Thursday, June 11WATCHFUL EYE

News

No swimming at 5 Norfolk beaches, per the health dept.
Biz & Life, News

No swimming at 5 Norfolk beaches, per the health dept.

During a swimming advisory beachgoers should not enter the water, according to the Virginia Department of Health. Norfolk Department of Public Health issued swimming advisories for five of the city’s beaches, yesterday, Sept. 4, including: 5th Bay North Community Beach Ocean View Park 10th View 13th View The advisories were issued after testing conducted yesterday found elevated levels of enterococci bacteria. An advisory is issued if the bacteria levels exceed 104 (MPN/100 mL of water), VDH explains. Ocean View Park, the worst of the results, was four times the acceptable level at 457 and 10th View wasn’t far behind at 408, according to VDH reporting. Enterococci bacteria aren’t harmful themselves, but they are an indicator for fecal contamination, which poses...
VSP seeking suspect in Powhatan hit & run
News, Trending

VSP seeking suspect in Powhatan hit & run

Virginia State Police is calling on the public for help with an alleged hit-and-run case in Powhatan. The incident occurred, Sunday, September 1, around 7:20 a.m. in front of WeightPack at 3490 Anderson Highway. View of the area where the accident occurred. Not from the day of the incident (Photo: Google Earth) Video footage from VSP shows a silver/gray SUV slam into the back of a pickup that then flips and barrels along the edge of the WeightPack parking lot into the treeline. According to VSP, the pickup is a 2003 Ford Ranger, and it was preparing to make a right turn into a driveway near Academy Drive when it was hit. Overhead view of area between WeightPack & Academy Rd. (Google Earth) The pickup hit a guidewire to a power pole and flipped before the hitting seve...
VA pharmacist gets 2 years in federal prison for tampering with opioids at CVS
Crime, News

VA pharmacist gets 2 years in federal prison for tampering with opioids at CVS

A pharmacist who worked at CVS in Gate City has been sentenced to 2 years in federal prison for drug tampering in a scheme that involved stealing narcotics and replacing them without other medications. Dillion Breeding, 34, pled guilty to one count of tampering with consumer products after he admitted that while he was pharmacist, he stole oxymorphone, morphine, hydromorphone, and testosterone, federal court documents show. He used two methods to obtain the pills. In some cases, while counting out medications with a spatula, he would hide a pill in his hand then take it by mouth, he admitted. In some instances, he stated he shorted patients when he was dispensing their prescriptions. Court documents show Breeding’s theft was uncovered because the pharmacy manager was filling an ox...
10 New Yorkers, incl. juveniles, arrested for organized theft in Leesburg
Crime, News, Popular

10 New Yorkers, incl. juveniles, arrested for organized theft in Leesburg

An investigation is underway after another group of New Yorkers were arrested for “organized retail theft incidents” in northern Virginia stores, Leesburg Police Department announced. On Sunday, LPD arrested 10 people at the scene of one of their alleged hits. It was about 5:30 p.m. when LPD responded to Target at 1200 Edwards Ferry Road NE. LPD said it was reported that a group of individuals took merchandise from the store, left, and divided up into two vehicles. Those vehicles were stopped as they were leaving the parking lot and large amounts of Target merchandise was found, LPD confirmed. Officers also found merchandise from other stores, the department added. The group involved included eight adults and two minors. All of them were arrested, said LPD. The eight adults ...
New Loudoun judge arrested for public intoxication
News, Popular

New Loudoun judge arrested for public intoxication

A week after being sworn in as a judge for Virginia’s 20th Judicial District, Charles F. Koehler, Jr. was arrested by Leesburg Police Department. According to LPD, at 1:30 this morning, officers responded to a report of an individual walking down the Leesburg Bypass near South King Street. That individual was reportedly Koehler. LPD said after officers interacted with him, he was arrested and charged for public intoxication. Koehler was transported to the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center and was released on his own recognizance, LPD stated. Koehler is a sitting judge in Loudoun. His 6-year term as 20th District judge began on July 1, and according to Loudoun Times-Mirror, he was just sworn in at a courthouse in Leesburg on August 23. SEE: How 4 Men Beat Felonies for Gun...
Mathews man charged & jailed after using 911 to make racial threats
Crime, News

Mathews man charged & jailed after using 911 to make racial threats

A 34-year-old Mathews man is being held without bond after an arrest for making race-based threats. Mathews County Sheriff’s Office reported that Randal James Diggs called 911 numerous times between July and August. “In these phone calls, Diggs targeted and made multiple threats towards a specific population in our community based solely on their race over a recorded phone line.” When Diggs was arrested, MCSO said evidence was retrieved from his vehicle to substantiate some of the threats. Diggs is charged with giving a false report to law enforcement officials on individuals solely because of their race, a felony. He also faces three misdemeanor counts of threatening an illegal or immoral act with the intent to coerce, intimidate, or harass a person over the telephone. Diggs i...
Gate City, VA man accused of shooting father in the face
Crime, News, Popular, Trending

Gate City, VA man accused of shooting father in the face

A 25-year-old Gate City man is in jail facing a list of charges after an incident that includes allegedly shooting his father in the face. According to Gate City Police Department, deputies were dispatched to 451 Reed Hollow Rd. for a report of a person shot in the head. Deputies reportedly found Bobby Ray Darnell with a gunshot wound to the left side of the face. When police arrived, his son, Travis Ethan Darnell, was sitting in the kitchen area, according to GCPD. And when police announced themselves, he ran toward the living room. The officers followed, and T. Darnell "brandished" a rifle, the department added. He was ordered to drop the gun, and he was arrested. GCPD said the rifle T. Darnell brandished was determined to be the weapon used to shoot his father, and it was deter...
2 failure-to-move-over stops lead to drug charges in Fredericksburg
Crime, News, Popular

2 failure-to-move-over stops lead to drug charges in Fredericksburg

Fredericksburg officers had the Move Over Law top of mind last week. On two consecutive days, cases of drivers allegedly failing to move over ended with drug charges. Wednesday stop The first incident occurred on Wednesday, August 21. Officer Velasco was providing backup for a traffic stop in the 1800 block of Emancipation Highway and a vehicle came by that failed to move over and failed to slow down, according to FPD. Velasco was cleared and went after vehicle that passed. When he made the stop, FPD said Officer Hibbitts arrived at the scene to assist. The two officers saw “drug items in plain view,” FPD reported. Velasco searched the driver, 26-year-old Kyle Hill of Spotsylvania. Meanwhile, Hibbitts was attempting to identify the female passenger who “repeatedly provided t...
Cape Charles woman killed in Northampton crash
News, Traffic

Cape Charles woman killed in Northampton crash

An 85-year-old Cape Charles woman was killed in a single-vehicle crash on the Eastern Shore this morning. According to Virginia State Police, Nadine Marie Good was driving a 2017 Ford Fiesta headed north on Rt. 13, aka Lankford Highway, in Northampton County. She was north of Cobb Station Road in Cheriton when she reportedly lost control of the vehicle and ran off the road around 9 a.m. Good hit a culvert and tree before the vehicle flipped. She was thrown from the vehicle’s passenger side and died at the scene. VSP said there is not indication that alcohol or speed were contributing factors. This is the third fatal Eastern Shore crash in less than two weeks. The other crashes occurred in Accomack. Follow the Watchful Eye on Twitter, Facebook, & Inst...
Essex man killed in early morning crash
News, Traffic

Essex man killed in early morning crash

This morning, the southbound lanes of Rt. 17, aka Tidewater Trail, in the Caret area of Essex were shut down for hours due to a fatal crash that’s now under investigation by Virginia State Police. At 4:40 a.m., VSP was dispatched to the scene at Supply Road and Tidewater Trail where there was a two-vehicle crash involving a 2018 Chevrolet pickup and a tractor-trailer. According to VSP, the pickup driver, 61-year-old Danny William Holmes, failed to stop at the stop sign and hit the tractor-tractor trailer, which was heading south on Tidewater Trail. Holmes, an Essex resident, died at the scene. The driver of the tractor-trailer, who wasn’t named, was injured, but VSP said the injuries were non-life-threatening. Follow the Watchful Eye on Twitter, Facebook, & Instag...