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

DATE: TUESDAY, July 26, 1994                   TAG: 9408020071
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-5   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: DIANE STRUZZI
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

MAN SAYS VOICE TOLD HIM TO INK MEMORIAL

A 35-year-old Southwest Roanoke man was charged with felony property damage after he allegedly marked up the War Memorial at Second Street and Church Avenue early Monday, Roanoke police said.

Officers found Jerry Wayne Hodge covered in blue ink and standing at the memorial at 1:55 a.m. Hodge told police he was hearing voices and was told by the voice to cover himself in ink and mark the memorial. Blue ink was found on some of the veterans' names.

City workers spent four hours washing the ink off the monument, said M. Michelle Bono, public information officer for the city. The city cleans the memorial annually in August.

Hodge was transported to Roanoke Memorial Hospital for mental evaluation and released to Roanoke City Jail, where he remained late Monday.

by CNB