Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 7, 1995 TAG: 9504070092
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
NORFOLK - The City Council has turned down a compensation request from a man who police acknowledged was an innocent bystander when he was shot last year by an officer investigating a bar shooting.
The council's denial of Ronald Duck's request followed a jury ruling last month that also went against Duck.
``I'm sympathetic with him, and I'm terribly sorry,'' Councilman Herbert Collins said. ``But we do have a process ... He probably should have come to us first, and we could have instructed [City Attorney Philip] Trapani to make a settlement before the trial.''
Duck, a 38-year-old unemployed custodian, had turned down a $75,000 settlement offer before a jury ruled March 23 that the shooting was an accident, not excessive force or gross negligence.
The council discussed Duck's request in closed session Tuesday. On Wednesday, Duck's younger brother James said his brother will take his case directly to the council next week in public session.
Last June 2, police officer Miles Warren shot Duck while Duck was standing in his own front yard talking to a neighbor. The officer said he tripped and his gun went off accidentally.
Duck said the officer lifted the gun with both hands, aimed and fired.
- Associated Press
Manassas stalker to be evaluated
MANASSAS - A man once charged with rape after one of his multiple personalities allegedly assaulted a woman has been ordered to undergo psychiatric review.
Edward B. Kelly said the incident last July was consensual sex between ``Spirit,'' one of his 30 personalities, and ``Laura,'' one of the multiple personalities of a woman he met in therapy.
``Spirit would not hurt Laura. Spirit loved Laura,'' Kelly told police at the time.
Prince William County prosecutor Paul Ebert dropped rape and burglary charges against Kelly in February, and declined to discuss the case in detail.
Kelly, 45, was convicted in October of stalking the same Prince William woman after he made obscene and threatening phone calls and left pictures of naked men and women at her doorstep.
- Associated Press
Virginia Wesleyan edges toward goal
NORFOLK - Virginia Wesleyan College announced a $25 million capital campaign Thursday and said more than a third of the goal, $8.4 million, already has been committed.
The fund-raising effort is the largest in the history of the college, founded in the 1960s and affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
The campaign's goal includes $10 million in new endowments, $10.8 million for facilities and $4.2 million for educational programs.
- Associated Press
Death row inmates attempt suicide
RICHMOND - Two death row inmates at the Mecklenburg Correctional Center tried to kill themselves in what might have been a suicide pact, authorities said Thursday.
Michael Wayne Williams and William Ira Saunders were discovered in their cells, with their arms cut and bleeding, Wednesday evening, said Jim Jones, a Department of Corrections spokesman.
Their cells are two apart. Each man is believed to have fashioned weapons from safety razors and toothbrushes, Jones said.
He said both were taken to a hospital in South Hill. Saunders was treated and returned to the prison Wednesday, and Williams was treated and hospitalized overnight. He was back in the prison Thursday, Jones said.
- Associated Press
by CNB