Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 6, 1994 TAG: 9407060050
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
George H. Williams Jr., a Roanoke general contractor, said Magistrate Harold Robertson threatened to "put him in jail" if he didn't "shut his mouth" and sit in the chair Robertson designated.
Williams said he had gone to the magistrate's office in Fincastle with his wife, Bonita, on June 17 after another woman slapped her and spit in her face.
Williams said he was trying to sit near his wife to offer her support, but Robertson ordered him to sit farther away.
Williams said he rose again and stood behind his wife, but was told by Robertson to leave the office or face jail.
Robertson notified sheriff's deputies, who were dispatched to the office to see what the problem was.
Robertson, who has been a magistrate since 1984, said that he has a small office, with no barriers separating him from the public. He said he had been attacked previously by an irate patron and was afraid of Williams after Williams didn't follow his instructions.
"I'm afraid of anybody who doesn't act the way you're supposed to," Robertson said.
Robertson said he has another citizen complaint pending against him.
The final call on who is right or wrong will rest with Chief Magistrate Ray Fitzgerald, who will be investigating Robertson's complaint out of his Staunton office.
"You just don't ignore a complaint," Fitzgerald said.
by CNB