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Veteran state police captain arrested in Chesterfield
NEWS BRIEFS
Capt. Edward L. Hope Jr., 52, was arrested on Jan. 26, at about 2 p.m., at his workplace at the state police headquarters located on Midlothian Turnpike. The incident is alleged to have taken place between September 2002 and September 2003. Hope joined the state police in 1979. He was promoted to captain in March 2007. He was the division commander of the Information Technology Division at the organization's headquarters until his arrest. According to standard procedure, Hope has been placed on administrative leave without pay. He will remain on that status while the state police's internal affairs unit conducts an inquiry after the criminal investigation is completed. Hope made an appearance in Chesterfield Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on Jan. 27 on video through closed-circuit television from the county jail. His attorney, Michael HuYoung, didn't seek bond-release for Hope, who remains in the county jail as of press time.
Mother accused of felony child-endangerment
A county mother whose record shows many previous convictions has been indicted by a Chesterfield Circuit Court grand jury for felony child-endangerment. The indictment against Daphne N. Holt, 25, was returned on Jan. 20. She is also charged with driving while intoxicated, her third such charge since December 2003. According to authorities, a police officer stopped Holt at about 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 10 of last year at Hull Street and Winterpock roads after witnessing her driving erratically. After she failed a sobriety test, she was charged with felony driving under the influence (DUI). Holt's 9-month-old son was sitting unbuckled in his child-car seat. The seat was not secured to the seat of her car, according to police. In addition, the officer found that Holt was driving with a license that had been suspended for a period of three years after her last DUI conviction two years ago. Holt has previously been convicted for speeding, reckless driving, driving on a suspended license, failing to follow court instructions and contempt of court. She was fined $250 and received a six-month jail sentence for her first DUI conviction in February 2004. All of that sentence was suspended. For her second DUI conviction in December 2006, she was fined $500 and sentenced to six months' jail time, with five months and 10 days suspended. She is scheduled to appear in Chesterfield General District Court on March 5 on the felony DUI charge. A trial date for the childendangerment charge hasn't yet been set. Dead man identified
The badly decomposed body found in a marshy area behind a retention pond near the 12000 block of Jefferson Davis Highway in December has been identified as 59-year-old Christopher Otis. According to police, Otis was homeless, and it appeared he'd been living in his car, which was found parked at Bermuda Self Storage in the 10500 block of Jefferson Davis Highway. Police believe Otis had been living in this area for awhile. His closest relative was a brother who lives in West Virginia. Several containers of alcohol were found in the vicinity of Otis' body. Police are still waiting on Otis' cause-of-death ruling by the state's medical examiner, but don't believe foul play was involved. Online investigation nabs VCU police chief
William B. Fuller, Virginia Commonwealth University's (VCU) police chief, was arrested by county police on sex charges on Jan. 28 following an online investigation.
Fuller, 50, of the 9000 block of Meadowfi eld Court in Henrico County, thought he was communicating with a 14-year-old girl when he chatted online on Jan. 10 with an undercover police officer. His screen name was "hotcop2006." He is charged with two counts of using of a computer to solicit sex from a minor and two counts of attempted indecent liberties with a minor. A preliminary hearing is set for April 2. VCU has suspended Fuller without pay. Fuller joined VCU in 2000 as police chief after also holding the same position at Virginia State University. Judge will stay on the job
Despite the efforts of a county lawmaker to have him ousted from his job, Chesterfield County Circuit Court Judge Timothy J. Hauler will likely continue in his position for at least one more term. Sen. Stephen H. Martin claimed that Hauler should not be reappointed as a judge for reasons that include a high reversal rate by the Court of Appeals and the Virginia Supreme Court, his ownership of a bed-and-breakfast which once sported a yard sign for a county board of supervisors candidate and his display of an "Easy Button" advertising toy and a bobble-head doll that has a picture of Chesterfield Circuit Court Clerk Judy Worthington attached to it. Hauler defended those actions before a Senate Courts of Justice subcommittee last week. He claims the Court of Appeals and state Supreme Court records show that six of seven rulings he made from 2001-08 were upheld by the higher courts. Though he admits the yard sign may have been imprudent, he pointed out that it was placed far away from his home, closer to the edge of his 160-acre property. The "Easy Button" was a gift and has been removed, he said. He admitted his relationship with Worthington is still lacking after he filed a defamation lawsuit against her when she tried to block his reappointment eight years ago and acknowledged the bobble-head doll was probably inappropriate. About 80 lawyers, most belonging to the Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Bar Association, also appeared before the subcommittee and endorsed Hauler's reappointment. The lawyers stood and applauded when the Senate Courts of Justice Committee Chairman Henry L. Marsh III suggested the judge had been treated unfairly. Marsh, with part of his district in Chesterfield, is not a member of the subcommittee. Because the subcommittee voted unanimously in favor of Hauler's reappointment, it is likely he will be asked to continue in his position for a third eight-year term when the General Assembly considers judges' appointments early in February. |
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