ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, June 29, 1996 TAG: 9607010062
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SUSSEX - A 15-year-old Sussex Central High School student and her teacher were stopped for speeding in Texas in the school's stolen driver's education car.
Michael Edwards, 29, and Danlen Bronson disappeared June 16, the day after the girl told her mother she might have been impregnated by Edwards.
Texas state police stopped the car Bronson was driving for violating the speed limit and for seat belt violations. Police traced the vehicle's license plate through a national directory and found out the pair was wanted in Virginia.
Edwards is charged with felony auto theft and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, which is a misdemeanor. He is being held in Amarillo, awaiting extradition to Virginia.
Bronson has not been charged with anything.
- Associated Press
Man convicted of killing mother
RICHMOND - A Henrico County judge rejected an insanity defense and convicted a man of killing his elderly mother by hitting her in the back of the neck.
Wesley W. Floyd, an admitted alcoholic with a 25-year history of mental illness, said he was ``liquored up'' after drinking a six-pack of beer and a half-bottle of vodka.
The case against Floyd was based almost entirely on a his statement that he struck Elizabeth N. Floyd, 79, with his fist once in the back of her neck when she called her son's ex-wife an insulting name and threatened to sue for custody of the couple's son.
He was arrested for driving under the influence and jailed. When he returned to the home he'd been sharing with his mother for less than a month, he said he found the retired church secretary dead, but he did not call police.
Her decomposing body was found four days after the murder.
Judge James E. Kulp convicted Floyd of second- rather than first-degree murder. Floyd, 41, faces five to 40 years in prison at his Sept. 17 sentencing.
- Associated Press
Vice mayor, son arrested
HOPEWELL - A gum chewing incident led to trespassing convictions against the city's vice mayor, the Rev. Curtis W. Harris, and his son, Michael B. Harris.
Each was fined $25 plus court costs in Petersburg General District Court on Wednesday. The convictions stem from an incident at a Petersburg roller skating rink last November.
Harris had gone to the rink to request a refund for his granddaughter who had to leave the rink because she was chewing gum, which is prohibited inside the rink.
Denied the refund, Harris and his son got into a disagreement with management and refused to leave. Police arrested father and son for trespassing.
- Associated Press
Nelson County Jail to remain open
LOVINGSTON - An injunction signed by a Lynchburg judge will keep the Nelson County Jail open for another 30 days.
The jail was ordered closed by the state Board of Corrections June 19 after a surprise inspection May 15 found a full house and no jailer.
Sheriff Ronald Wood said the jailer was gone for a few minutes escorting a prisoner to the courthouse, which is in front of the small jail.
- Associated Press
5 men arrested for exposure in park
WINCHESTER - Five men have been arrested for indecent exposure, similar charges are pending against a 16-year-old girl, and one man faces sexual battery charges, all in connection with activity in Winchester's Jim Barnett Park.
Patrols in the park have been increased in the past several weeks in response to safety concerns, said police Maj. F.E. Hildebrand. He said the park remains safe for the approximately 5,000 people who use it daily.
- Associated Press
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