 A two-vehicle crash in Pike County, Kentucky on Tuesday morning results in one person dead. The Kentucky State Police identified the victim as 49-year-old Quentin Bentley of Honaker, Virginia. The crash happened on Route 805 in Dorton at around 4 a.m. on Tuesday. Two vehicles collided and one person from the other vehicle was taken to the Pikeville Medical Center for treatment. Police are still investigating, but do not suspect drugs or alcohol were involved at this time. While the police were reconstructing the crash scene, a police chase that started in Elkhorn City drove through the scene. The driver of that car was shot within 100 yards of the first crash.
 A Greeneville man steals car at knife-point in Johnson City and abandons it in Greene County. 40-year-old Jonathon W. Maroney took a vehicle from the McDonald's on West Market Street. Maroney was arrested on Tuesday in Greeneville for public intoxication after being found near the abandoned car. The JCPD has issued a warrant for his arrest and once it is served he will be transported to the Washington County Detention Center and will be held on a $25,000 bond.
 A passenger has been flown by a helicopter to a hospital after a car crashes into a tree in Chilhowie. Responders had to use hydraulic tools for extraction at the scene to get the passenger out. According to the Chilhowie Fire and EMS Department, the crash occurred in the 1900 block of Whitetop Road at 8:18 a.m. Wednesday morning. The car ran off Whitetop Road and hit a tree. The driver of the car not need to be transported to the hospital. Virginia State Police and the Chilhowie Police Department also responded to the crash.
 A new Tennessee bill aims to have reserved parking spots for expectant mothers and for parents with infants. Tennessee Representative, G.A. Hardaway of Memphis is calling on businesses to reserve at least two parking spots exclusively for pregnant women or people with infants. The bill would allow for a business, firm, or other person conducting business at permanent locations to mark at least two specially marked parking spaces. The spaces would only be for pregnant women or those with an infant less than 2-years-old. The signs would need to have a sign marked "reserved for expectant mothers and persons with infants." If the bill is passed it would go into effect on July 1, 2020.
WEST VIRGINIA GOVERNOR AND LIBERTY UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT TALK SECESSION FOR UNHAPPY VIRGINIA COUNTIES1/29/2020
 West Virginia Governor Jim Justice and Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. are pitching a Virginia secession plan. Justice and Falwell are urging unhappy Virginia counties to secede and join West Virginia where Democrats are not in charge. They invited Virginians on Tuesday at a news conference and added weight to backlash against Virginia Democrats' push for gun control. The two men did acknowledge that the idea is a long shot. Earlier this month the West Virginia House of Delegates and Senate introduced resolutions inviting parts of Virginia to join West Virginia.
 On Monday morning, two people broke into a home in the Cowan community of Letcher County, Kentucky. Scott Day was at home sleeping on the couch when he heard the sound of breaking glass of the front door, and by the time he raised up he was hit with a hammer and was left for dead. The suspects took Day's phone, but when he woke up, he was able to call 911 with his landline phone. The police arrived at the house at around 9 a.m., and Day was taken to a local hospital before being transported to the UK Medical Center and he has had surgery on his eye and is believed to be OK. Police are still searching for what was stolen at the house, but they do know that they took an AR-15 rifle and Day's cellphone. The Kentucky State Police are asking anyone in the community to contact them if they have any information that would help police by calling Post 13 at 606-435-6069.
 Two men arrested in Johnson City for vehicle theft after selling the car for scraps. The Johnson City Police Department arrested 46-year-old Dino Austin and 55-year-old Timothy Ricker on Tuesday for allegedly stealing a woman's car in October 2019. The JCPD says that the woman reported her Subaru Impreza stolen from an address in the 500 block of West Highland Road while she was hospitalized during the week of October 11. The investigation allegedly revealed that Austin and Ricker had sold the vehicle for scrap at Davis Recycling. Both men were charged with auto theft over $1,000 and are being held at the Washington County Detention Center on a $1,000 bond.
 An Appalachia Virginia Man Has Been Sentenced In Wise County Circuit Court To More Than Two Years Behind Bars For Stealing A Car, Running From Police And Driving Under The Influence Of Meth. 19 Year Old Brendon Hill Is Convicted Of Grand Larceny Of An Automobile, Felony Eluding And Multiple Other Charges In The Incident That Happened In Early 2019. He Will Be Required To Complete Ten Years Probation After He Completes His Sentence.
 Senate Bill 1003 was recently introduced in the Virginia General Assembly by Senator Ben Chafin at the request of Wise County Commonwealth's Attorney Chuck Slemp. The legislation was inspired by a 2019 case involving an adoption hoax that was prosecuted by Slemp's office. The bill would close a loophole in current Virginia law that allows an individual to maliciously use an internet-capable device to perpetrate costly and potentially devastating fraud on unsuspecting victims.
