DATE: Tuesday, November 4, 1997             TAG: 9710310825

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   51 lines

CRIMINALS GIVE NEW MEANING TO THE WORD "CHUTZPAH" NEWS OF THE WEIRD

There's an old definition of chutzpah: A boy who kills his parents, then throws himself on the mercy of the court because he is an orphan.

Consider three new definitions, from recent rulings by the Virginia Court of Appeals.

Chutzpah, Part 1

HAMPTON - A man is arrested but refuses to take his hands out of his pants pockets. When he does, police see him throw something behind a piece of furniture. Officers bend down and find it is a bag of cocaine.

The suspect is convicted of cocaine possession.

But wait. The case is appealed.

The suspect, Moses H. Carney Jr., says he can't be guilty. After all, the cocaine was behind the furniture. How can he be convicted of possession of cocaine? He wasn't even holding the cocaine.

Appeals court ruling: Conviction upheld.

Next case.

Chutzpah, Part 2

NORFOLK - A man is arrested in Grandy Village. Police see him throw a box to the ground. Officers bend down and find it has 18 little plastic bags of heroin, worth about $200 total.

The suspect is convicted of heroin possession with intent to distribute.

But wait. The case is appealed.

The suspect, Ronnie L. Banks, says he can't be guilty. After all, how do police know he meant to sell the heroin. Maybe he was just a heavy user. Maybe he was a serious addict who kept all his heroin in little plastic baggies.

Appeals court ruling: Conviction upheld.

Next case.

Chutzpah, Part 3

VIRGINIA BEACH - A man is about to stand trial for 10 felonies. But he escapes from jail. He runs away. He runs all the way to Maine. He is captured there and thrown in jail.

The suspect is convicted of intentionally failing to appear for trial in Virginia Beach.

But wait. The case is appealed.

The suspect, Craig A. Hooper, says he can't be guilty. After all, he was in jail in Maine when the Virginia Beach trial came up. He couldn't come back to Virginia for trial. He was being held in jail against his will.

Appeals court ruling: Conviction upheld. ``The jury was entitled to infer that his intent was not to appear for trial,'' the court ruled.

Court is adjourned.

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