Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 23, 1993 TAG: 9312230220
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
SOUTH BOSTON - State and Halifax County authorities Wednesday were investigating the deaths of two unidentified men whose bodies were found at a service station just south of South Boston.
Sheriff Eugene Shortt told Roanoke television station WDBJ that one body was found in a car and another was found just outside the store. Witnesses told authorities that the driver of the car got out and tried to enter the store, but collapsed before reaching the door.
Shortt said the men apparently were wounded in another location and drove to the Amoco station at U.S. 501 and U.S. 58 Tuesday afternoon. He said he was not sure if both men were shot because no gunshot wound was immediately visible on the passenger. - Associated Press
\ Man impersonated trooper, police say
CHESAPEAKE - A man accused of fixing up his car to look like an unmarked state police cruiser and using it to pull over attractive women and motorists who annoyed him has been charged with impersonating a trooper.
Records seized from the Virginia Beach home of Byron Fritz detailed at least a dozen traffic stops, including information about the drivers. Police suspect there may be more.
Also seized were more than 300 police-related items, such as badges, patches and clothing from police departments across the state.
Friends and former co-workers say Fritz has been trying to get into police academies but keeps getting rejected.
- Associated Press
\ Catnapper on prowl in Fairfax County
FALLS CHURCH - A cat thief has been on the prowl, snatching at least 23 felines from their owners' yards, animal authorities say.
City animal warden Becky Keenan said authorities usually get four or five missing-cat reports a month. She speculates thieves could have sold the animals to laboratories.
- Associated Press
\ Man gets 17 1/2 years for Amtrak derailment
NEWPORT NEWS - A man who wanted "to see if he had the power to derail" an Amtrak passenger liner has been sentenced to 17 1/2 years in prison for causing the train to hurtle off the tracks.
Joseph Lee Loomis, 20, pleaded guilty in October to tampering with a switch that sent the Colonial from the main line at 79 mph onto a siding designed for 10 mph traffic.
The engine and all five cars jumped the tracks, injuring 72 of 123 passengers. No one was killed.
"The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt anyone," Loomis told U.S. District Judge Robert Doumar. "The whole time, I thought I was incapable of a derailment. I guess I was wrong."
- Associated Press
\ Last charge against prosecutor dropped
RICHMOND - Commonwealth's Attorney Joseph Morrissey will leave office when his term expires at the end of the year cleared of a charge that he misused public funds during his unsuccessful re-election campaign.
General District Judge Thomas Warren dropped the charge Tuesday for lack of evidence.
Morrissey was accused of using employees in the commonwealth's attorney's office for clerical and other duties related to his re-election bid. