[11Pledge]
[ANCHOR=Joe]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=00-22 1:05:14]
[GRAPHIC=Pledge]
A Roanoke City Police officer has been indicted for racketeering.
A federal grand jury believes Officer Frederick Pledge has been conducting a shake-down of local drug dealers over the past five years.
(+++++++)
[Pinnacle Page # 81]
The indictment handed up last week charges Pledge accepted bribes from at least ten different drug dealers- -in exchange for not arresting them, warning them of pending indictments and police investigations.
(-------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
Pledge read the charges against him in magistrate's court yesterday... charges that include drug trafficking and extortion .
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 11:06:20]
[IN Q=Basically he used]
((BASICALLY HE USED HIS JOB AS AN OFFICER TO SHAKE DOWN PEOPLE, ACCEPT PAYMENTS FOR NOT ARRESTING PEOPLE FOR DRUG DEALS, NOT ARRESTING PEOPLE FOR HABITUAL OFFENDER))
[SUPER=01-Tom Bondurant/Federal Prosecutor]
[RUNS=11]
[OUT Q=habitual offender.]
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Joe]
[GRAPHIC=Hold]
Pledge is officially still a member of the city police force.
The Department says it will "closely monitor the case." If disciplinary action is warranted, that'll come later.
[11Roanoke-Police]
[ANCHOR=Joe]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=00-17 1:39:22]
[GRAPHIC=Pledge]
People in a neighborhood that Pledge used to patrol are disheartened by the news.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
Jeff Artis lives on (Lah-fee-ett) Lafayette Boulevard-- where neighbors have been banding together to rid the area of crime.
Artis says Pledge routinely patrolled the area and even attended the neighborhood's crime watch meetings.
In fact, in December, the group honored Pledge for his work in the community.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 02:43:07]
[IN Q=I had ]
((JEFF ARTIS/ROANOKE SCLC: I HAD HEARD SOME THINGS ABOUT PLEDGE THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE AND FIGURED THAT YOU KNOW BECAUSE HE WAS WITH US AND WAS SO COOPERATIVE THAT EVERYTHING WAS ON THE UP AND UP BUT IT TURNED OUT MY SOURCES WERE CORRECT AND I SHOULD'VE TRUSTED THEM. I SHOULD HAVE WENT WITH MY FIRST INSTINCTS.))
[SUPER=01-Jeff Artis/Roanoke SCLC;]
[RUNS=20]
[OUT Q=first instincts.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Artis says the department is a good organization and hopes the alleged actions of one person don't taint people's views of the department.
(------------)
[11Washington-Murders]
[ANCHOR=Joe]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=mce]
[TAPE#=00-33 00:14]
[GRAPHIC=none]
A man suspected in Sunday night's triple murder in Washington County is in custody after turning himself in.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
19-year-old Curtis Wayne Cullop of Glade Springs is charged with three counts of first degree murder.
[SUPER=03-Washington Co.]
Police suspect him of fatally shooting 70-year-old Carrie Owens, 69-year-old Carl Owens and 41-year-old Patricia Arnold.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Joe]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Police say a fourth victim was treated and released from a local hospital.
Police haven't established a motive for the murders.[West-Nile]
[ANCHOR=JoeD]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]
New York's central park was closed Monday night... and a concert cancelled... after mosquitoes carrying the west nile virus were found there.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-New York, NY]
After the park was evacuated... ground spraying with pesticides started.
The discovery of the infected mosquitoes is the first time that the deadly virus has been found in the city this year.
Last year the virus killed 7-people and infected 62-others in the New York City area.
(------------)
[CO-Wildfires]
[ANCHOR=JoeD]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Wildfires]
Firefighters in southwest Colorado are bracing for more trouble today.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Mesa Verde, CO;]
The wildfire that's burning up Mesa Verde National Park has grown to at least 22-thousand acres and has the potential -- as one official puts it -- ``to get up and run.''
In addition to hundreds of firefighters, archaeologists are at the scene, pinpointing ancient sites that need special protection. Mesa Verde is home to ancient cliff dwellings of the Pueblo Indians.
(--------------)
[ANCHOR=JoeD]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]
Meanwhile, across the West, several other wildfires are burning out of control. They include fires in California, Montana and Washington.
