Festival time
celebrations postponed
See inside for information on the King George Fall Festival, Oct. 11-12
Port royal days rescheduled for Oct. 11-12 Montross Fall Festival reset for Oct. 29-31
POSTAL CUSTOMER
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Colonial Beach • Westmoreland
Volume 39, Number 41
helping you relate to your community
Operation Strike Zone nets drugs, 15 arrests Linda Farneth Operation Strike Zone, executed at approximately 4 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 1, resulted in the arrest of 15 suspects. Narcotics and an automobile were seized during the operation. Westmoreland Sheriff C.O. Balderson said the arrests were a long time coming. “The investigation began about 5 months ago.” he said. “A lot of intense work and planning has to go into these operations. “We have to make sure that everyone involved goes home safely. That includes not only the officers, but the suspects as well. We want to make sure those folks are safe too.” Balderson said tips received by his office, whether in-person, through email or via telephone calls, are crucial to programs such as Operation Strike Zone. “That’s the key, is folks letting us know what they see or hear,” he said. “We act on it. If the information pans out we can go the next step.” Balderson said many times these drug bust operations result in solving other crimes. Where there is drug use there is usually other criminal activity involved. Drugs such as prescription medications are often stolen during home invasions. But many times these crimes can only be solved with help from observant residents. “Without community
involvement it makes it harder for us to, in turn help the community,” Balderson said. “We rely a lot on information from the community so we can do our part.” The following suspects were arrested during Operation Strike Zone: Curtis A. Bowen, 28 Oak Grove VA, arrested in Washington, D.C on a fugitive warrant (pending extradition) Christopher A. Bowen, 28, NNRJ, Warsaw VA, one count each of distribution and conspiracy to distribute a Schedule 1 or 2 controlled substance, namely Oxycodone. No bond. Curtis O. Brooks, 34, of Montross, VA, four counts of distribution of a Schedule 1 or 2 controlled substance namely crack cocaine (second offense) and two counts of distributing the same (second offense). No bond. Abraham Campbell, 44, of NNRJ, Warsaw, VA. Two counts of distribution of a Schedule 1 or 2 controlled substance namely crack cocaine (third offense). No bond. Henry E. Doss, 51, of Colonial Beach, one count of distribution of a Schedule 1 or 2 controlled substance namely methadone (third offense) and one count of conspiring to distribute the same. No bond. Lisa M. Foster, 40, of Colonial See RAID, page 8
Wednesday, October 7, 2015 50 Cents
Storm’s winds, rain, wreak havoc on area festivals
Staff Report The area stretching from King George to Montross was blessed to avoid a direct hit last weekend from Hurricane Joaquin. But the the high-pressure system that kept the hurricane at bay drenched the region with rain, leading to some flooding and causing delays of planned events. Colonial Beach sustained minimal flooding damage, some signs along the beach were displaced and some debris washed ashore. Residents lost power for about an hour Friday evening. Mattox Creek Bridge was closed temporarily during high tides. Town officials chose not to activate any of its shelters. “The Westmoreland County Administration Offices/EOC will be staffed throughout the night (Friday) to receive calls and requests
from agency coordinators and that includes the Town of Colonial Beach and the Town of Montross. We will coordinate with Westmoreland County tomorrow and plan for the next several days,” Colonial Beach Town Manager Val Foulds wrote in an email to the town council. Jill Tighe, Colonial Beach’s wastewater treatement plant supervisor said, the department had tested generators, topped off fuel tanks and ensured it had adequate chemicals on site and emptied the digester for sludge. A complete cleaning and inspection of the sludge tank was performed and personnel were on standby for 24-hour coverage if needed. Although wind caused some problems, water was the primary challenge for other communities along the Potomac River such as Fairview
Photos (l-r) by Linda Farneth & Richard Leggitt The Nor’easter that blew across Virginia from Oct. 1-4 knocked down signs and washed up debris in Colonial Beach. It also forced the Dockside Restaurant to close until the foul weather blew over. The high pressure system spared Virginia a direct hit from Hurrican Joaquinn, but still dumped bucketloads of rain on the state, causing flooding and road washouts in some areas of eastern Virignia.
See STORM, page 8
Navy lends artifacts to UMW Dahlgren Campus
Letter to judge delays Goodman sentencing Richard Leggitt
Photos by George Whitehurst
Scott Jones (purple shirt), director of Univeristy of Mary Washington’s Dahlgren Campus, and a team from King George Welding position an anchor and a one-pounder naval desk gun for display outside the school’s main entrance. Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, History Center has loaned the World War II-era anchor and a pair of deck guns to UMW Dahlgren as part of an exhibit highighting local connections with the Navy. The History Center is also loaning a number of other items to UMW, which will be displayed in a gallery at the Dahlgren campus. The campus conducts a wide variety of training events to meet the continuing education needs of personnel at Naval Support Activity South Potomac and its tenant commands, as well as local governments and private industry. Each year, the campus hosts a series of National Security lectures that focus on issues crucial to keeping the American people safe from threats at home and abroad. The next lecture will take place Oct. 8 and will be entitled “Contradictions and Quandaries in Policies and Strategies to Counter ISIL: The Cases of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United States.”
A letter written by convicted murderer Anthony Goodman to King George Circuit Judge Patricia Kelly caused a delay in Goodman’s scheduled sentencing last week. Kelly set a date of Nov. 5 to hear a motion to set aside Goodman’s guilty pleas in connection with a brutal 2014 murder and robbery. Goodman is accused of fatally shooting 20-year-old Ronelle Johnson of King George after a drug deal turned violent on April 29 of last year. Johnson was shot and killed and his cousin, Gregory Gaines, Jr., 20, of King George was also shot but survived. Two of Goodman’s alleged accomplices, Andre Clinton, 29, of Bladensburg, MD and Tennase Michel Shanks, 45, of Colonial Beach have already been convicted for their involvement in the murder robbery and are behind bars. After entering guilty pleas to two charges, Goodman, of Upper Marlboro, MD, was scheduled to be sentenced Thursday. But in a letter written from jail to Judge Kelly, Goodman said he had not been properly represented by his court-appointed defense attorney, Jim Ilijevich, and he asked the judge to set aside his negotiated guilty pleas. Goodman said Ilijevich had given him false information in an effort to pressure him to plead guilty. “I just want a fair trial and a chance to prove my innocence,” Goodman wrote. Ilijevich has rejected Goodman’s accusations, saying he never pressured Goodman to enter his pleas of guilty but noted that a charge of first degree murder was dropped
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as a result of the pleas. Judge Kelly asked Goodman if he was satisfied with the services of his attorney when he entered his guilty pleas in July and Goodman said yes. Even so, Thursday Judge Kelly delayed sentencing Goodman and appointed a new defense attorney until his motion to renounce his guilty pleas can be heard. Clinton was convicted of firstdegree murder, attempted murder and two firearms charge in connection with last year’s shooting. Shanks entered a plea of guilty to robbery and a misdemeanor charge of being an accessory after the fact. Both Shanks and Clinton named Goodman as the architect of the botched murder and robbery. Gaines, the man who survived the shooting, told investigators that Clinton and Goodman tied up Gaines and Johnson with duct tape and Clinton shot them multiple times. Both men were also robbed of their money and their cell phones. According to authorities, Shanks stayed away from the actual shootings, but then drove the getaway car the other two suspects. Motions to set aside a verdict are rarely granted in Virginia. King George Commonwealth’s Attorney Keri Gusmann said that in the event Goodman is granted a new trial, she would move to reinstate the first-degree murder charge against him.