Tag: crime

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In brief

City of Charlottesville

Taxed for time

Charlottesville City Council worked down to the April 15 statewide deadline to approve the city’s budget for fiscal year 2025. Tax increases were a topic of hot discussion, with council reworking and amending levies repeatedly during the months-long budget process.

Coming in at a whopping $253,335,298, the city’s general fund will finance several local priorities, including transportation, safety, and collective bargaining efforts. Spending includes $4.2 million for the Stribling Avenue sidewalk project, $3 million for public housing redevelopment, and $5.7 million in education expenditures.

To balance out spending, the city is raising real estate, meals, lodging, and personal property taxes.

After much debate, the real estate tax will increase by 2 cents to a rate of 98 cents per $100 of assessed property value. Councilor Michael Payne previously proposed a higher increase to the real estate tax to reduce rate increases to more “regressive” taxes, like the meals tax. “I think that’s not the right way for us to approach tax increases,” said Payne in an interview with C-VILLE ahead of the vote. “My concern is that the way we’ve broken down the tax increases is just leaning too much on regressive taxes, when we had other options available to us for revenue increases.”

The meals tax will increase by half a percent to a rate of 7 percent. The final meals tax hike is lower than originally anticipated, but still contentious among local restaurateurs. In order to balance the budget, councilors instead decided to increase the personal property tax for the first time in several years by 40 cents, leading to a tax levy of $4.40 per $100 of assessed value.

On the lodging side, council proceeded with its original plan of a 1 percent increase for a total tax rate of 9 percent.

The final budget approval and appropriation passed 4-0, with Mayor Juandiego Wade absent from the council meeting due to a family emergency.

Bargaining time

On April 11, the Albemarle County School Board unanimously approved a collective bargaining agreement. While the vote is a victory for local education organizers, there are still several steps before official union representation for county school employees.

The new collective bargaining agreement received extensive consideration from the Albemarle Education Association and school board prior to its presentation on March 28, with more than a dozen meetings held between the organizing group and school district. A previous attempt at an agreement by the AEA was rejected by the ACPS school board in 2022.

Under the collective bargaining agreement adopted last week, district employees can organize through two potential units: one for licensed employees and one for education support professionals. Once 50 percent of employees in either or both units request representation by a union—such as the AEA—the group can then request a certification vote. The certified union can then negotiate with the school district on wages, benefits, and working conditions for members.

Charlottesville homicide

Charlottesville police are investigating the first reported homicide of 2024. At approximately 7:30pm on April 9, officers responded to a report of shots fired, and found 31-year-old DeQwane Brown with multiple gunshot wounds in a vehicle in the area of 12th Street and Rosser Avenue. Brown was pronounced dead at the scene, and CPD issued an arrest warrant on April 11 for Sidney Stinnie. Stinnie turned himself in without incident on April 15, and faces charges including second-degree murder.

Officer-involved shooting

Virginia State Police are investigating a fatal officer-involved shooting that occurred in Albemarle County on April 10. According to Waynesboro police, the incident started when a vehicle leaving the scene of a shots-fired incident did not pull over for a traffic stop, leading to a car chase along I-64. The chase ended when the driver, 29-year-old Kevin Taylor II of Charlottesville, crashed into a guard rail around mile marker 102. Taylor was shot during an engagement with police after the crash, and died later the same day at UVA Medical Center.

File photo.
By the grills

As peak grilling season approaches, Albemarle County Fire Rescue is reminding residents to keep safety in mind after an April 13 structure fire in the 2400 block of Old Lynchburg Road. The fire—which was started by an unattended charcoal grill—resulted in the complete loss of an outbuilding and affected roughly two acres of forest area. Before heating things up, outdoor chefs should ensure that their grill is located away from homes, deck railings, and any overhangs. Other safety tips include: Keep kids and pets at least three feet away from the cooking space, keep the grill clean, and never leave a grill unattended.

