THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 20, 1994 TAG: 9409200348
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: Short : 39 lines
Thomas Lee Royal Jr. pleaded guilty Monday to capital murder, admitting he killed police officer Kenny Wallace in February.
Royal was not offered a plea agreement, and his attorneys said he pleaded guilty knowing he faces the death penalty or life in prison. One of Royal's attorneys read a letter of apology that Royal sent to Wallace's father.
His plea came moments before jury selection was to begin in the trial. Circuit Judge Nelson T. Overton asked Royal if he understood what he was doing. Royal, 26, answered yes and told the judge he had made the decision on his own.
Royal was accused of shooting Wallace, 29, twice in the head as he sat in his patrol car.
Defense attorney Samuel W. Meekins Jr. said Royal called him Friday and said he wanted to plead guilty. Meekins and his co-counsel, Elwood Richardson, said they met with Royal and spent ``a great deal of time'' discussing his options.
Both were ready to proceed with the trial, but that changed after talking with Royal during a 30-minute recess Monday, Meekins said.
Royal, who will be sentenced by Overton Oct. 19, was convicted Aug. 29 of second-degree murder in a 1991 drug-related killing. He was on probation for a cocaine conviction the night he gunned down Kenny Wallace.
Yancy Montae Mitchener, 16, and Eldred Acklin, 17, have been convicted of first-degree murder in Wallace's death. Mitchener's sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 28. Acklin's is set for Oct. 13.
KEYWORDS: MURDER CAPITAL MURDER HAMPTON POLICE by CNB