Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 26, 1994 TAG: 9406260103
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
RICHMOND - A decision awarding a lesbian custody of her 2-year-old son was appealed Friday to the Virginia Supreme Court, perhaps delaying the child's reunion with his mother.
A lawyer for Kay Bottoms, the boy's grandmother, filed the notice of appeal with the Virginia Court of Appeals, which on Tuesday had awarded custody of Tyler Doustou to Sharon Bottoms.
The court of appeals order was scheduled to go to Henrico County Circuit Judge Buford Parsons for his signature 14 days after Tuesday's ruling. Parsons was the judge who upheld a juvenile court decision granting custody of Tyler to Kay Bottoms.
But Richard Ryder, attorney for the grandmother, said "the court of appeals mandate will not be issued until the Supreme Court rules" in the case.
He said he could not predict whether the Supreme Court would agree to hear the case.
Neither Sharon Bottoms nor her lawyer, Donald Butler, could be reached for comment.
"We do agree that the rule says the mandate cannot issue until the state Supreme Court has decided the petition," said Stephen Pershing, legal director of the state American Civil Liberties Union. "But that doesn't mean we might not be able to have a court decide that Tyler should be with Sharon in the interim."
In March 1993, a Henrico County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court judge granted custody of Tyler to his grandmother. Parsons upheld the order in September, saying Sharon Bottoms was an unfit mother because she and her live-in lover violated the state's "crimes against nature" law.
The ruling was overturned by the state appeals court, which said illegal sexual conduct alone is insufficient reason to take a child from a parent. - Associated Press National Airport has gas, water woes
ARLINGTON - Metro service was restored to Washington National Airport after Washington Gas crews capped a leak from a ruptured 4-inch natural gas line, officials said.
The line, which is for future use by the airport, was punctured in two places Friday by a construction bulldozer, said Lynn Scruggs, a Washington Gas spokeswoman.
The rupture caused major backups in landings and takeoffs, but normal service has been restored, said Tara Hamilton, an airport spokeswoman.
Extensive construction also may be responsible for bacteria discovered last week in the airport water system, officials say.
Routine tests last Sunday found coliform bacteria in 12 locations. In one location, a men's restroom sink in the interim terminal, investigators found E. coli, a bacteria that comes from feces.
Follow-up tests Tuesday and Wednesday found no signs of bacteria. However, signs were posted throughout the airport Friday to notify people about the bacteria. Officials say they have increased the amount of chlorine added to the water when it arrives at the airport and are investigating possible causes.
"The water is safe to drink," airport spokeswoman Tara Hamilton said. "But because we had that one reading, the law says we have to post notices." - Associated Press Teen charged in '93 crash deaths
ARLINGTON - A Fairfax County teen-ager has been charged with three counts of felony murder in the deaths a man and his daughters during a high-speed chase and car crash more than a year ago.
Prosecutors waited until last week to charge the 18-year-old, who suffered brain damage in the wreck but was recently released from treatment, said Arlington County Commonwealth's Attorney Richard Trodden.
His name has not been released because he was charged as a juvenile.
The charges were filed June 14 after Falls Church police told Trodden that the young man was back home with his parents in Fairfax County.
The teen-ager was 17 when he allegedly drove a stolen 1980 Toyota Tercel into the side of a Subaru station wagon carrying Emory Burchett, 43, and his daughters, Kara, 12, and Rena, 8, on Jan. 17, 1993.
Police said the crash occurred after the teen-ager sped off when an officer tried to stop him for running a red light. The teen-ager later was found to have been legally drunk.
Trodden said he wants to know whether the teen-ager is fit to stand trial. The teen-ager, who Trodden said needs help to walk or get dressed, underwent medical tests last week to determine if he will be able to undergo a trial. - Associated Press
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB