The 13-year-old acquitted of plotting to attack two local high schools was permitted to return to school today, Liesel Nowak wrote in Saturday’s Progress. He was expelled from Jack Jouett after being convicted in juvenile court, but after his acquittal in a proper trial last week he met with AHS principal Matt Haas to prepare to start school. That may well close this chapter in the boy’s life so that he can move on.
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Yearly Archive for 2006
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Howard Barnet and his 13-year-old son were guests on Coy Barefoot’s “Charlottesville Live” on Thursday, one day after the boy was acquitted on charges of conspiring to attack two county high schools. Sean Tubbs podcasts the interview on Charlottesville Podcasting Network. It’s a must-listen for anybody following the case. The guests reveal that the kid had no attorney at his intake hearing, that it was four days until his parents were allowed to see him, and that the computer evidence used to convict him in his first trial was so lame that it was never even entered as evidence in the second trial. The senior Barnet, when asked about Commonwealth Attorney Jim Camblos, said that, under him, Albemarle “looked more like a fiefdom than a county.”
The worst thing to come out of all of this may be the lesson to parents and kids: never talk to police officers, and always demand a lawyer. We may end up with a generation of kids taught to fear police.
The students and their families will descend upon town this weekend, so if you want to go anywhere in town, don’t. Remember, too, that area schools start up on Monday, so expect to be stuck behind buses if you’ve got a morning commute.
My morning commute extends from my bedroom to my living room, so I figure I’ll be OK.
A jury has found not guilty the 13-year-old accused of conspiring to “blow up” AHS and WAHS. He was the youngest of the kids arrested in February, and had previously been found guilty in a closed trial. It became more obvious over the months that these were trumped-up charges, mere showboating on the part of Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Camblos, and the jury clearly agrees. As Liesel Nowak explains in today’s Progress, it became clear over the course of the trial that this boy didn’t even know two of the other students with whom he was charged with conspiring. Along the way he had to spend two months in jail and was expelled from school. Private schools won’t even talk to him. Perhaps it’s time to get that expulsion rescinded, so he can get back to his life?
Lisa Provence also has a run-down of the trial in The Hook, and there’s coverage of the decision on their blog.
I hope y’all will tolerate a bit more navel-gazing. I’ve been curious which media outlets that I link to the most, and how that’s changed over time. A database query and some quality time with Excel later…
That’s a stacked, filled line graph totaled to 100%. Click to embiggen.
The spike in Progress links came when the Progress started archiving stories. And the recent disappearance of WINA links comes from their new website eliminating their archives, wiping years of great news records off of the internet. The Progress definitely gets the bulk of links at this point, but once I get in the habit of reading CBS 19 via their RSS feed and C-Ville Weekly now that they have archives, I certainly hope to widen the scope of sources.
Sideblog
Police announced this afternoon that their investigation into what was initially believed to be a fatal fire on Rugby Avenue is now a homicide investigation. #
The Virginia Supreme Court has denied George Huguely’s appeal. His second-degree murder conviction will stand, WRIC reports. #
In a carefully worded story, and not citing specific sources, WTVR reports that forensic evidence belonging to Jesse Matthew Jr., the main suspect in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, matches forensic evidence collected during the investigation of Morgan Harrington’s 2009 murder. #
In the wake of Hannah Graham’s disappearance, and the evidence that came from private security footage, city officials are revisiting the question of installing security cameras on the downtown mall. #
Both Charlottesville Registrar Sheri Iachetta and former Electoral Board member Stephanie Commander have turned themselves in to the police on
foursix and four felony counts of embezzlement, respectively. #Ten years ago, the National Institutes of Health budget doubled and schools like the University of Virginia built massive new research facilities. A decade later, those buildings remain largely underutilized. NPR visits UVA in this story on the effect of federal binge and spurge spending in the sciences. #
In 2012, Council approved a new student housing complex on West Main—now some council members are questioning whether what they were shown matches what was built. #
The Architectural Review Board has approved a bike-themed mural on West Market, below the McGuffey Art Center, although at least one member expressed concerns that it might look like the bicyclists were riding away from Charlottesville’s downtown. #
City Police Chief Tim Longo is meeting with city leaders to work on protocols regarding the use of military surplus police weapons in Charlottesville. #
A 100-year-old Colonnades resident received military honors for her service in the WWII Women’s Army Corps #
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