Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 20, 1994 TAG: 9407200070
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
In a preliminary hearing Monday in General District Court, a lawyer for Melvin Fred Golden indicated a plea agreement had been reached on the grand larceny charge against Golden. Peter Theodore, Golden's attorney, did not offer any evidence during the hearing. Instead, he and Golden agreed to a brief summary of Commonwealth's Attorney Randal Duncan's case against the city employee.
The felony charge was sent to the grand jury, a citizens' panel which will consider Golden's case and decide whether he should stand trial.
Duncan told Judge John Quigley that city police were alerted by two employees at the city shop to a possible theft of tires. One employee told police he saw Golden put two tires on the bed of a truck and leave the garage after talking with a man. Another employee said she later saw that man driving up Interstate 81 with the two tires on his truck bed.
The first employee was able to identify the tires as having been at the city shop because he had made "V-notches" on them, Duncan said.
Last month, City Manager Bob Asbury said the city had investigated complaints that parts and supplies had not gone where they were supposed to, but no positive evidence was turned up outside of the case in which Golden was charged.
Golden at first told investigators the tires had been taken to Appalachian Tire, a business on First Street, Duncan said. Actually, the tires were later returned to the shop after Golden met the man who bought them at a Fairlawn shopping center parking lot and retrieved them, Duncan said.
Duncan said last month that the person who received the tires from Golden said he had asked Golden about the type of tires he should buy for a dump truck but was not aware the tires he received were stolen city property.
The next scheduled meeting of the grand jury is in September.
Golden's arrest is indirectly connected to a state police investigation of allegations against city departments of theft, bid rigging and conflict of interest.
State police began the investigation earlier this year after receiving an anonymous letter. The investigation was completed last month and a report was sent to Special Prosecutor Phil Keith, Montgomery County's commonwealth's attorney. Keith is reviewing the report but has not announced a decision on the merits of the allegations.
While the city police investigation of Golden was independent of the state police investigation, the anonymous letter referred to the incident.
by CNB