Inside A2 Powhatan Sheriff’s Office tells residents to beware unsolicited service people
Powhatan, Virginia
B1 Strong pitching, key hits power Post 201 to win
Vol. XXX No. 28
July 19, 2017
Powhatan man charged with DUI in fatal crash By Laura McFarland News Editor
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Prsrt. Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Powhatan, VA Permit No.19
OWHATAN – A Powhatan County man is being held in Northern Virginia in connection with a fatal DUI crash on the Fourth of July that resulted in the death of a Georgia woman. Travis Rush Martin, 28, of Powhatan is being held at Western Virginia Regional Jail on charges of reckless driving and driving while intoxicated (DWI) on a suspended license after having his licensed revoked on a previous DWI. According to a Virginia State Police release, a 2004 Ford Expedition was traveling south on Interstate 81 at the 122 mile marker in Montgomery County at 10:25 a.m. on Tuesday, July 4 when the vehicle ran off the right side of the roadway and struck a disabled 2010 Freightliner tractor trailer. The tractor trailer was disabled and sitting on the right shoulder, out of the roadway, with triangles and flares displayed behind the truck to warn of its location, as required by law. The 2004 Ford was driven by Martin, who was not injured, according to the release. His passenger, Angelina Raenae Greene, 27, of Rome, Georgia, was not wearing her seatbelt and died at the scene. The driver of the 2010 Freightliner was not injured. Martin was arrested at the scene for the charge of driving while having a revoked license after a DWI conviction with
additional charges pending, according to the state police release. The Virginia State Police Crash Reconstruction Team assisted with the crash, which remains under investigation. Martin lost his license for six months on May 12, when he pled guilty in Powhatan County General District Court to possession of a schedule II narcotic and grand larceny, according to Rob Cerullo, deputy commonwealth’s at-
MARTIN
torney. Cerullo also noted that Martin is deaf and had to use a sign language interpreter during proceedings. In the case of the grand larceny, Martin was accused of stealing a 14K gold diamond ring from his mother around the timeframe of Oct. 28 to 30, 2016, Cerullo said. His mother was alerted of the theft by a friend of his and reported it stolen. Martin sold the ring at a pawn shop in Richmond and was identified by the store, Cerullo said. In a separate charge for possession of a schedule II
narcotic, Martin’s mother turned over drug paraphernalia to the sheriff’s office that he admitted was his, Cerullo said. It was tested and came back positive for cocaine. Martin pled guilty to both charges. On the possession charge, he was sentenced to five years with five years suspended and lost his license for six months, Cerullo said. On the grand larceny charge, he was sentenced to 10 years with nine years and nine months of that suspended. He was also sentenced to outpatient drug treatment. Although Martin was to spend 90 days in jail, he was given credit for time served and released the day of sentencing, according to Richard “Dickie” Cox, commonwealth’s attorney. Martin had been arrested on Nov. 9, 2016, and held in custody at Piedmont Regional Jail until he was sentenced on May 12, 2017, which was well over the amount of time he was set to serve. Cerullo said that Martin had a previous criminal record before the charges in Powhatan, including two charges related to driving under the influence (DUI). He was convicted of a DUI in 2008 in Chesterfield County and sentenced to 90 days with 90 days suspended and a revoked license for one year. He was convicted of DWI second offence in 2010 in Louisa County and sentenced to six months with five months and 10 days suspended. Laura McFarland may be reached at Lmcfarland@powhatantoday.com.
Making the most of summer Powhatan County Public Schools is providing a variety of summer camp offerings to target all learners and span a wide-range of curricula. Among the ones running in mid July are a Video Game Design camp, above, and basketball.
More photos on page 3
PHOTOS BY LAURA MCFARLAND
Hands across Powhatan bringing people together By Laura McFarland News Editor
POWHATAN – The name has changed, but the mission remains the same – bringing people and organizations together to benefit as much of the community as possible. Hands Across Powhatan is a nonprofit organization slowly gaining recognition in the county as a group trying to use its combined resources and opportunities to make life better for citizens in the county. This is the same mission it held under its old moniker, the Powhatan Resource Council, but
PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND
Members of Hands Across Powhatan listen to a presentation by James Pickral in which he talks about the ins and outs of the legislative process and how it works.
see HANDS, pg. 6
Workshop highlights value of existing businesses By Laura McFarland
DELIVER TO: Postal Patron Powhatan, VA 23139
News Editor
POWHATAN – Focusing on the retention and expansion of existing businesses in Powhatan County needs to be the focus of economic development to see maximum returns, local elected, community and business leaders heard recently at a special workshop. Laith Wardi, president of Executive Pulse, a leading national firm focused on business retention and expansion, gave a detailed presentation on Monday, June 26 at the Mill at Fine Creek about where Powhatan County needs to be focusing its resources and attention if it wants to see steady, healthy growth in the local economy. Wardi gave one example after another to drive home the point that “homegrown” existing businesses often account for the majority of total job creation and a major percentage of investment impact in an area. “The most important feedback we get in economic development is from the
PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND
Laith Wardi gives a presentation to local civic, business and elected leaders on June 26 about the importance of communicating with and helping existing businesses for the purpose of economic development.
businesses we have in our own backyard, that have been here with us for years paying taxes, their kids are going to public school, their employees are going to
church with us. They are the most important businesses that we have,” he said. see ECONOMIC, pg. 9
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