Northern Neck – Page 4

‘Right to Fish’ law makes it a crime to interfere with work of watermen in VA

12Apr

By watchfuleyeNo Comments

News

‘Right to Fish’ law makes it a crime to interfere with work of watermen in VA

Starting in July, in Virginia, it will be a crime to interfere with the work of commercial watermen or their equipment, including their boats. That new law comes from Delegate Hillary Kent’s “Right to Fish” bill, HB 1256, which Governor Youngkin signed on April 4th. It will be a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person who knowingly and intentionally interferes with or impedes the operation or commercial fishing activity. Convictions carries a potential sentence of up to 12 months in jail and a fine up to $2,500. For the first offense, a person found guilty loses the ability to have hunting and fishing licenses for 1 year. Additional convictions bar individuals from having those licenses for 3 years. Also, anyone who is convicted will be required to complete boating safety education....

Westmoreland woman goes missing, Tappahannock man arrested for murder

5Apr

By watchfuleyeNo Comments

Popular

Westmoreland woman goes missing, Tappahannock man arrested for murder

A 20-year-old Tappahannock man who was wanted for 1st degree murder was arrested at a convenience store in Tappahannock. Kearrah T. Chappell, a 21-year-old Westmoreland woman was reported missing on April 1st. The last sighting of her was around 9 p.m. that day at her home, according to information from Richmond County Sheriff’s Office. Wednesday night, around 11:15 p.m., a body matching her description was found in the 300 block of Welford’s Wharf Rd. in Richmond County, which neighbors Westmoreland, announced Richmond County Sheriff Stephan Smith. Kaleb Xavier Robinson was deemed wanted and police departments across the region publicized his photo with the warning that he was “considered armed and dangerous.” Anyone who saw him was advised, ‘do not approach,” and urged to c...

Northern Neck man pleads guilty to $2.4 million in bank fraud at Primis

28Feb

By watchfuleyeNo Comments

News, Trending

Northern Neck man pleads guilty to $2.4 million in bank fraud at Primis

James Stevens, a former Primis employee, is facing a sentence of up to 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to bank fraud. The 46-year-old man from Weems worked for the bank from 2002 to 2023, although, over that period, the bank was sold several times and operated under different names. According Stevens' own admission in federal court documents, from about 2008 up until his departure from Primis in 2023, he was exploiting his position to get money for himself, for others, and to pay fraudulent loans he was making at the bank. Stevens last position at the bank was as commericial lender. His “primary method” of fraud was issuing loans in other people’s names, the court documents state. For example, he admitted that he originated at least $530,000 in loans in the nam...

Dozens of firefighters battle astroturf blaze in Essex

21Feb

By watchfuleyeNo Comments

News

Dozens of firefighters battle astroturf blaze in Essex

As of this morning, Tappahannock-Essex Volunteer Fire Department (TEVFD) said the cause of a massive astroturf fire is unknown. TEVFD said crew was dispatched to an area at the back of Lagrange Industrial Park in Essex at about 4 p.m. where they found approximately 100 rolls of astroturf on fire. The department immediately requested mutual aid from Richmond County Volunteer Fire Department. TEVFD issued a message advising that numerous units would be working the call and asked the public to refrain from using Lagrange. In total, over 50 firefighters worked to tackle the blaze with TEVFD requesting assistance from a variety of sources, including Essex County EMS, Upper King and Queen VFD, Upper Middlesex VFD, Middlesex (Urbanna) VFD, Walkerton VFD, Essex County Sheriff’s Office and...

Northern VA measles case confirmed: Health authorities trying to notify people at risk

13Jan

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News, Trending

Northern VA measles case confirmed: Health authorities trying to notify people at risk

Virginia Dept. of Health (VDH) announced they working to identify and notify people who may be at risk of measles after a confirmed case in Northern Virginia. VDH said a person who traveled through Northern Virginia on the way back from an international trip has been confirmed to have measles. The groups of people VDH cites as potentially exposed include those who were at Dulles International Airport in the international arrivals area of the main terminal between 4 - 8 p.m. on Wednesday, January 3. Those who were at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on January 4 in Terminal A between 2:30 - 6:30 p.m. may have been exposed. And VDH said individuals who were on “certain flights” are also potentially at risk. But the department did not provide details about which flights i...