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Price of prevention

Local violence interruption group the B.U.C.K. Squad objected to City Council slashing its 2025 budget allocation. Supplied photo.

Controversy arose last week when local violence interruption group the B.U.C.K. Squad announced that City Council reduced its funding for 2025. While councilors argue the $200,000 allocation from the Vibrant Community Fund shows strong support for the group, the B.U.C.K. Squad’s leadership is disappointed and confused by the decrease from the proposed $456,000.

“The BUCK Squad is grateful for the $200,000 budget allocation from the City via the Vibrant Community Fund,” the group posted on Facebook April 8. “However, we are disappointed that Council chose to reduce the original recommendation from the City Manager and the hard working VCF from $456,000 when gun violence continues to be an escalating problem in Charlottesville.”

According to Assistant Executive Director Bryan Page, the group was planning to use the extra money to increase its staff, provide improved coverage and services to the sites it monitors, and expand the program to include more hotspots. The cut to the proposed allocation has dashed its original plans, due to roughly 95 percent of funding going to payroll, per leadership estimates, with employees paid $18 to $19 an hour.

B.U.C.K. Squad members are often out in the middle of the night investigating and de-escalating tips called in to its hotline, which Page says “rings all night.” Call data shared by Page shows the group received 4,061 calls between 2021 and the end of 2023, investigated 595 tips, and interrupted 234 incidents.

C-VILLE can not independently verify the data because of the anonymous nature of the B.U.C.K. Squad’s call records.

Page acknowledges the city’s statements of support for the B.U.C.K. Squad, but says the rationale provided for reallocating funds was disappointing. “The budget was $250 million,” he says. “You give us $200,000 out of $250 million to fight gun violence?”

“These people are not in these neighborhoods, seeing how people are living. We do. And it’s always those closest to the problem close to the solution” says Page. “I’m effective in what I do because of my reputation … [it’s] all based on reputation and relationships.”

In its Facebook post, the B.U.C.K. Squad also suggested that Councilor Michael Payne’s position on the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority board is a conflict of interest, and he should not have participated in the reallocation process.

Payne is the City Council representative on the CRHA board, and denies any conflict of interest.

“There has always been a City Council representative on the CRHA board, the same as how Councilors serve on numerous boards and commissions,” Payne told C-VILLE in an email. “I receive no income or financial benefits—in any way—from CRHA.”

While Payne has not spoken directly with the group since the Facebook post, he told C-VILLE in a follow-up interview that he doesn’t “take it personally” and said “there [are] dedicated people in the B.U.C.K. Squad doing important work.”

“Adjustments have always been part of our process,” says Payne. “The VCF makes initial recommendations to council at the beginning of the budget season, and then council with the city manager works through adjustments. The conversation was pretty standard, this year was like every other, where the requests we had far out matched the amount of money in the Vibrant Community Fund.”

Council members opted to redistribute allocations within the VCF to provide money to two groups previously not receiving any funding—the CRHA and the Uhuru Foundation. Both organizations address systemic causes of gun violence, but received a “weak” funding request designation from the VCF.

“We had programs that we wanted to fund, and we just didn’t have the money to do it,” says Mayor Juandiego Wade. “[The B.U.C.K. Squad] was a program that we saw that had gotten a lot more than they had in the past.”
Despite the decrease from the original allocation proposal, the B.U.C.K. Squad will receive about $40,000 more this year from the city’s Vibrant Community Fund. It is also receiving the largest allocation of any organization this year.

“We also wanted to acknowledge that there are other players in the field too, and so that’s where some of the funding went,” says Wade. “We realized that we can’t [address gun violence] alone as a city, that’s why … we support the many nonprofits that we do.”

The B.U.C.K. Squad is “out there doing great work. I mean, I know that they were on the ground with this first homicide that we had of this year,” says Wade. “Unfortunately, they couldn’t stop that. But what they’re doing now is preventing the retaliations and so they’re on the ground … doing important, incredibly important work. And we as councilors, we as a city, we appreciate their work.”

