MARION MAN ACCUSED OF BURNING A CROSS HAS BEEN TAKEN INTO CUSTODY FOR BOND VIOLATION

The accused cross burner in Marion has been taken into custody for bond violations. James Brown is accused of burning a cross in front of the home of Travon Brown on June 14. His probation officer and three other probation officers went to his residence for a walk through. Brown was only allowed to have his children and Viana Ayala stay at his home, but Dennis Wavey, of New York, was found in a room along with marijuana and related paraphernalia. Wavey told officers that it all belonged to him and that Brown had not smoked any. On September 8, U.S. District Court for Southwest Virginia documents show that magistrate judge Pamela Meade Sargent issued an arrest warrant for Brown. He was taken into custody for violating the conditions of his pre-trial release by associating with a known possessor of illegal controlled substance, allowing an unauthorized individual to live in the home, and providing false information to the probation officer. Brown is currently being held in the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail in Abingdon. Ayala, who signed onto Brown's unsecured bond, is ordered to appear in court on September 21 to show cause why she should not be held in contempt of court for not turning Brown in. Brown's trial in the cross-burning case is set for February 8, 2021. 

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