Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 5, 1991 TAG: 9103050467
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Thomas, 33, was indicted by a grand jury in Roanoke Circuit Court.
Authorities allege that Thomas was involved in a gunfight with a 17-year-old in which Moneka Small, 4, was grazed in the head by a stray bullet as she and her mother walked along 18th Street Southwest the afternoon of Feb. 4.
In an unusual move, authorities have accused both Thomas and the 17-year-old of causing a single gunshot wound. Police first charged the 17-year-old with malicious wounding of the girl; prosecutors then sought a grand jury indictment accusing Thomas of the same offense.
"Our theory was that there was a gunfight, they both participated, and we feel that they both should be held accountable for what happened to any bystanders," Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Joel Branscom said.
Thomas also is charged with attempted malicious wounding of the 17-year-old, who, coincidentally, was also the intended target in an unrelated shooting last year that left a 13-year-old boy wounded by stray gunfire at the Lincoln Terrace housing project, Branscom said.
The grand jury also indicted Thomas on a charge of cocaine distribution. That indictment came less than a year after Thomas pledged to put drugs behind him after receiving a five-year suspended sentence on a crack cocaine charge.
Thomas - the uncle and namesake of Ronny "Judge" Grogan, a high school football star killed in a 1989 drug-related shooting - now faces the possibility of having that suspended sentence imposed. He also faces a charge of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
At the time of his release from jail last August, Thomas promised to use court-ordered community service as a way to make amends.
"I hope with all my heart that I run across a kid just like little Judge, someone who I can help," he said in an interview at the time. "It would be a chance for me to do things all over again."
Moneka Small's mother, Neasia, has said that she was walking with her daughter along 18th Street to the Hurt Park housing project Feb. 4 when a car pulled into a nearby parking lot and screeched to a stop.
Two men and a woman jumped from the car, and one of the men began to yell at someone across the street. The man then drew a silver handgun.
Shots were fired, and Moneka - caught in the cross fire - was grazed on the side of her head.
by CNB