ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, November 18, 1996 TAG: 9611180087
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BRISTOL
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
A MAN WHO ONCE SERVED as Bristol's youngest leader finds himself facing charges relating to teen-age boys.
In 1980, at age 28, John C. Brown became the youngest mayor in Bristol's history.
Brown, a teacher and coach at Virginia High School in Bristol, had already served on City Council for four years after winning election in 1976 at age 23.
His success with voters continued with election to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1981, when he stepped down from council after a one-year term as mayor.
The boyish-looking Republican served as a state legislator from 1982 until 1988, when he challenged Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, for the 9th District congressional seat. Although he lost that race against a tough incumbent, he continued to be held in high esteem in his home area.
But today, the 44-year-old Brown is facing a felony charge of attempted forcible sodomy and five misdemeanor charges of contributing to the delinquency of minors, involving the consumption of alcoholic beverages. All the charges, filed late last month and early this month, involve teen-age boys.
Emmitt Yeary, Brown's defense attorney, said his client will plead not guilty to all counts.
Brown, a bachelor who has been athletic director at Virginia High School since the start of the 1994-95 school year, has been placed on administrative leave with pay until a hearing can be held.
Yeary indicated the background of the juveniles involved may become a key element of the defense strategy. He has asked for access to any juvenile court records involving the boys, contending that their "morals, character and juvenile records are material to the case.''
But his task was complicated, he said, by difficulty learning the teens' identity.
Among several motions Yeary has filed with the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in Bristol is one seeking dismissal because a warrant did not identify the juvenile involved in the charge and Brown was unable to know his accuser. In fact, none of the original warrants included the names of the boys involved, but Yeary believes he now has all their names.
Yeary is asking the court to order Bristol Police Chief Bill Price to provide the defense any delinquency or criminal investigative reports on one of the boys; any police records of delinquent, criminal or disruptive behavior near Lawrence Avenue or Prince Street; and all department news releases and fax transmittal reports regarding Brown's arrest.
The neighborhood around Lawrence and Prince, near the home where Brown lives alone, has apparently become a problem area for teen drinking and rowdy behavior. Residents met earlier this month at the home of Ronnie Harris Sr. to discuss what they could do about perceived harassment by teens.
Brown's attorney is trying to find out if any of the teen-agers causing trouble in the neighborhood are among the boys involved in the charges.
Brown, his attorney said, "is one of these guys who would try to help these wayward youth."
The boys involved in the charges have said they were playing basketball at Brown's home.
The defense interest in the Police Department's news releases stems from the timing of some of them. "They were already sending press releases before they arrested him," Yeary said.
One of the first two warrants against Brown, both of which charge that minors consumed alcoholic beverages in Brown's presence, was signed at 2:09 p.m. on Oct. 28. At least one news outlet received a release at 3:15 p.m. stating that Brown had been arrested on those charges and would be released on a personal recognizance bond. But Yeary said Brown was not arrested until 3:30 p.m., and he questioned how police could know the magistrate would release him.
In any case, Brown was released on his personal recognizance on the misdemeanor charges that he provided two boys, ages 14 and 15, alcohol while they were visiting his home. Police said the charges resulted from an investigation into allegations by the boys.
On Nov. 5, two more charges of contributing to the delinquency of minors by providing them alcoholic beverages were lodged against Brown, as well as the charge of attempted forcible sodomy. Two of those boys were 16 years old, and one was 13.
That time, Brown was taken into custody and released on a $2,000 unsecured bond.
One more charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor came Nov. 8, involving the same boy as in the attempted forcible sodomy charge. All six charges are scheduled to be heard Dec. 9 in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court before Judge Paul Greer.
Brown resigned his teaching and coaching job when he ran for Congress in 1988. The school system at that time required him to step down because of time spent on the campaign.
After he lost, he took a job at a convenience store. At the start of the 1989-90 school year, he became athletic director at John Battle High School in neighboring Washington County. He left there for a post at E.B. Stanley Middle School in Abingdon at the start of the 1993-94 year, and moved back to Virginia High in Bristol in 1994-95 as athletic director.
Bristol, a small city with a population of some 18,400, borders its sister city of Bristol, Tenn.
In stores along State Street, which divides the two Bristols, merchants and customers talked about the case when a reporter mentioned Brown, but no one had much to say beyond such generalities as, "For a small city, Bristol sure has its share of controversies."
The city has gone through several in recent years involving public figures, including a city sheriff who committed suicide during an investigation of his use of funds coming to the city jail. Residents are not all that interested in talking publicly about another potential scandal.
"It's got tongues wagging," one downtown businessman conceded, but few people would comment publicly. Another said people were just waiting to see what the court decides.
LENGTH: Long : 112 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: File/1982. John C. Brown, former state legislator andby CNBcongressional candidate, is charged with attempted forcible sodomy.