Wednesday, June 10WATCHFUL EYE

Tag: Hampton Roads

Fentanyl treasure map leads to federal convictions for 2 Virginia men
No Comments
Crime, News, Trending

Fentanyl treasure map leads to federal convictions for 2 Virginia men

Two Hampton Roads men pled guilty and are scheduled for sentencing in a case involving a fentanyl treasure map. Ronald Devon Matthews, a 39-year-old from the Isle of Wight, acknowledged in court documents that he’s known as “MacGyver” and “Mac” and has been in custody since he was arrested in December 2021. He pled guilty to three federal counts of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition on Sept 29, 2022, court documents show. Matthews draws a map Matthews admitted, on May 2, 2023, while serving his 6-year and 9-month sentence for those charges at the Federal Correctional Complex in Petersburg, he drew a treasure map to fentanyl that he buried in the ground outside his home in Carrsville before he was arrested. In the statement of facts submitted in feder...
Read More
Hampton Roads port operations shut down by strike, reopening date unknown
No Comments
Business, News, Popular, Trending

Hampton Roads port operations shut down by strike, reopening date unknown

Port workers from Maine to Texas started striking at midnight on August 1. The Port of Virginia (POV) confirmed that no cargo is moving in or out of its port during this work stoppage. This strike has closed several Hampton Roads operations, including: Norfolk International Terminals Virginia International Gateway Newport News Marine Terminal Pinners Point Container Yard Portsmouth Chassis Yard Reefer Service Area The Damage Annex During strike, the port will not be receiving vessels at the impacted locations. No containers will be moved in or out by train, and the truck gates are closed, said POV. The impacted locations have also stopped receiving empty containers or providing any chassis or repair services. And POV said the Richmond Express barge service i...
Read More
Hampton Roads part of new federal effort for domestic violence crack down
No Comments
News

Hampton Roads part of new federal effort for domestic violence crack down

This month marked the 30th anniversary of the federal Violence Against Women Act. At an event to celebrate the occasion, U.S Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced a new effort to reduce intimate partner violence involving guns. Garland announced that 78 communities across the U.S. and its territories have been selected as the initial focus of this effort. In Virginia, the focus is on Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach. This effort involves having U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the ATF partner with local jurisdictions to develop a plan that reduces domestic firearms violence and prioritizes prosecutions of domestic violence offenders prohibited from owning firearms, the Justice Dept. announced. The Hampton Roads communities selected for this initiative ar...
Read More
No swimming at 5 Norfolk beaches, per the health dept.
No Comments
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...
Read More
VA Beach officer shoots & kills 61-year-old man
No Comments
News, Trending

VA Beach officer shoots & kills 61-year-old man

Virginia Beach Police Department announced that one of its officers was involved in a fatal incident this week. On Wednesday, officers were dispatched to the 200 block of Quarter Way at 10:23 for a drug overdose call, VBPD stated. The first officer at the scene reportedly heard commotion inside the residence and went in. VBPD said that officer found a man later identified as Robert Miller and a female upstairs in a bedroom struggling over a knife. The officer reportedly gave several commands for Miller to drop the knife. But, according to VBPD, he “charged at the officer with the knife in hand.” The officer, whose identity hasn’t been released, fired and shot Miller, a Virginia Beach resident, the department stated. According to VBPD, aid was rendered, and Miller was transpo...
Read More
Crash on Hampton side of HRBT claims Norfolk woman
No Comments
News, Traffic

Crash on Hampton side of HRBT claims Norfolk woman

A Norfolk woman was killed by a crash at the Hampton side of the Hampton Road Bridge Tunnel yesterday. Virginia State Police said preliminary investigations show 49-year-old Tonya Denise Hinkle was driving a 2024 Jetta and was in the left lane at the mouth of the tunnel when she rear-ended a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe. According to VSP, due to the impact, Hinklethen ran off the road, hit into a jersey wall, and was pushed back into traffic where she crashed into 2012 F-150. Hinkle survived a trip to Norfolk General Hospital, but VSP said she later died from the injuries. The other two drivers only suffered minor injuries. The investigation is still underway, and VSP said it hasn’t been determined if speed or alcohol are factors in this incident. Follow the Watchful Eye...
Read More
VA Beach man in fatal Norfolk crash, but VSP doesn’t know when it happened
No Comments
News, Traffic

VA Beach man in fatal Norfolk crash, but VSP doesn’t know when it happened

A concerned friend discovered that 30-year-old Austin Trevor Hale of Virginia Beach had been in a fatal accident in Norfolk on July 31, but according to Virginia State Police, it’s unknown when that crash occurred. According to VSP, on Wednesday, the unnamed friend called the Emergency Communications Center and explained that he had not heard from Hale all day. The man got concerned, obtained Hale’s last known location, and routed the location back to Hale’s home. Double-sided car mount phone holder: $12.58 While the friend was out searching for Hale along the route, he saw skid marks on the left shoulder of the I-64 East exit ramp to I-264 West, VSP stated. The friend stopped to investigate and saw a vehicle in the woods laying on its side against a tree. Norfolk Fire and ...
Read More
Chesapeake men in jail after coming to Gloucester ‘with intent to steal’
No Comments
Crime, News

Chesapeake men in jail after coming to Gloucester ‘with intent to steal’

Two Chesapeake men are in jail being held without bond after they allegedly traveled to Gloucester to steal $28,000 worth of equipment, Gloucester County Sheriff’s Office reported. GCSO said the men were caught on July 11 after a citizen saw and reported that someone was driving what appeared to be a new John Deere tractor on George Washington Memorial Highway, a four-lane artery that connects the Middle Peninsula to Hampton Roads. That citizen also reported that when the tractor got near Vulcan Stone, it was loaded onto a trailer. A deputy spotted a truck pulling a trailer with a John Deere, said GCSO. It was heading south, the direction of Hampton Roads. The deputy conducted a traffic stop and discovered that not only was the tractor stolen but so was the trailer pulling it. Did...
Read More
1st offshore wind cable facility in U.S. coming to Chesapeake, offering 330 jobs
No Comments
News

1st offshore wind cable facility in U.S. coming to Chesapeake, offering 330 jobs

Virginia, and more specifically Chesapeake, is set to become the home of the first offshore wind cable manufacturer in the United States, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and U.S. Representative Bobby Scott announced yesterday. LS GreenLink USA is investing $681 million to build a facility to produce high-voltage subsea cables used for offshore wind farms. Those cables are designed to optimize bulk clean power transmission, the company said. A February 20 letter signed by nine members of congress calling on the Department of Energy (DOE) to provide financial support for the project noted that work is underway on the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project – a 2.6 gigawatt commercial offshore wind farm that is expected to power over 650,000 homes in the Commonwealth. Mean...
Read More
VDOT backtracks on decision to cut Jamestown-Scotland ferry service
No Comments
News, Traffic

VDOT backtracks on decision to cut Jamestown-Scotland ferry service

VDOT backtracked on its plan to cut service for the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry starting July 8. As previously reported, VDOT planned to reduce service for the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry, which runs 24/7 every day of the year, citing staffing problems. Today, VDOT said the reduced schedule would no longer be implemented. “As staffing and vessel resources allow, the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry will remain operating under the summer schedule that went into effect May 27 to accommodate the increase in ferry passengers during the summer travel season,” the department stated. With the summer schedule, a boat crosses the James River about every 20 – 30 minutes, depending on the time of day. Meanwhile, VDOT said it’s actively recruiting to fill vacancies on the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry tea...
Read More