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Arts

Killer obsessions: Rachel Monroe explores women’s attraction to true crime

In her new novel, Savage Appetites: Four True Stories of Women, Crime, and Obsession, Rachel Monroe touches on everything from the Manson murders and the aftermath on victim Sharon Tate’s family to the story of the West Memphis Three and their wrongful prison conviction. Publicity photo

By Benjamen Noble

When Rachel Monroe began writing Savage Appetites: Four True Stories of Women, Crime, and Obsession, she had a driving question that fueled her—why are we, as a society, so enthralled by stories of true crime? 

“The book started with my own curiosity about myself, to be honest,” says Monroe of her literary debut, released in August. “I didn’t quite understand why true crime stories had such a hold over me, [and] why I was so drawn to them as someone who is a nonviolent person.”

As she looked closer at both our societal obsession and her own preoccupation, she noticed something unique—a significant number of true-crime aficionados are women. “I started to realize that it was a phenomenon that women were disproportionately drawn to these stories even though most murderers and victims of murder are men,” says Monroe. This inspired Monroe to pay particular attention to women in writing Savage Appetites. “Growing up in this culture as a woman, you receive a lot of messages about your vulnerability,” she says.

A mix of biography, sociology, and personal narrative, Savage Appetites explores the darkest side of human nature while highlighting the ethical complexities of society’s preoccupation with nefarious activities, using the stories of four women whose interests in crime profoundly shaped their lives—for better or for worse.

Monroe uses four archetypes to frame each woman’s story: detective, victim, defendant, and killer, interspersing personal narratives and reflections throughout. “I see little slashes of myself in all of them and that was why it seemed important to include little bits of my own story in the book,” she says.

Throughout the book, Monroe elaborates on the different ways each character’s criminal connections functioned as both self-cultivating and self-destructive—often simultaneously. She begins with the story of Frances Glessner Lee, a Harvard lecturer whose interest in crime scene re-creations led to significant innovations in forensic science during the 20th century. Along the way, Monroe touches on everything from the Manson murders and the aftermath on victim Sharon Tate’s family to the story of the West Memphis Three and their wrongful prison conviction. The book ends with the story of a young woman named Lindsay, whose following of the Columbine massacre led her to formulate plans to carry out her own mass murder.

“Like everything, it can swing both ways,” says Monroe. “A preoccupation with crime can lead to fights for justice and getting wrongfully convicted people released from prison, and at the same time it can lead to much darker places.”

Monroe’s subjects in Savage Appetites are deeply complex. Lee made great strides for the forensic science community during her time at Harvard Medical School, but they came at the expense of many of her personal relationships. Lorri Davis fell in love with one of the members of the West Memphis Three, Damien Echols, after he had been wrongfully imprisoned for the murder of three young boys. While Davis’ support of Echols contributed to his eventual release from prison, the psychological toll and physical stress of being in a relationship with him left her feeling emotionally and spiritually exhausted.

Monroe argues that following crime stories can have an overall beneficial effect. In the conclusion of Savage Appetites, she writes, “These accounts of the worst part of human experience open up conversations about subjects that might otherwise be taboo: fear, abuse, exploitation, injustice, rage.” She suggests that the topic also gives us a chance for self-examination. “I think that in some ways, true crime can be a way to help us reflect on things that happened in our own lives. True crime stories can show you things about your own life through someone else’s story,” says Monroe.

Monroe brings readers into her own inner conflict about her infatuation with crime. “I’m asking readers of true crime to question what’s drawing them to these stories, so I had to do the same for myself,” she says.

Savage Appetites is a thrilling and entertaining draw for any true crime enthusiast. And while readers may be left feeling conflicted about their enjoyment of her book, Monroe says there’s no tidy moral reconciliation. “These stories can function in multiple ways, and so we shouldn’t necessarily talk about them as though they’re all one thing.”