Senator Ben Chafin said, "I am proud to sponsor this legislation to close the loophole that currently exists in Virginia law. The Internet is an important tool that allows for instant communication and commerce across the country. Unfortunately, it also is a tool used by criminals to inflict pain and suffering on innocent victims. It is my hope that this bill will provide additional protections for victims like Matt and Laura Trayte against computer crimes in the Commonwealth." Last June, Elizabeth Ann Jones pleaded guilty on the Scott County Circuit Court for an elaborate scheme and fraud she perpetrated on a California couple in 2018. Like many couples, Matt and Laura Trayte, from Orange County, California, wanted to have a baby yet struggled with miscarriages and infertility. They sought the help of medical experts and adoption agencies without success. Thus, in early 2018 the Traytes created a website to achieve their goal and complete their family. In 2018, Elizabeth Jones contacted the Traytes via the Internet and told them that she was pregnant and looking for an adoptive placement for her unborn child. Jones sent pictures of an ultrasound and a stuffed unicorn with a recording of what she said was their baby's heartbeat. After lengthy correspondence, plans were made and paperwork drafted to complete the adoption. The Traytes traveled from California to Scott County multiple times in November 2018. Jones took Laura Trayte on tours of birthing centers at local hospitals, took Mrs. Trayte to an obstetrician appointment, visited an attorney and drafted legal documents, and took professional photographs for birth announcements. The Traytes bought Jones meals, gifts, and other items. In late 2018, Jones informed the Traytes that she was in early labor and that something was wrong. She sent photographs of a bloody toilet and bloody bed sheets to the California couple. Matt and Laura Trayte, and their six-year-old son, flew from California to be present for the birth of the baby and to help if anything was wrong. Tragically, as the anxious new parents waited and prayed for the health of the baby at the birthing center and emergency room of Holston Valley Hospital in Kingsport, Tennessee, the elaborate scam was finally exposed. Jones admitted that she was never pregnant. In early 2019, Jones admitted to her probation officer that she made up the entire scheme for attention and because "I wanted someone to feel pain other than me." Commonwealth's Attorney Chuck Slemp said, "The hoax perpetrated by Elizabeth Jones against Matt and Laura Trayte is unimaginable. She intentionally inflicted pain on a vulnerable family and took advantage of their trust, kindness, and generosity. They expended enormous sums of money as a result of Ms. Jones's deceit." Slemp explained the importance for the legislation, "Jones was convicted in June 2019 of obtaining money by false pretenses because the Traytes bought meals and gifts for her. However, if Jones had not benefited financially from the hoax, she would have escaped prosecution despite her intentional acts to harm others. That's why this bill is needed. It prevents others, like Jones, from slipping through the loophole in the computer crimes laws of our Commonwealth." Matt Trayte said, "We desperately need laws that will help protect our citizens from predators that are waiting to take advantage of vulnerable people online. It happened to us when a supposed birth mom reached out to us in 2018 and we falsely believed that she was making our dream come true. The emotional turmoil that has resulted from her predatory, malicious, and deliberate actions has had a lasting impact on our family and this type of crime is happening to countless others. It is our hope that this bill will send a clear message to those that intend to use the internet to hurt others in Virginia will be held accountable for their actions." Larua Trayte said, "The day we waited in the hospital for the baby that never existed could have easily broken us, and understandably so. We could have returned back to our home in California defeated and suffering in silence. But, in our grief and shock, we picked up the phone and started making calls to law enforcement, press, and anyone else who would listen. Our mission was to make sure that Elizabeth Jones was held accountable for her actions. We also wanted to turn something horrible into something good by bringing awareness to this type of adoption fraud. Now, we hope that this legislation will become law so that no one else suffers the pain and heartache that we have experienced." The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Senate Bill 1003 would create a class one misdemeanor for any person who maliciously uses an Internet-capable device as part of a hoax to cause another person to expend monetary funds that would not have been expended if not for the hoax. It requires that the perpetrator know or should know that the victims would expend funds as a result of the hoax. The bill further provides that it is not a defense to the crime that the defendant did not actually receive any direct or indirect financial benefit from the hoax. A copy of the bill is available online:http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+SB1003.  A Rogersville, Tennessee man has been arrested after his 13-year-old son was found driving him to the liquor store. The Hawkins County Sheriff's Office says that 45-year-old Johnny Napier was arrested early Sunday morning after a traffic stop. The sheriff's office had been advised to be on the lookout for a white Cadillac that had left Tuggle Hill Road on Saturday Night that was allegedly being driven by a highly intoxicated Napier, who had an active arrest warrant for violation of probation. Deputies conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle matching the description on Pine Ridge Road, and they saw two people in the vehicle one of which was a small male juvenile. The HCSO's report said that the juvenile was driving and that Napier was in the passenger seat. Napier also allegedly had a strong odor of alcohol on him and had slurred speech and glossy eyes. The 13-year-old driver said that Napier had been driving when they left the house on Tuggle Hill Road, but Napier's driving had scared him, so he took over and Napier then told him to drive to the liquor store. Napier was arrested and charged with child endangerment, contributing to delinquency of a minor, and was served the active warrant for violation of probation. He was transported to the Hawkins County Detention Facility.
|
Categories
All
Archives
April 2023
|
RSS Feed