DATE: Thursday, November 27, 1997           TAG: 9711270681

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B8   EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:  103 lines

VIRGINIA - NEWS BRIEFS

SOUTHWEST

Driver sentenced to prison in chase that killed 2 riders

ROANOKE - A Salem man who sped away from a Roanoke police officer and crashed off a mountainside, killing two passengers, was sentenced Wednesday to 5 1/2 years in prison.

Christopher Todd Deweese was convicted in September of involuntary manslaughter in the July 2 accident.

Prosecutors said Deweese was driving on a suspended license, and was wanted for failing to appear in court on an assault charge and for a probation violation, when police tried to stop him.

Killed in the accident were Evan Brooker, 19, of Florida, and Shannon VanLinde, 20, of Virginia Beach. A medical examiner ruled both died from head injuries.

Brooker, Deweese and VanLinde were carnival workers at the Salem Fair, police said.

Deweese testified that he was encouraged to flee by both victims.

Judge orders prostitute off streets from 9 to 5

ROANOKE - A judge has imposed a curfew on a career prostitute that will keep her off the streets from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Dennis Nagel said police and prosecutors hope to use the curfew as a way to persuade hookers to find a new line of work.

``It's been difficult to get judges to impose sentences harsh enough to keep them from repeating the crime,'' Nagel said Monday.

Prostitution, a misdemeanor, carries a maximum sentence of 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine. Convicted prostitutes typically serve a few months.

Harriette Stephens, 27, of Roanoke, became the city's first prostitute to face curfew. She accepted the curfew as part of an agreement in which a judge suspended all but four months of a 12-month sentence. Stephens has been convicted of prostitution five times.

Student waiting for ride is raped outside school

DANVILLE - A 14-year-old George Washington High School student was raped while waiting for a ride near the front of the school, police and school officials said.

The attack occurred Tuesday at 5:45 p.m., about 2 1/2 hours after school had been dismissed for the day, according to a police report.

The report said the girl was attacked by a 15-year-old student. However, no charges had been filed as of Wednesday, said police Maj. B.C. Elliott.

Principal Joel DeBoe said only custodians and a night watchman were at the school. ``I think we will probably need to look into some sort of additional security,'' he said.

Cross apparently burned at Presbyterian church

FLOYD - Police were investigating an apparent cross burning and several acts of vandalism at a Presbyterian church, the Floyd County commonwealth's attorney said Wednesday.

Gino Williams said a cross apparently was burned in front of the Indian Valley Presbyterian Church Friday night. He said lights at the church had recently been shot out and racist graffiti had been painted on the building.

Williams said the church was predominantly white and that few blacks lived in the area.

``Right now we are trying to determine if it was racially motivated or what the purpose of it was,'' he said.

No arrests have been made, he said.

Williams said there had been some acts of vandalism in a mainly black area about 10 days ago. He would not elaborate.

Concerns about racism in southwest Virginia increased recently after a black man was burned alive and beheaded in Grayson County, about 40 miles away. Two white men are facing murder charges and the Justice Department is investigating whether the slaying was a racially motivated hate crime.

CENTRAL

Fairfax judge appointed to 19th Circuit Court

RICHMOND - Kathleen H. MacKay, a Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court judge in Fairfax County, was appointed Wednesday to the 19th Judicial Circuit Court, Gov. George Allen announced.

Allen said MacKay's experience included civil, probate, domestic relations and criminal law.

She has served as a judge of the Fairfax County youth offenders court since 1993. Prior to that, she was with the litigation division of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Education council selects firm to help fill key post

RICHMOND - The State Council of Higher Education has selected a Chicago-based executive search firm to help find a replacement for ousted director Gordon K. Davies.

Heidrick & Struggles, which also has a Washington office, will take care of advertising for the position and will set deadlines in the recruiting drive, said Bill Bigger, accounting manager for SCHEV.

The search firm was selected Tuesday. Heidrick & Struggles recently helped fill two similar positions in Ohio and Illinois, Bigger said.

Davies served as council director for two decades before the council appointed by Gov. George Allen decided this spring against renewing his contract. The move drew protests by both Democratic and Republican legislators.

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