[11Foutz]
[ANCHOR=Joe]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=00-13 1:51:47]
[GRAPHIC=Foutz]
Former Vinton police chief Ricky Foutz appeared in court yesterday.
(----------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
Foutz is suing the town of Vinton, demanding ten-point-two million dollars because he says town officials forced him to resign.
Yesterday, he asked that one of the town's attorneys --(Og-NEES Shockra- Vortey) Agnis
Chakravorty -- be disqualified .. since the two served the town together and were close friends.
Chakravorty says he never saw Foutz socially and only learned about his resignation in the newspaper.
The judge says there's no conflict of interest and let Chakravorty stay on the case.
(------------)
[FL-Hostage]
[ANCHOR=JoeD]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Standoff]
Authorities says a woman killed during
a three-day Florida hostage standoff might've been killed by
police.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Orlando, FL]
The woman and her captor were the only ones killed during the stand-off in a house near Orlando, Florida.
Two children were freed by the gunman Sunday, and two others were rescued after the man killed himself yesterday afternoon.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=JoeD]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Police say the woman might have been killed when a sharpshooter tried to kill the gunman.
An autopsy is being conducted to find out if police bullets killed the woman.
[11DeMoranville]
[ANCHOR=Joe]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=kwe]
[TAPE#=00-25 34:17]
[GRAPHIC=None]
A Christiansburg man who pleaded guilty to conspiring to kill a judge ... says he had nothing to do with it.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Christopher DeMoranville says it was Derrick Chapman who thought up the plan ..
[SUPER=03-Montgomery Co./File Tape;]
to kill Montgomery County Judge Ray Grubbs last September, along with DeMoranville's parents.
DeMoranville says the only reason why he plead guilty to the charge was to end the whole ordeal.
And he told State Police about Chapman's plan to keep people from dying.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 23:45]
[IN Q=I thought]
((CHRISTOPHER DEMORANVILLE: I THOUGHT HE WAS SERIOUS AND I DIDN'T WANT MY PARENTS TO DIE OR THE JUDGE I WAS MORE CONCERNED ABOUT MY PARENTS BUT I DIDN'T WANT ANYONE TO DIE AND I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WASN'T GOING TO HAPPEN SO I WORE A WIRE AND SPOKE TO HIM ABOUT IT AND HE FREELY ADMITTED TO IT.))
[RUNS=17]
[OUT Q=admitted to it.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Chapman received a sentence of 30 years in prison by a jury in April.
DeMoranville says Chapman should go to prison but says the sentence is too severe.
DeMoranville received three years' probation.
(------------)
[11AEP-Choice]
[ANCHOR=Joe]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=mce]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=AEP]
American Electric Power is looking to fill 45-thousand spaces for customers who want to volunteer for their new customer choice program.
The experiment will allow customers to pick their own electricity provider on August 15.
If you're interested, call A-E-P.
All Virginians will be able to choose by the end of next year.
[Health-Check]
[ANCHOR=Joe]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=NET]
[GRAPHIC=Mornin Health Check]
In medical news, a new study stresses the importance of drinking milk.
Doctor Dave Hnida has that story and more in this morning's Health check.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Dr. Dave Hnida/Reporting; :00 ]
[RUNS=1:13]
[OUT Q=CBS News, New York.]
((Information:
ON CAM
GOT MILK? EVIDENTLY MOST AMERICAN TEENAGERS DO NOT.
VT=VO
A STUDY FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA SHOWS AMERICAN TEENS
DRINK 40% LESS MILK THAN TEENS DID IN THE 1960'S. TODAY'S DRINKS OF
CHOICE: SODA POP AND OTHER SWEETENED BEVERAGES- IT ALL ADDS UP TO ABOUT
20 TEASPOONS OF SUGAR A DAY PLUS THE WORRY THAT THERE WILL BE AN
EPIDEMIC OF THIN AND BROKEN BONES AS TODAY'S TEENS REACH ADULTHOOD.
