RECORD-STORE OWNER WON'T FACE 2ND CHARGE

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, February 6, 1993                   TAG: 9302060098
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ABINGDON                                LENGTH: Medium
RECORD-STORE OWNER WON'T FACE 2ND CHARGE
The Washington County prosecutor's office will ask that a second charge against an Abingdon record-store owner - stemming from the sale to a juvenile of the controversial Ice-T album "Body Count" - not be prosecuted.
Vic Vanover, owner of Vette Records, said Friday that he had not spent much time worrying about the second warrant. A civil jury already has awarded Vanover $55,000 from Patrick J. Mannix Sr. for malicious prosecution. Mannix pressed the charges that led to warrants being issued against Vanover in August and on Jan. 31.
"I guess it would be a form of relief, but it really isn't anything to worry about," Vanover said.
Mannix has an unlisted telephone and could not be reached for comment Friday. But Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney David Saliba said Mannix was not happy earlier Friday when Saliba told him the warrant would not be pursued.
The prosecutor's office on March 2 will request that the case be dropped in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, where the case went because it involved juveniles. Mannix obtained the second warrant claiming the tape was harmful to juveniles and had been sold to his two juvenile sons.
Vanover was publicly arrested by police in front of his store Aug. 24 after Mannix secured the first warrant. Vanover was charged with selling obscenity.
Saliba decided not to prosecute that charge when a Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court judge refused to amend it. A Circuit Court grand jury declined to indict Vanover on Oct. 27.
Because grand jury proceedings are private, it is not known if the decision not to prosecute the charge was based on the grand jury's listening to the tape or on doubts cast by the defense whether Vanover could have sold it on the date in question.
Vanover said the album had been pulled from his shelves at the time for removal of the controversial rap song "Cop Killer" at Ice-T's request.
Vanover filed a suit against Mannix for malicious prosecution, defamation and slander. He claimed Mannix's actions against him stemmed from Abingdon police charging Mannix's 15-year-old son with shoplifting a different cassette from Vette Records on Aug. 2.
The malicious prosecution issue never was tried. A circuit judge entered a default judgment against Mannix, who missed the deadline to respond to the suit. A jury decided the amount of damages.
Since the initial confrontation, Mannix has been speaking before such groups as the Washington County School Board and Bristol City Council and urging them to take a stand on such material being sold in their community.
He said earlier that he sought the original warrant when he heard one of his sons listening to the album's rap song about killing police. Mannix has said he has no objection to adults buying the material but does object to it being sold to his children.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB