Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 19, 1994 TAG: 9405190172
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Newport News Daily Press
DATELINE: ISLE OF WIGHT LENGTH: Medium
Darrell H. Norton, 18, an honors student at Smithfield High School, could face 20 years to life in the state penitentiary if convicted of a charge of burglary while armed with a deadly weapon. The second charge, grand larceny, carries a maximum of 20 years in the penitentiary. No trial date has been set.
Police investigator C. Bert Nurney said Norton was arrested March 23 in connection with the Feb. 3 burglary of the Carrollton home of Bennie W. Lippard. He was released from the Western Tidewater Regional Jail on $25,000 bond.
A second suspect in the burglary, 18-year-old Michael Barfield, has been charged with burglary and grand larceny. Authorities said that Barfield, a former Smithfield High School student, implicated Norton in the heist.
More than $5,500 worth of merchandise was stolen, including electronics, appliances, jewelry, guns and a video camera, Nurney said.
Smithfield High Principal Donald T. Alvey said Norton will speak at the high school graduation June 17 unless he is convicted before that date.
"We have to presume he's innocent until he's proven guilty," Alvey said. "An indictment is not a conviction. We cannot deny him any rights without due process."
No one answered phone calls Wednesday to Norton's home, where he lives with his mother.
Norton is a member of the high school Varsity Academic Team and a group leader on a school Odyssey of the Mind team. He received a National Merit Commendation for high Scholastic Aptitude Test scores.
He has attended the Governor's School, was vice president for the Youth Advisory Council to the county School Board and is a member of the varsity cross-country team. Several friends of Norton's said that he planned to attend the University of Virginia in the fall.
Isle of Wight County is in Virginia's Tidewater region.
Nurney said evidence shows that Norton and Barfield drove to the residence during the afternoon. Norton, armed with a .22-caliber handgun, allegedly got out of the car and broke into the house through a window while Barfield drove around the area, according to Nurney.
The pair had worked out a signal, Nurney said. If the garage door was open, Barfield was to stop. If the door was closed, he was to continue down the road.
Nurney said police have recovered about $1,500 worth of the stolen merchandise. Some of it was found in an apartment in Smithfield, and some jewelry was discovered in Norton's 1982 Chevrolet at the time of his arrest. The gun has not been found.
by CNB