VT=VO
WELL WHAT'S GOOD FOR THE HEART IS PROBABLY GOOD FOR THE BRAIN. A STUDY
FROM THE BRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY SHOWS ONE DRINK EVERY DAY
PROTECTS THE BRAIN FROM STROKES AS WELL AS AGING- AND THAT INCLUDES A
LOWER RISK OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. BUT JUST LIKE IT IS WITH THE HEART-
TOO MANY DRINKS A DAY WILL HURT THE BRAIN- KILLING OFF BRAIN CELLS AND
CLOGGING UP BLOOD VESSELS.
VT=VO
FINALLY TODAY- A FOUR LEGGED HEALTH BOOSTER. SEVERAL STUDIES HAVE SHOWN
PEOPLE WHO HAVE PETS TEND TO HAVE LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE, LESS DEPRESSION-
AND JUST BETTER HEALTH IN GENERAL. NOW COMES A SURVEY FROM THE AMERICAN
HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION THAT SHOWS- IF STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND- 57% OF
PET OWNERS WOULD PREFER THE COMPANY OF THEIR PET TO ANOTHER HUMAN. MAKES
YOU THINK IF A DOG WAS ON SURVIVOR- IT WOULD NEVER GET VOTED OFF THE
ISLAND.
ON CAM
THATS A LOOK AT SOME OF THE DAYS TOP HEALTH STORIES. IM DR DAVE HNIDA
FOR CBS NEWS.))
(ad lib to weather)
[Santa-Claus]
[ANCHOR=JoeD]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Christmas may be months away, but Santa and his helpers aren't slackers... For proof we take you to the Santa Claus World Congress in Denmark.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bakken, Denmark]
Some 120 Santa Clauses from around the world met near Copenhagen Monday to discuss their future in a computer-focused 21st century.
The consensus... Santa Claus may have to update his image and upgrade his gift selection in the third millennium.
(------------)
[2-shot toss to TWO STEVE]
[2-HEADLINES]
[2-shot=Joe/Spa]
[SUPER=#4049; Morning Headlines]
[ANCHOR=Joe]
Here's a look at today's top stories.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=JoeD]
A Roanoke City Police officer has been indicted for racketeering.
A federal grand jury believes Officer Frederick Pledge has been conducting a shake-down of local drug dealers over the past five years.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=JoeD]
Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush is expected to name his running mate today.
G-O-P sources say it will be former Defense Secretary Dick Cheney.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=JoeD]
and a mother speaks out about the murder-suicide that killed four members of her family.
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=JoeD]
And that's what's making news on this Tuesday July 25-th.
[ANCHOR=Steve]
News 7 Mornin' will be right back.
[2-11Pledge]
[ANCHOR=Joe]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=00-22 1:05:14]
[GRAPHIC=Pledge]
A federal grand jury believes Roanoke City police officer Frederick Pledge has been conducting a shake-down of local drug dealers over the past five years.
Yesterday, Pledge was indicted for racketeering.
(+++++++)
[Pinnacle Page # 81]
The indictment handed up last week charges Pledge accepted bribes from at least ten different drug dealers- -in exchange for not arresting them, warning them of pending indictments and police investigations.
(-------------)
[VO-NAT]
Pledge read the charges against him in magistrate's court yesterday... charges that include drug trafficking and extortion .
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 11:06:20]
[IN Q=Basically he used]
((BASICALLY HE USED HIS JOB AS AN OFFICER TO SHAKE DOWN PEOPLE, ACCEPT PAYMENTS FOR NOT ARRESTING PEOPLE FOR DRUG DEALS, NOT ARRESTING PEOPLE FOR HABITUAL OFFENDER))
[SUPER=01-Tom Bondurant/Federal Prosecutor]
[RUNS=11]
[OUT Q=habitual offender.]
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Joe]
[GRAPHIC=Hold]
Pledge is officially still a member of the city police force.
The Department says it will "closely monitor the case." If disciplinary action is warranted, that'll come later.
[Campaign-2000]
[ANCHOR=JoeD]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Campaign 2000]
Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush is expected to make it official today.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Austin, TX;]
Two highly-placed G-O-P sources say he'll formally ask Dick Cheney to be his running mate. Cheney is expected to accept.
A Bush spokeswoman confirms Bush has made a choice, but hasn't told anyone who it is.
