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

DATE: FRIDAY, December 24, 1993                   TAG: 9312240062
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

DESTRUCTION OF `BEAUTY SPOT' TO COST MAN $20,000

With grass soft as a mattress and landscaping fit for a garden show, Gene and Helen Wood's yard was the pride of Winding Way Road.

That was before a man with a grudge took a can of pesticide to the Southwest Roanoke lawn - leaving haphazard patterns of dead grass and withered trees and shrubs behind.

More than three years later, the Woods have come to the end of their longstanding lawn litigation.

Ronald J. Davis, who once faced criminal charges and two lawsuits, has agreed to pay $20,000 to settle the most recent claim out of court.

"It's been a three-year struggle," Helen Wood said shortly after the case was put to rest by a settlement order in Roanoke Circuit Court.

The Woods spent hours caring for their lawn, which featured the largest Japanese red maple tree in the Roanoke Valley, and carefully cultivated grass so thick "it was like a feather mattress," Wood said.

"We had spent thousands of dollars getting it just the way we wanted it," she said. "I'm not bragging, but we did have a pretty yard."

The lawn has won several garden show awards and even was referred to in court papers as a "renowned `beauty spot' in Southwest Virginia."

Returning home from vacation in April 1990, the Woods found their lawn in ruins. Lawn care experts testified that someone caused $39,000 in damage by spraying a herbicide called Spike on grass, trees and shrubs.

The lawn was so contaminated that the Woods had to replace up to 15 inches of topsoil before grass and trees could be replanted.

Davis was charged with property damage, but a judge dismissed the charges. So the Woods sued. Last year, a jury awarded them nearly $100,000.

Another judge threw out the verdict after an error in court records was discovered. The case was set to be tried again in January when the settlement was struck.

Throughout it all, there has not been a clear motive for the spray can massacre. One theory was that Davis was angry because his estranged wife, who lived next door, had been friendly with the Woods. But Davis has denied any part in the incident.

by CNB