THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 15, 1994 TAG: 9409150457
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JODY R. SNIDER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ISLE OF WIGHT LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
Former Smithfield High School student Bryan Cordle pleaded guilty Wednesday to felony charges stemming from a home burglary he is accused of committing with Smithfield valedictorian Darrell H. Norton.
However, Circuit Court Judge Westbrook J. Parker withheld a guilty finding for Cordle, 19, of Smithfield, pending a review of a presentence report. Parker set a Nov. 16 court date in Isle of Wight Circuit Court.
Cordle is one of four people charged with one count each of grand larceny and burglary in the Jan. 14 break-in of the Carrollton residence of James E. Turner III.
Last June, Norton pleaded guilty to the same burglary in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. Judge William R. Moore sentenced Norton to one year in custody on each charge, then suspended the sentence provided Norton completes 30 hours of community service, pays restitution and stays out of trouble until he is 21.
Norton also stood trial in July for a Feb. 3 home burglary he committed less than two weeks after his 18th birthday. He received a two-year jail sentence for his role in that burglary, and he is serving his sentence in the Tidewater Regional Jail.
Michael T. Barfield, 19, also a former Smithfield High student, was also scheduled to be tried Wednesday on charges of grand larceny and burglary stemming from the Jan. 14 burglary. His case was continued until Oct. 19.
A 17-year-old Smithfield High student also is expected to be tried on charges of grand larceny and burglary next week in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
On Jan. 14, the four went to Norton's home to drink beer, said Isle of Wight Sheriff's Investigator C.B. Nurney. From there, several phone calls were made to the Turner home to see if anyone was home, Nurney said. When no one answered, he said, the four went to the house and entered it through an open garage.
The four vandalized the house before leaving with guns, electronics and an Isle of Wight Academy ring, Nurney said.
The Turners' small dog also was badly beaten, according to police reports.
KEYWORDS: BURGLARY VANDALISM by CNB