Nearly two years after his murder, Tommy Alley's family finally got justice last week. A jury found 46-year-old Darren Johnson guilty of first-degree murder and related charges in the brutal killing of Alley in 2012. Alley, of Newport News, was found dead in March 2012 in a vacant home on Eastmoreland Drive in Hampton. He was 73. Upon a jury's recommendation, Johnson was sentenced to three life terms plus 20 years in prison. Homicide Courts and the Judiciary Juvenile Delinquency Transportation Accidents Motorvehicle Accidents Justice System Newport News (Newport News, Virginia) "I was just excited," said his son,...
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Conviction brings justice to family in brutal Hampton slaying
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Newport News double homicide trial slated to begin Tuesday
NEWPORT NEWS — A murder trial is scheduled to begin Tuesday for a Hampton man charged with killing two teens in 2008. Floyd Taybron, 21, is charged with killing Barry Eugene Richardson, 16, and...
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Hampton police search for second man charged in December homicide
HAMPTON— Police are searching for a second man who is charged in connection with the Dec. 1 fatal shooting of a 19-year-old Hampton man, a police spokesman said. Tyreek Jamal Braxton, 21, of Ransome Street in Hampton was identified as a second suspect in the killing of Bartholomew Kyle Robinson, 19, in December last year, said Hampton police spokesman Sgt. Jason Price in a news release. Braxton has warrants on file charging him with one count of murder, two counts of robbery, two counts of abduction and three counts of use...
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Hampton police arrest man in Hampton homicide
HAMPTON— A man wanted in connection to the shooting death of a 22-year-old Newport News man was arrested Monday night in Norfolk, police said. Jerrell Marquise Speller, 23,...
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Hampton grand jury indicts men in Shell Road homicide
HAMPTON — Two men were indicted by a circuit court grand jury this week in the shooting death of a 29-year-old man, according to the Hampton Circuit Court clerk's office. Zachary Lamont Batts, of Newport News, and Andre...
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Hampton judge backed for appeals court
Two local members of the Virginia Court of Appeals — Chief Judge Walter S. Felton Jr. of James City and Robert P. Frank of Newport News — are stepping aside at year's end. Felton, who's been on the Richmond-based court since 2002, and Frank, a member of the court since 1999, both recently reached 70 years old, the mandatory retirement age for state judges. Their departures means the 11-member court is losing two of its four members from the Hampton Roads area. Hampton Roads Transitions Family Violence Services Christopher Newport University Last week, the Hampton Bar Association endorsed Christopher W. Hutton, a longtime Hampton Circuit Court judge and the city's former top...
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In Newport News, Hampton homicide cases resolutions for some, but not for all
No one was convicted for shooting Travis Lamont Jones to death. The man who police say shot and dumped Jones' body in a parking lot in 2010 is behind bars — but not for his slaying. Hampton prosecutors' case against Melvin Rushing fell apart when a key witness changed her story. The murder charge against Rushing was dropped. The case went cold. Jones, 21, was one of 155 people killed in Newport News and Hampton between 2008 and 2012, according to court documents. View/Submit Comments for this story Ninety-one court cases have been prosecuted as a result of their deaths. Some of those charged were...
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Man convicted in 1991 sues Newport News for $25 million
NEWPORT NEWS — Attorneys for a man convicted of capital murder in 1991 have filed a $25 million lawsuit against the city of Newport News and several past and present police officers — accusing them of conducting a reckless investigation against him in 1991. The lawsuit contends that crucial evidence in David W. Boyce's favor was repeatedly withheld, causing him to get "robbed of over 22 years of his life and freedom" for "a crime he didn't commit.""Even more tragically, Boyce's wrongful conviction and continuing incarceration were no inadvertent mistake," asserts the complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Newport News. "They were caused by the intentional, bad faith, or...
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Editorial: Life cut short by gunshot
Lamonee Johnson-Chisolm might have been looking forward to a few days off school, a big Thanksgiving dinner and hanging out with friends. Perhaps he had plans to watch the Steelers-Ravens game Sunday evening. Instead, his name has been added to the list of tragic homicides in Newport News — 19 so far this year. The boy was found shot in the back Sunday afternoon at the corner of 31st Street and Orcutt Avenue; he died at the hospital. A 15-year-old friend from Hampton survived a gunshot wound to the arm. Murder Interior Policy Prosecution...
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Hampton men wanted in shooting arrested
HAMPTON— Two Hampton men wanted in a shooting that occurred last week in the first block Locust Avenue have been arrested, police said Friday. Tamell Hakeen Paden, 21, of the first block of Holiday Drive, was charged Thursday with one count...
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Newport News: 21-year-old man charged in more than 5-year-old homicide
NEWPORT NEWS— A 21-year-old Newport News man was arrested and charged Friday in connection to the shooting death of two teens in 2008. Tyrone Demetrius Batten, of 100 block Fort Worth Street in Hampton, was charged with two counts each...
