THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 5, 1994 TAG: 9411050641
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the death sentence of a man who gunned down a state trooper with a semiautomatic pistol loaded with hollow-point bullets known as ``man-stoppers.''
The court also affirmed five other death sentences and upheld the validity of waste-disposal contracts in Gloucester and King George counties.
Lonnie Weeks was convicted of the capital murder Feb. 23, 1993, of State Trooper Jose M. Cavazos in Prince William County.
Cavazos was shot after stopping a speeding car on Interstate 95 at Dale City.
Weeks, a passenger in the car, fired at least six shots at Cavazos, two of which hit the trooper beside the right and left shoulder straps of his bulletproof vest.
On appeal, Weeks argued that dozens of mistakes were made by the trial court.
Among his arguments were allegations that he was illegally detained, his confession was obtained improperly and the state failed to prove the ``vileness'' standard necessary for imposition of the death penalty.
The Supreme Court found no reversible error.
The court said two components of vileness, ``depravity of mind'' and ``aggravated battery,'' were clearly established.
The Supreme Court also upheld the death sentences of:
Russel W. Burket, who pleaded guilty to the Jan. 14, 1993, murders of Katherine A. Tafelski and her 5-year-old daughter, Ashley Tafelski, in Virginia Beach.
Kevin D. Cardwell, who was convicted of capital murder in the shooting death Nov. 20, 1991, of 15-year-old New York drug courier Anthony Brown in Henrico County.
Cardwell stole drugs from Brown, then held a gun to his head while a friend drove them to the back of a shopping center, where Cardwell shot the teenager twice in the back of the head.
Michael W. Williams, convicted of capital murder in the shooting deaths Feb. 27, 1993, of Morris C. Keller Jr. and his wife, Mary E. Keller, in Cumberland County.
Williams and another man raped the woman and then forced the couple to walk into the woods, where Williams shot them.
They returned to the Kellers' home, looted it and set it afire.
The court also for the second time affirmed the sentences of death-row inmates Bobby L. Ramdass and Dwayne A. Wright, whose cases were sent back to the state Supreme Court by the U.S. Supreme Court for reconsideration in light of a ruling in a South Carolina case.
In that case, the U.S. Supreme Court said that when ``future dangerousness'' is an issue in the sentencing phase of the trial, the jury is entitled to know if the defendant will be ineligible for parole.
The state Supreme Court said Ramdass and Wright would not have been ineligible for parole at the time their sentences were being considered.
In the waste-disposal cases, the Supreme Court ruled that contracts between Gloucester and King George counties and two private companies to build and operate landfills were not unconstitutional.
A group named Concerned Residents of Gloucester County claimed the Board of Supervisors' agreement with Waste Management Inc. illegally binds future boards to a 20-year contract.
But the Supreme Court said the General Assembly has given counties broad authority to solve waste-management problems.
The court applied the same reasoning in upholding the King George supervisors' landfill deal with Garnet Inc.
The agreement had been challenged by a citizens' group, Pride of King George Inc.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA SUPREME COURT CAPITAL PUNISHMENT OPINIONS by CNB