Man arrested for making threats against Richmond County Sheriff’s Office

10Jan

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News, Trending

Man arrested for making threats against Richmond County Sheriff’s Office

Richmond County Sheriff Stephan Smith revealed that him and members of his staff were recently the targets of death threats. According to the Sheriff, on Christmas day, some not very merry emails began coming in to him and members of the administrative staff “by an individual claiming he was going to hunt us down and give us death by a bullet. That same individual called in a bomb threat at Food Lion in Warsaw on December 29, he added. An investigation conducted by Richmond County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from Westmoreland Sheriff’s Office led to the arrest of Brian Joseph Booth, a 41-year-old man from Kinsale, an area in Westmoreland. He is charged with three counts of death or bodily injury to a person and a misdemeanor of giving false report to a law enforcement o...

Delays coming on Downing Bridge to and from Tappahannock

8Jan

By watchfuleyeNo Comments

News, Traffic

Delays coming on Downing Bridge to and from Tappahannock

Drivers on Rt. 360 crossing the Downing Bridge between Tappahannock and Richmond County should brace for about 6 weeks of delays. VDOT announced a maintenance project will begin tomorrow, January 9, that will include repairing the bridge’s aluminum railing and concrete deck. That work will reduce the two-lane bridge to a single lane with traffic alternating between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. Automated flagging devices will direct the traffic through the work zone. VDOT said there will not be lane closures on weekends. Weather permitting, the work is expected to be complete by March 2024. Follow the Watchful Eye on Twitter and Facebook Help keep news you can use coming by clicking to directly support the Watchful Eye, an independent...

Westmoreland man wanted for Stafford murder captured

6Jan

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Popular

Westmoreland man wanted for Stafford murder captured

The manhunt for 29-year-old Darren Jamal Newman of Westmoreland is over. Newman was wanted in Stafford for 2nd degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, all charges related to the fatal shooting of a 33-year-old King George man who police have yet to name. According to Stafford County Sheriff’s Office, the King George man was found shot in the 100 block of Deacon Rd. after midnight on December 30. He made it to the hospital alive but passed away a short time later. SCSO said detectives “quickly identified as the shooter as Darren Jamal Newman.” Authorities issued a public announcement that he was wanted and began a manhunt. On January 5, day six of the search, Newman was arrested in Richmond. SCSO said numer...

Westmoreland man wanted for Stafford County murder

3Jan

By watchfuleyeNo Comments

Crime

Westmoreland man wanted for Stafford County murder

The 29-year-old Westmoreland County man wanted for murder in Stafford should be considered armed and dangerous, the Sheriff’s Office warned. Darren Jamal Newman is wanted for the fatal shooting of an unnamed 33-year-old from King George. According to SCSO, police responded to the 100 block of Deacon Rd. in South Stafford on December 30 shortly before 12:30 a.m. They found a man from King George man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, Deputies began rendering aid, and the he man was transported to the hospital. But SCSO later reported that the shooting was now a homicide because the King George man had succumbed to his injuries. Initially, police only offered a vague description of the suspected shooter, stating he was “a black male with long dreadlock style hair. He fled th...

Pastor extradited from SC to Warsaw, VA to face 30 felonies against minors

20Dec

By watchfuleyeNo Comments

News, Trending

Pastor extradited from SC to Warsaw, VA to face 30 felonies against minors

After a 15-month investigation, Albert Benjamin Wharton was extradited from Pickens County, SC to Richmond County, VA to face 30 felonies for crimes against children. According to Richmond County Sheriff Steve Smith, the investigation involved Richmond County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit, and it resulted in charges for 22 counts of indecent liberties with a child under age 13 while in a custodial position and 8 counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child. The alleged crimes occurred between 1981 and 1997 at the Berachah Christian Academy in Warsaw, said the Sheriff. According to Victory Baptist Church, that academy was one of its ministries and “provided the community with the choice of a Christian education in grades K-12.” “Dr. Ben Wharton” was the...