As a former congressman and defense secretary, Cheney provides extensive foreign policy experience. He led the Pentagon during the Persian Gulf War when he served under Bush's father.
(------------)
[Animal-'Rights]
[ANCHOR=Joe]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Animal rights protestors in Minnesota said they wanted to stage a peaceful rally Monday.
Police said the protesters had no permit. As Noelle Walker reports, it wasn't long before things turned violent.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=NAT SOUND]
[SUPER=03-Minneapolis, MN; :00]
[SUPER=01-Noelle Walker/Reporting; 1:23]
[RUNS=1:28]
[OUT Q=NW for CBS News]
(("These Police officers are fully armed. These are non-violent protesters"
"Non-violence! Non-violence!"
WHAT STARTED AS A NON-VIOLENT PROTEST.....TURNED UGLY AT THE ENTRANCE TO LORING PARK.
"Now they're firing tear gas. I don't have the right to walk down my
own street."
"Can you get these guys out of here, they're in serious trouble man.."
POLICE USED PEPPER SPRAY....
"Felt like fire right in your eyes..."
...TO DISPERSE THE CROWD
"We want to disperse!"
"This is the end!"
"Let us go to the park"
"Stay back! Stay back!"
POLICE HELD THEIR GROUND...BLOCKING THE PARK ENTRANCE...AND THE ACCESS
TO DOWNTOWN.
"I walked up to them and said can we please go through? No! Where should we go? Go back! What then? He said, 'I don't know.'"
"Let us through! Let us through!"
FRUSTRATIONS MOUNTED...SOME PROTESTERS STOPPED CHANTING AND
CHARGED...RIGHT THROUGH THE POLICE LINE....
...IT WAS THE FLASHPOINT...AND SFOR SOME PROTESTERS...A DISAPPOINTMENT
"I was trying to get the issues of the conference out and a few people in the group decided that they were gonna rush the line of cops. I don't understand whyu people decided to follow them."
SHE DIDN'T WANT TO GIVE HER NAME...
"This is what a police state looks like!"
..BUT SHE WAS ONE OF ABOUT A DOZEN PEOPLE ARRESTED NEAR LORING PARK.
Noelle Walker for CBS News))
[11Carroll-Death]
[ANCHOR=Joe]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=mce]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=None]
There is new information about a death in Carroll County that occurred over the weekend.
Police believe a woman stabbed the man she lived with ..before stabbing and killing herself.
Deputies responding found 32 year old Tracie Pamela Renegar dead in the home.
They also found 46-year old David Lester Rose- he was taken to
Twin County Regional Hospital where he underwent surgery.
[11Murder-Suicide]
[ANCHOR=Joe]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=sch]
[TAPE#=00-31 03:40]
[GRAPHIC=Murder-Suicide]
A mother who found four of her family members dead in a triple murder--suicide in Martinsville, has issued a statement to the media.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Martinsville/July 8]
Katie Brown wrote about the stress her son, Jesse Jr. endured by caring for his father and his 12 year old nephew, Demitri.
The stress is what apparently led Jesse Junior to kill them, his sister, Dorothy Yolanda and himself.
In the note she writes "We know that Jesse Jr. loved his family, because he fought so hard to find workable solutions for over 12 years, exhausting every avenue and resource imaginable through the myriad of red tape-
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Joe]
[GRAPHIC=Hold]
She also went on to criticize "social systems inability to cope" with plans needed to care for disabled patients.
Social Service agencies say there is help available and local programs provide counseling.
[11Riner-Bank]
[ANCHOR=Joe]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=mce]
[TAPE#=00-30 42:42]
[GRAPHIC=None]
A Montgomery County woman found a piece of local history while cleaning the attic of her antique shop.
Linda Palmer inherited an old general store in the Rogers community - and while doing a little cleaning, she found what she THOUGHT was a dirty old piece of furniture.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Montgomery Co.]
A little dusting gave way to this 8-foot tall structure believed to be the front of the "Riner" Community bank - which went belly-up in the 19-20s.
The bank later became a post office.
Palmer believes the hand-carved, oak structure has been in the attic since the 40s...
She hasn't estimated the value of the bank front just yet .. But, she says, she isn't interested in cashing in on this find..
