ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, July 25, 1996 TAG: 9607250062
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK
A 15-year-old boy who brandished a knife and a gun during an hour-long standoff with police outside a Roanoke convenience store last month was convicted Wednesday of four misdemeanor charges.
The youth, who is not being identified because of his age, pleaded no contest to assault, brandishing a firearm and two counts of carrying a concealed weapon. He will be sentenced in September by a judge in Roanoke Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
Authorities are not sure why the 15-year-old pulled a BB gun and then a butcher knife when a police officer approached him June 4 outside the Uni-Mart on Jamison Avenue Southeast. The youth held police at bay for more than an hour, waving the knife and screaming obscenities, before officers sprayed him with pepper spray and arrested him without injury.
Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Eric Branscom said it appeared the boy intended to commit suicide. The boy often held the knife to his wrist during the standoff, and at one point tried to ignite the gas pumps in front of the store.
A psychological evaluation found that the boy was not criminally insane, according to Assistant Public Defender Gretchen Knoblauch. The boy's father testified that since the incident, the boy has been doing well and staying out of trouble.
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