Rachel Monroe will read from Savage Appetites: Four True Stories of Women, Crime, and Obsession at New Dominion Bookshop on September 14.

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News

In brief: Love lawsuit, killer creeks, pot busts and more

George Huguely heads into court for his 2012 trial for the slaying of his former girlfriend Yeardley Love. Photo by Nick Strocchia

Love estate drops lawsuit against Huguely

The estate of Yeardley Love nonsuited a nearly $30 million wrongful death lawsuit against Love’s former boyfriend George Huguely June 11. Huguely was convicted of second-degree murder in the 2010 death of Love and sentenced to 23 years in prison.

Her mother, Sharon Love, filed the civil suit in 2012, and it’s been continued four times. Most recently the suit was put on pause while a federal case was heard in Maryland in which Chartis Property Casualty balked at paying off a $6 million policy held by Huguely’s mother and stepfather. A Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled in Chartis’ favor, and Love has asked the entire appeals court to revisit the ruling.

Through his attorney Matt Green, Huguely asked Judge Rick Moore to hold off on signing the motion to nonsuit until June 20, when the Fourth Circuit will decide whether it will reconsider the ruling.

The Supreme Court of Virginia has ruled a plaintiff can nonsuit at any point and doesn’t have to give a reason. Moore said normally he immediately signs the motion, but “I really do think it’s important in a case like this to hear you out.”

The three-week jury trial was scheduled to begin July 30. Love has six months to file the suit again, and Green believes she will.

And while he knows public sympathy isn’t with his client, Green said, “It’s just taxing on George to get emotionally ready every 18 months for trial.”

“I think that without Otto, this would not have happened… I really think Otto is someone who did not die in vain.”—President Donald Trump on UVA student Otto Warmbier, who was brutalized in North Korea, at a press conference during his summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

Flood couple ID’d

The people swept away in their Toyota Prius by recent Ivy Creek flash flooding on Old Ballard Road have been identified as Sugar Hollow residents Robert and Carroll Gilges, who were 82 and 79 years old, respectively. They were found dead on May 31 and June 5.

Another creek death

A wheelchair belonging to Cedars Healthcare Center resident Thomas Charles Franklin, aka Colonel, was found June 10 beside a nearby creek. Franklin, 65, an Army veteran, was found around 200 yards downstream and pronounced dead at UVA Medical Center, according to police.

Train crash indictment

photo jack looney

Dana William Naylor Jr., the driver of the garbage truck that was hit by an Amtrak train carrying GOP congressmen in Crozet in January, has been indicted on one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of DUI maiming. Truck passenger Christopher Foley died in the crash.

Martese settlement?

photo Jackson Smith

Martese Johnson, the former UVA student whose bloody face went viral after Virginia ABC agents approached him in March 2015 on suspicion of using a fake ID and slammed him to the ground, has a July 10 settlement hearing scheduled for his $3 million lawsuit against the agents and ABC.

 

 

Crime spree

Last summer Matt Carver, now 27, racked up 21 felony counts that included terrorizing a Crozet woman when he broke into her house. He also kicked out the window of a cop car, leaping out at 45mph while handcuffed and going on the lam for 15 hours. In court June 6, Carver apologized for his meth-fueled rampage, and was sentenced to 28 years in prison.

Topless suit settled

Morgan Hopkins was one of the few people arrested August 12—for topless busking. Her indecent exposure charge was dismissed, and her lawsuit against the city and police Sergeant Russell Handy was settled June 5.

 

 

 

Crime in the community

The Virginia State Police released its annual Crime in Virginia report for 2017. Violent crimes like murder and rape decreased throughout the state by 3.9 percent, and property crimes dropped almost 3 percent. However, drug arrests were up nearly 16 percent, and 71 percent of all drug arrests were for marijuana. Charlottesville and Albemarle bucked that trend, with drug arrests decreasing—by 43 percent in Charlottesville. Here’s what the offense totals looked like on the local level.