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I think that its]
((LINDA PALMER/DISCOVERED BANK: I THINK THAT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WILL BRING ROGERS AND RINER BOTH A LITTLE - TAKE THEM BACK INTO THE PAST MAYBE A LITTLE BIT...AND EVERYBODY I'VE TOLD SAYS YOU DON'T MEAN IT, YOU DON'T MEAN IT - THAT THIS IS AN OLD BANK THAT WAS THERE...))
[SUPER=07-Linda Palmer]
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=that was there]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Palmer says one day she might give the bank to a local museum ..
(------------)
[11Stanley]
[ANCHOR=Joe]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=00-19 1:04:44]
[GRAPHIC=Moonshine]
A judge believed a convicted moonshiner from Franklin County -- even though federal attorneys said the man was lying.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
Prosecutors say Dee Stanley threatened to blow up the Federal Building or set it on fire.
But since the U-S attorneys would not put their confidential tipsters on the stand -- the judge called the threats hearsay.
Dee Stanley is charged with making and selling whiskey .. and laundering the profits.
Prosecutors wanted to lock him up until his trial in September, but the judge let him go on 150-thousand-dollars bond with an electronic monitor.
(------------)
[11Clearbrook-Fire]
[ANCHOR=Joe]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=jmc/sbu]
[TAPE#=00-26 44:28]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Exercise mats placed against a light bulb may have caused a fire at Clearbrook Elementary.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.]
A custodian and a friend found the fire and grabbed fire extinguishers to stop the flames from spreading until fire fighters arrived.
No one else was in the building.
The fire damaged the original stage at Clearbrook.
(------------)
[11Gay-Students]
[ANCHOR=Joe]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=00-23]
[GRAPHIC=none]
A move to protect gay students in Charlottesville from being harassed has caught the attention of a local conservative group.
The Charlottesville school board will vote next month on whether to add "sexual orientation" to its non- discrimination policy for students and teachers.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg]
But the Forest- based Family Policy Network feels that would infringe on the free speech rights of others.
Joe Glover says Christian students should be able to counsel others against the dangers of homosexuality.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 16:05:25]
[IN Q=Isn't it]
((JOE GLOVER/FAMILY POLICY NETWORK: ISN'T IT INTERESTING THAT HOMOSEXUAL ACTIVISTS ARE ORDINARILY INVOLVED IN TELLING PEOPLE THAT YOU SHOULDN'T LEGISLATE MORALITY, AND HERE YOU HAVE A GROUP OF PEOPLE TELLING ANOTHER GROUP OF PEOPLE WHAT THEY CAN AND CAN'T SAY BASED ON THEIR CODE OF MORALITY.))
[SUPER=01-Joe Glover/Family Policy Network]
[RUNS=15]
[OUT Q=code of morality.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Glover says if the change is approved, a First Amendment lawsuit is possible.
(------------)
[Local-Recap]
[SUPER=#4059;Local Recap]
[2-Shot=JDA/SPA]
[ANCHOR=JOE]
Now here's another look at today's top local stories:
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=JOE]
A Roanoke City Police officer has been indicted for racketeering.
The indictment handed up last week charges Officer Frederick Pledge accepted bribes from at least ten different drug dealers- -in exchange for not arresting them, warning them of pending indictments and police investigations.
Other charges against Pledge include drug trafficking and extortion .
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=JOE]
A man suspected in Sunday night's triple murder in Washington County is in custody after turning himself in.
19-year-old Curtis Wayne Cullop of Glade Springs is charged with three counts of first degree murder.
Police haven't established a motive for the murders.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=JOE]
Exercise mats placed against a light bulb may have caused a fire at Clearbrook Elementary.
A custodian and a friend found the fire and grabbed fire extinguishers to stop the flames from spreading until fire fighters arrived.
No one else was in the building.
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Steve]
(Steve mic hot)
(///////////////)
(Steve ad lib weather)
(-------------)
[2-SHOT]
[ANCHOR=joe]
Now here's Keith Humphry with a preview of News 7 at Six.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=The Reverand]
[RUNS=20]
[OUT Q=News 7 at 6]
(-------------)
[ Joe and Steve]
(ad lib bye)
(toss)
by SS