THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 28, 1995 TAG: 9507280425
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JUNE ARNEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 46 lines
A jury on Thursday reaffirmed a lower-court decision that a father unhappy with a social worker's handling of a case involving his son is guilty of stalking the caseworker.
The jury deliberated about two hours before deciding that Dallas Ellington stalked the Norfolk Child Protective Services worker, Brent Ramey, last year. Ellington was fined $1,000 and ordered to stay away from Ramey and his children for two years.
Circuit Judge Everett A. Martin Jr. found Ellington guilty of contempt in a related charge appealed from lower court. Ellington must pay court costs.
In February, a judge found Ellington guilty of stalking, sentenced him to six months in jail before suspending all but 30 days, and imposed a $100 fine. Ellington appealed the case to Circuit Court.
Ramey alleged that Ellington threatened him, harassed him, came to his house unannounced and put nails in his tires over six months. A legal technicality prevented the jury from hearing about several months of alleged harassment during which Ramey claims Ellington damaged his car.
On Thursday, defense attorney George Anderson tried to convince the jury that what happened between Ramey and Ellington was simply a case of clashing personalities.
But Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Susan Ellington argued that the defendant repeatedly threatened Ramey, who was only doing his job. She compared the case to the movie ``Fatal Attraction,'' telling jurors that there was no doubt that Ellington put the nails in Ramey's tires, just as there was no doubt that Glenn Close put the rabbit in boiling water on the stove.
The dispute between the men began after Ellington struck his son, then 14, on July 15, 1994. The boy's head hit the refrigerator and required stitches. The boy's mother called 911. Ramey was the child protective services worker assigned to the case, and Ellington was not happy with the outcome: a court order keeping him from visiting his son until he underwent psychiatric evaluation.
KEYWORDS: STALKING HARASSMENT VANDALISM TRIAL
VERDICT by CNB