Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 26, 1995 TAG: 9505260061
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
Holston was indicted by a Pulaski County grand jury last September on a charge of stealing instant bingo tickets worth several hundred dollars from the Pulaski Elks Lodge in February 1994. A jury trial was set to begin next week.
But Thursday, Circuit Judge Colin Gibb signed an order of nolle prosequi upon a motion by James Hartley, the Giles County commonwealth's attorney who was named special prosecutor for the case. Attached to the motion was a letter from Ronald Vaughan, the exalted ruler of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks Lodge No. 1067, asking that the charge - the result of an investigation requested by some of the lodge members - be dropped.
"It was a very weak case based entirely on circumstantial evidence and I think the Elks' decision to request that the case [be dropped] was a sound one based on the evidence they had," Hartley said Thursday afternoon.
Holston said in a statement that while this has obviously been an unpleasant and difficult experience, she is pleased that the matter came to an appropriate conclusion.
Holston said she plans to put it behind her, and focus her attention on her family, her Town Council duties, her work as an aide to state Sen. Malfourd "Bo" Trumbo, R-Fincastle, and her community activities.
Investigators had alleged that Holston went into a usually locked room, saying she was going to check it out for a political event, and opened a closet where the bingo tickets were stored, took the tickets and then returned to cash the $100 winners.
Instant bingo tickets come in a box of more than 2,000 with the same serial number. There are a dozen $100 winners in the box and other winning tickets of smaller amounts. Players do not know which tickets are winners until they pull off five tabs and view the inside of the ticket.
The Elks alleged that the theft occurred during a three-week period in February 1994. Four of the 12 winning $100 tickets were never presented for payment, Hartley said last year.
At a pretrial hearing in April, Hartley said he planned to call two experts to tell the jury the odds of one person drawing eight or nine winning tickets from the box.
But, Hartley said Thursday, it was very difficult to determine the exact number of bingo tickets that were available for sale that night, making it hard to calculate such odds.
"The records were not as good as they might have been," Hartley said.
Both Hartley and Michael Barbour, Holston's attorney, said the Elks are no longer sponsoring a bingo game.
Holston maintained her innocence throughout the investigation. Barbour said last year that Holston was shocked by the indictment. She cooperated with police and submitted fingerprints which didn't match the items police were checking, he said.
Holston has served on Town Council steadily since 1988. She also served from 1980-84.
by CNB