THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 8, 1994 TAG: 9411080330
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 30 lines
The manager of an Ocean View nightclub, arrested in the murder of 38-year-old William P. Lawless, has been acquitted of all charges by a jury.
Shane Genopolus, the manager of Jimmy's Harborside in the 3500 block of E. Ocean View Ave., was charged in January with murder and abduction. Police said Lawless was beaten to death with a blunt object. His body was found on Jan. 22 in the second-floor apartment he rented above the club.
Lawless had been tossed out of the apartment a few days before his death because he owed back rent and because he was allegedly caught smoking crack cocaine, testimony showed. He and Genopolus started arguing about his eviction and the two men fought in the club's parking lot, witnesses said.
After Lawless was beaten, Genopolus allegedly took him upstairs to the apartment, where he restrained him and gagged him with duct tape, police said. Lawless apparently died of his injuries while upstairs.
Jurors acquitted Genopolus of all charges on Friday night at the end of a three-day trial.
KEYWORDS: MURDER ACQUITTAL ASSAULT by CNB