THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 14, 1994 TAG: 9406140356
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JODY R. SNIDER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940614 LENGTH: ISLE OF WIGHT
Police said Norton left school after first period that Friday to commit the crime, less than two weeks before his 18th birthday.
{REST} Two other Smithfield High School students and a former student also face charges in the break-in.
Not quite three weeks later, on Feb. 3, Norton burglarized another home, police said. That time he was an adult. A trial is set for July 13.
News of those charges, and the reaction to them by faculty, parents and students, prompted Smithfield High Principal Donald T. Alvey to replace Norton as commencement speaker at the school's June 17 graduation ceremonies.
Alvey said school officials will take no other punitive measures against Norton based on his juvenile-court plea.
Norton pleaded guilty Monday to one count of grand larceny and one count of burglary while armed with a deadly weapon.
Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge William R. Moore sentenced him to one year in custody on each charge, then suspended the sentence, provided Norton completes 30 hours of community work, pays restitution and stays out of trouble until he is 21.
Norton sat quietly with his mother during the hearing and was unavailable afterwards for comment.
Also charged with burglary and grand larceny in connection with the Jan. 14 break-in are Michael T. Barfield, 18, a former Smithfield High School student, and Brian Cordle, 18, a senior at Smithfield High.
A fourth suspect, a 17-year-old Smithfield High student, also has been charged. Authorities have not released his name because he is a juvenile.
No trial dates have been set.
Isle of Wight Sheriff's Investigator C.B. Nurney said the four went to Norton's Carrollton home Jan. 14 to drink beer.
From there, Norton made several phone calls to the home of a neighbor, James E. Turner III, Nurney said.
``Someone kept answering, so they went to Patrick Henry Mall in Newport News to bum around,'' Nurney said. ``Then they came back, and they started calling the house again.
``When nobody answered, they went over to Turner's residence,'' he said. ``The garage door was open, so they just walked in.''
Norton was carrying a .22-caliber pistol when he entered the home, Nurney said.
The four vandalized the house before leaving with guns, electronic equipment and an Isle of Wight Academy class ring.
The Turners' small dog also was badly beaten, Nurney said.
Norton was again carrying a .22-caliber handgun Feb. 3, when he took $5,500 worth of electronic equipment, jewelry, appliances, guns and a video camera from another Carrollton home, police said.
He is charged with one count of burglary while armed with a deadly weapon and one count of grand larceny in that second daytime burglary.
The burglary charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; the larceny charge, a penalty of up to 20 years behind bars.
Police said Barfield also participated in the Feb. 3 break-in. He has been charged with burglary and grand larceny.
Before his arrest, Norton planned to attend the University of Virginia, earn a master's degree in mathematics or statistics and become an actuary.
He is free on a $25,000 bail bond.
{KEYWORDS} BURGLARY JUVENILE
by CNB