Inside A10 Nordvig named chairman of regional coalition
Powhatan, Virginia B1 Post 201’s season ends in district semifinals
Vol. XXX No. 29
July 26, 2017
Beasley returns to home district after 14 months By Mark Bowes Richmond Times-Dispatch
A
local judge who was barred from presiding in his home district after complaints surfaced that he sexually harassed courtroom clerks and made crude remarks has been reinstated to the 11th Judicial District but JUDGE ROBERT B. will not sit on the bench in BEASLEY JR. the district. After being assigned to preside in a number of other districts across the state during his 14-month re-assignment from the 11th District, Judge Robert B. Beasley Jr., who wrote letters of apology for his behavior, officially returned on July 5 on instructions from the office of Chief Justice Donald W. Lemons of the Virginia Supreme Court. But 11th District Chief Judge Mayo Gravatt, after meeting with Beasley, has limited Beasley’s duties to presiding over mental commitment hearings at three hospitals within the district. He will not sit on the bench – at least for now – in general district
First Antioch Church turns 150 years
courts in Petersburg or the counties of Powhatan, Dinwiddie, Amelia and Nottoway, which make up the 11th District. In an interview last week, Gravatt said Beasley’s services are not needed on the bench because the current caseload in those localities can be handled sufficiently and expeditiously by the two existing judges – himself and Judge Ray P. Lupold. “We didn’t need another judge,” Gravatt said, adding that a third judge in the district “would leave us underutilized.” Instead, Gravatt said he has assigned Beasley to preside over mental commitment hearings – also known as temporary detention order hearings, which are for people who may require involuntary hospitalization for psychiatric treatment – at Central State Hospital, Southside Regional Medical Center and Poplar Springs Hospital in the Tri-Cities area. “That has always been a district court function as well, (and) it’s a fairly busy job with three institutions in the 11th,” Gravatt said. Mental commitment cases typically have been handled by “special justices” – local attorneys who are appointed by the court and authorized to hear certain mental health commitment matters. In addition to hearing mental commitment cases three days a week, Beasley has been assigned to hear
see BEASLEY pg. 4
Grand jury indicts daycare worker By Laura McFarland News Editor
PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND
News Editor
The Rev. Dr. Vera A. Rhyne, left, Lindia Cox and Jerretta Hatcher stand in the sanctuary of First Antioch Baptist Church, which was founded 150 years ago in August.
POWHATAN – Much of the 150-year history that makes up the past of First Antioch Baptist Church in Powhatan has been lost to time. Since First Antioch was start-
ed by former slaves under a brush arbor on Aug. 10, 1867, church members have met in five structures, with the four that followed the original rudimentary brush arbor each becoming successive-
ly better. While the more recent history has better documentation, the early history of the church raises more questions than answers. see CHURCH, pg. 6
DELIVER TO: Postal Patron Powhatan, VA 23139
Prsrt. Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Powhatan, VA Permit No.19
By Laura McFarland
civil and criminal matters two days a week in Suffolk General District Court in Virginia’s 5th Judicial District, Gravatt said. Beasley will sit in the 5th District at least through Oct. 30, according to a July 10 order signed by Lemons. In ordering Beasley back to the 11th District, the Virginia Supreme Court did not specify what duties he should be assigned. That was left to the discretion of Gravatt as the 11th District’s chief judge. Gravatt acknowledged that it’s possible that Beasley could return to the bench “at some future point.” Gravatt said Beasley’s current assignment “continues for the time being – until conditions change or something (else) changes.” At least one of the clerks in the 11th District who originally made a complaint said she recently hired an attorney as a “precaution.” The clerks have declined to be identified by name for fear of losing their jobs, according to a previous Richmond TimesDispatch story. Beasley has declined to comment in the past, and he did not respond last week to several messages seeking comment by email or through his former attorney. Beasley came under intense scrutiny last year after it was disclosed that he had been suspended for
CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS
Simon Rivera of Powhatan is a finalist in a national video contest. Above is a still from his short film.
Rivera finalist in video contest By Laura McFarland News Editor
POWHATAN – A Powhatan County man who offered his own take on faith in a national video contest has been named a top 10 finalist and is looking for public support. A video created by Simon Ri-
vera of Powhatan County is a finalist in the Faith Counts’ Film Your Faith video contest, which aims to promote the value of all faiths as vital to today’s culture. A panel of judges will choose both a grand prize winner, who will receive $20,000, and honorable mention, who will earn $2,500, acsee VIDEO, pg. 8
CHESTERFIELD – A Chesterfield County grand jury last week indicted an unlicensed daycare provider on charges of involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment and other charges in relation to the death of a 3-month-old Powhatan boy who died while in her care. On Monday, July 17, the Chesterfield grand jury indicted Carrie Persichini, 53, of Chesterfield for a total of seven charges, which were involuntary manslaughter, child abuse/neglect, two counts of child endangerment, two additional counts of child neglect and operating without a license, according to court records. All were felonies except operating without a license, which is a misdemeanor. Persichini was caring for Peter Hitt, 3 months, of Powhatan, and as many as 15 other children, including other siblings, in her home when he died on Aug. 23, 2016. Chesterfield County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge Jayne Ann Pemberton had ruled in a May 16 preliminary hearing that enough evidence had been presented by the commonwealth’s attorney’s office to certify to a grand jury the charges of involuntary manslaughter and child neglect. Deputy commonwealth’s attorney Frank LaRuffa said after the hear-
PERSICHINI
ing that he expected charges of being an unlicensed operator would follow. The grand jury also direct indicted Persichini on the child endangerment and neglect charges. Some of the charges brought against Persichini related to the other children in her care the day that Peter died. A trial has been set for 9 a.m. on Oct. 16 and 17 in Chesterfield County Circuit Court. At the May 16 hearing, LaRuffa had called five witnesses to lay out the case against Persichini, focusing not only on how the little boy may have died but on the conditions in which he and other children were being cared for and the defendant’s lack of qualifications to be operating an in-home daycare at all. Although the number of children in her care that Persichini reportedly gave investigators varied at different points in the investigation, they ultimately concluded that on the day of the incident she was caring for 16 children by herself without a license in see INDICTED pg. 3
Conveniently Located At
2018 Equinox #6115275
Lease for
$299/mo.
555630-01
*
*Stock #6115275 lease payment based on $299 down + tax, title, tags. 39 month lease w/10,000 miles per year. Offer Ends 7/31/17.
(804) 818-7660 • www.haleychevrolet.com