, 38, of Ambler, PA., charged with a first DWI offense, requested a trial, to be held June 21. At that time, his attorney Frank Reynolds will enter a motion to suppress evidence gathered by the arresting officer, on the grounds that the officer violated Beamer’s Fourth Amendment rights against illegal search and seizure.
Tyler Anthony Brown, 28, of Chester Gap pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana. Parker sentenced Brown to 30 days in jail (20 days suspended) and revoked Brown’s drivers license for six months.
Eric Allen Butler, 37, of Washington was arrested April 1, 2019 for violating his probation stemming from a 2018 conviction for assault and battery against a family or household member — a 14 year old cousin. The A&B charge was his third in 20 years. Butler failed to appear in court and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Monica Casandra Fincham, 31, of Amissville was charged with violating her probation stemming from a conviction in 2010 for felony breaking-and-entering. Her case was continued to June 21.
Matthew Cory Fletcher, 26, of Amissville withdrew his appeal of an assault and battery conviction. He was then sentenced to 12 months in jail (11 months suspended) and two years of unsupervised probation upon release.
Randolph Lee Gray, 24, of Front Royal pleaded guilty to nine charges of forgery. According to Commonwealth’s Attorney Art Goff, Gray stole a series of checks from a party on Crest Hill Road and cashed them at various times in Fauquier County to support his drug habit. Parker ordered a full pre-sentence report. Sentencing is scheduled for July 8.
Christine Whiting Hefner, 44, of Washington, found guilty of possessing fentanyl, was sentenced to complete 100 hours of community service and will be under supervised probation for one year and six months.
Randy Lynn Hitt, 51, of Castleton, found guilty of possessing heroin, was sentenced to complete community service and will be under supervised probation for one year and six months.
Janie Louise Marston of Warrenton was sentenced to two years in prison (all suspended) on a charge of possession of a schedule I or II drug. She will be under two years of supervised probation. Per a plea agreement, a second drug possession charge was dropped.
Timothy Sterling Webb, 41, of Warrenton was sentenced to four years in prison (all but one year and six months suspended) and two years of supervised probation on two felony petit larceny charges. Before sentencing, Goff told the court that in May, a Warren County grand jury indicted Webb for possession of a deadly weapon while being held in Rappahannock Shenandoah Warren Regional Jail awaiting sentencing for the petit larceny charges. RSW officer Clay Folks testified that a search of Webb had revealed a plastic comb with its teeth removed and the handle sharpened to a point. Webb claimed at the time that he used the sharpened point for tattooing.