Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 26, 1994 TAG: 9404260045
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The southern tip of the county near Roanoke is dotted with houses, as apple orchards and farmland become the domain of families with children.
A sheriff elected 2 1/2 years ago has brought in a fresh attitude that prods officers to be more diligent in cracking down on criminals.
At the end of the legal line stands Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Hagan, who used to balance a private law practice along with the responsibility of prosecuting criminal cases.
By July 1 this year, no more.
"I have mixed emotions," Hagan said Friday in a telephone interview. "I enjoyed my private practice. I felt challenged keeping up in all areas of the law."
Last year, with Botetourt County Sheriff Reed Kelly's men nipping more agressively at the heels of criminals, Hagan realized something had to give.
"We're rapidly becoming suburbanized," Hagan said. "The more people you have, the more crimes you have. The people deserved a full-time prosecutor."
With the General Assembly clamoring to bring more commonwealth's attorneys on the full-time payroll, Hagan decided it was time to move.
He applied for full-time status and ranked 10th out of 30 applicants on the Compensation Board's list.
With 15 positions approved, he was in, and put the county on notice that he would be winding down his private practice starting May 1 in anticipation of becoming a full-time prosecutor July 1.
Kelly said he's pleased that his officers have kept Hagan busy enough to make him want to give up his private practice.
"We try to keep Mr. Hagan busy," Kelly said. "We hate to see an attorney sitting around with nothing to do."
Hagan said that wouldn't be the case even if his prosecution cases hadn't increased. The complexity of modern criminal laws, he said, forces him to spend more time in researching court opinions.
With more court rulings have come more legal maneuvers by defense attorneys trying to do what's best for their clients. That, in turn, keeps Hagan in court on criminal cases.
"The demand of prosecution has increased so much that my private practice was barely sustainable," Hagan said.
Kelly said the county's bustling caseload is a tribute to his officers' emphasis on clearing drunken drivers from the road and cracking down on drug traffickers who venture into the county.
In 1991, the year before Kelly took office, nine drunken drivers were arrested in the county. Last year, there were 90.
Likewise, in 1991, the county had single-digit drug arrests. Last year, in one drug sweep, about 50 drug defendants were arrested.
Kelly said the concentration on drunken drivers and drug dealers has a purpose. In his experience as an investigator, substance abuse was at the root of other crimes.
Kelly said one has to look no further than Billy Layne to prove his point.
Layne said he was drinking the night he killed 11-year-old Phadra Carter near Fincastle after abducting her from her Arnold's Valley home in Rockbridge County.
"Just think what could have happened if an officer had been fortunate enough to pull Billy Layne over on his way from Arnold's Valley," Kelly said.
by CNB