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2013 homicides on the Peninsula
HOMICIDES ON THE PENINSULA IN 2013 HAMPTON Fort Eustis Asphyxiation Yorktown (York, Virginia) Abdominal Pain Hampton Coliseum Pocahontas 1. Jan. 1 –Brayden Joseph Whalen (6 months, Hampton) died from injuries sustained during an assault on Dec. 29. Daniel Lunsford (21, Hampton), Brayden’s mother’s boyfriend, and Brittany Whalen (20, Hampton) mother of the deceased, was arrested and charged with murder and felony child abuse. Brittany Whalen (20, Hampton) mother of the deceased, was arrested and charged with one count of Felony Child Abuse and one count of Failure to Secure Medical Attention. View/Submit Comments for...
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Fifteen men charged during prostitution sting
NEWPORT NEWS— Police charged fifteen men during a prostitution sting Friday in the 6100 block of Jefferson Avenue. The operation was part of the police department's efforts to combat prostitution, a Newport News police news release said. The sting resulted in prostitution and drug related charges. The following men were charged with soliciting prostitution and using a vehicle to promote prostitution: Prosecution Newport News (Newport News, Virginia)...
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Hampton man charged in killing of two teens in Newport News
NEWPORT NEWS — A 21-year-old Hampton man appeared in Newport News Circuit Court Monday after being indicted on two counts of murder. Floyd Taybron is charged with killing teens Barry Eugene Richardson, 16, and Keon Otis Flemming, 15, in a 2008 shooting on 35th Street. The teens were killed Dec. 30, 2008, during a gang fight that included the exchange of...
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Personnel file of former police officer accused of rape kept confidential
POQUOSON — A judge Thursday denied a request from prosecutors seeking the personnel file of a former police officer accused of multiple sexual offenses against a minor. The ruling was in response to a motion filed by the Hampton Police Department that sought to keep the file confidential. Steven McGee, 30, was arrested in November and charged with the rape of a victim less than 13 years old, aggravated sexual battery of a victim less than 13 and three counts of violating a child less than 15. Virginia State Police launched an investigation last fall after the Department of Social Services...
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What murder charges eligible for capital punishment?
When a grand jury this month indicted John Moses Ragin on three counts of capital murder in the slaying of his step-children in Newport News, prosecutors took two different routes to get there. For two counts, Ragin, 36, was charged with capital murder on prosecutors' contention that Ragin killed two children under the age of 14. That would be his two step-sons, La'Kwan 10, and Rasheed, 6. On the third count, Ragin was charged with capital murder on prosecutors' accusation that he killed his step-daughter, Sierra Ragin, 15, as part of a single act of killing multiple people. Justice System Prosecution Lawyers Punishment Theft Hampton (Hampton, Virginia) Newport News (Newport News, Virginia)...
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Prosecutors drop charges in Hampton carnival slaying
HAMPTON — Prosecutors dropped first-degree murder charges Wednesday against two teenagers in a high-profile Hampton killing, saying problems with witnesses mean the case can't go forward at this time. A four-day trial was scheduled to start next week against Ryan Taybron, 16, and Eric L. Nixon Jr., 18, in the slaying of 16-year-old Ralphael Davis outside the Hampton Coliseum Spring Carnival last Memorial Day weekend. Taybron and Nixon also faced several malicious wounding charges in the wounding of four other teens outside the carnival that day. The violence caused city leaders to shut down...
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Is top prosecutor a tough sell?
Why do so few people run for commonwealth's attorney? After all, the top prosecutor seat — the equivalent of a district attorney in most other states — is one of the most powerful jobs around. A chief prosecutor plays a central role in the justice system, determining when to charge people and when not to — and how to go about those prosecutions. The top prosecutor often becomes a well-known local name. Prosecution Elections Criminals Trials Crimes Hampton (Hampton, Virginia) Republican Party Newport News (Newport News, Virginia) Primaries...
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Homicides up in many localities in 2012
The Peninsula and Middle Peninsula have seen more homicides in 2012 than in the year before, according to Daily Press statistics. Through the week of Christmas, the areas had recorded 40 homicides, which is up by seven from 2011. The homicides included crimes of violence, domestic disputes turned deadly, and a murder-suicide. After enjoying a decline from 2010 to 2011, Newport News and Hampton police were investigating an increased number of homicides in 2012. Hampton (Hampton, Virginia) Newport News (Newport News, Virginia) Injuries and Wounds...
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Federal prosecutors recognized for Somali pirate case
Four federal prosecutors were recently given Attorney General Awards for their work securing convictions in several Somali pirates' cases, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin L. Hatch, Justice Department Trial Attorney Paul G. Casey, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph E. DePadilla and Brian J. Samuels were each awarded The John Marshall Award for Trial of Litigation. That was for prosecuting 14 sea-based Somali pirates and one land-based Somali pirate leader in the capture and murders of four Americans aboard the sailboat Quest off the coast of East Africa on Feb. 22, 2011. U.S....
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