TAPPAHANNOCK POLICE ARREST SEVEN IN WAL-MART THEFTS

 

 

Tappahannock Police have arrested seven individuals related to a theft ring from the Tappahannock Wal-Mart.  On Sunday, May 4 the department was alerted by Wal-Mart that an employee was alleged to be stealing and trading merchandise from the store.  The employee, Franklin Neale, Jr., 23 of Warsaw was charged with thirteen felony and misdemeanor thefts that occurred during April and May of this year.  The police department believes that Neale would facilitate and assist others to remove items from the store.  The items in question ranged from fishing licenses and fishing equipment, stereos, speakers, and other household goods.  To date a substantial amount of the property has been recovered.  The other individuals arrested and charged are as follows:

 

Amanda L. Rhodes, 25 of Dunnsville, three counts of petit larceny

 

Jeremy L. Blackwell, 19 of Heathsville, one petit larceny, one conspire to commit larceny, two counts grand larceny, and two conspiracy to commit grand larceny

 

Taylor N. Packett, 18 of Caret, one count petit larceny and one count conspire to commit larceny

 

Richard Bowen, Jr., 31 of Hauge, one felony conspire to commit larceny and one felony larceny

 

William E. R. LaRochelle, 25 of Dunnsville, one felony conspire to commit larceny and one felony larceny

 

Aaron P. LaRochelle, 22 of Heathsville, three grand larceny and two conspiracy to commit grand larceny

 

According to Chief James G. Ashworth, Jr. this case is still under investigation and more charges are possible. 

 

All suspects in this case are due in Essex General District Court on June 12, 2014

 

 

TAPPAHANNOCK POLICE TO PARTICIPATE IN "CLICK IT OR TICKET"

Seat belts prevent ejection and without one, a person’s body becomes a missile inside the vehicle.  The Tappahannock Police Department along with DMV’s Virginia Highway Safety Office encourages everyone on the road to wear their seat belts during every trip, day and night.

Law enforcement officers in Tappahannock and across Virginia and the nation will be out in full force looking for seat belt violators during the national Click It or Ticket enforcement mobilization this May. “If you’re not buckled up, you will get a ticket,” warned Chief James G. Ashworth, Jr.  “Don’t risk death or injuring others in your vehicle. If you’re driving, the second action you need to take after fastening your own seat belt is to insist all your passengers are wearing their belts too.”

Day and night, local law enforcement officers are on the lookout for those not wearing their seat belts--and for good reason. In 2012 in the U.S., 61 percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed at night (6 p.m. – 5:59 a.m.) were not wearing their seat belts. “Local law enforcement officers are actually trained to spot seat belt violations at night, so just because it’s dark, don’t think they won’t be able to spot unbelted drivers,” said Chief Ashworth.

Virginia’s statewide seat belt use rate was 79.7 percent in 2013 and 78.4 percent in 2012. Last year in Virginia, 54 percent of all traffic fatalities, or 310 deaths, were unrestrained drivers and passengers. Also, 118 (38 percent) of the unrestrained deaths were young people ages 21 to 35, and 73 percent were males. Most of the unrestrained fatalities, 144 or 46 percent, occurred between the hours of 6 p.m. and 3 a.m. Of the 228 unbelted driver fatalities, 55 (24 percent) had been drinking.

Drivers (75.7 percent) and passengers (68.8 percent) in pickup trucks had the lowest seat belt use rates, along with passengers (69.4 percent) in work vans.

“These numbers tell us young males, many of them pickup drivers who’ve been drinking, are not buckling up and dying on our roadways,” said Chief Ashworth.  “We want to do everything we can to reach these people and save their lives.”

Those who drive and ride in pickup trucks may think that their large vehicle will protect them more than other vehicles in a crash. This false sense of security may cause them to not wear their seat belts, but the stats show that this bravado is misplaced. “Everyone, no matter what vehicle they are in or if they are a driver or passenger, should always buckle up,” said Ashworth.