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News

Pay attention: Staying safe on the Rivanna Trail

Since 2011, Charlottesville police say there have been 10 reported criminal incidents on the Rivanna Trail. Three of those were attacks at Jordan Park, where this sign is located. Staff photo

By Rebecca Bowyer

Within the last six months, there have been three reported cases of sexual assault along the Rivanna Trail in Charlottesville. The attacks have led some to wonder—just how safe is it to run, walk or hike the 20-mile trail?

Although normally rare, attacks along some portions of the trail aren’t unheard of. Since 2011 there have been 10 reported criminal incidents, according to Charlottesville Police Department spokesman Steve Upman.

Upman says 20-year-old Brien Gray-Anderson, of Charlottesville, is facing charges in connection with the three incidents that happened between March and May. That includes two misdemeanor sexual battery charges and a felony charge of attempted sexual assault.

Between 2011 and 2015, seven incidents were reported along the trail. Five were physical assaults and two were sexual assaults.

Upman says the first sexual assault involved a woman being attacked and raped by two male strangers. The second case was a forcible fondling—a man attacked his girlfriend.

Charlottesville police say they have worked actively to bring an end to each case.

“Of the 10 total incidents between 2011 and 2016, seven resulted in an arrest being made while the remaining three were cleared, due to the victims declining to prosecute,” Upman says.

Three of the attacks happened on the trail in the area near the 1400/1500 block of East High Street, another three were near the 1100 block of River Road, one happened near Riverview Park and an additional three at Jordan Park. Upman says there is not enough information to assume a trend about where attacks are happening.

Virginia Trower, 29, and Lauren Connor, 31, have both lived in the Charlottesville area for the past several years. The pair say they run together at Riverview Park with their infant children about once a week. The women don’t often run by themselves, but when they do, they are more aware of their surroundings.

“When I learned there was an incident here (at Riverview Park), I was definitely a little wary when I was by myself,” Connor says, looking around at the trails, which are still heavily shadowed around sunrise. “I don’t usually go to the other side of Route 250.”

While the trail doesn’t have a dedicated officer, Upman says during the summer months an officer who is normally assigned to Charlottesville High patrols the trail from Riverview Park up to Free Bridge. Trower says she has seen officers in years past, and was once stopped on the trail by one.

“[The officer] made me stop running, take my earphones out and told me they were a bad idea—it was this big speech on safety,” she says. “He was saying, ‘Someone could come up behind you, and you wouldn’t even hear them, you wouldn’t even know.’ He said the same thing to every woman that was running.”

Along with increased patrols, the police department advises people to bring a partner to the trails. If someone does go by himself or herself, Upman recommends going during daylight hours, having a cell phone handy and staying on parts of the trail where you are visible to others.

Despite some safety warnings, many are choosing to remain positive and take advantage of the trail. Kaitlynn Gilmore, 22, of Orange, doesn’t live in the area, but works in Charlottesville. While she isn’t a park regular, she says the recent attacks don’t change her view of the Rivanna Trail.

“It’s nice that there’s this little patch of green, where I can go and clear my mind during my break,” Gilmore says. “It’s worth it.”

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Burglar bullies Bang!

Can you identify this man? Photo courtesy of the Charlottesville Police Departmenet

Bang! restaurant has become the go-to spot for a local burglar, who has broken into the Second Street eatery three times this year and always steals the same thing: booze, according to owner Tim Burgess. The latest hit was July 28, and unopened bottles of gin, bourbon and Absolut vodka disappeared. Each heist has cost the restaurant around $1,200 to $1,500, Burgess says.

Burgess installed a surveillance camera that got a relatively clear image, and he’s pretty sure someone knows who this is. “He loads up a sack of alcohol like a Santa Claus,” says Burgess. “It’s heavily frustrating.”

Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to call Detective S.M. Young at 970-3369 or Crimestoppers at 977-4000.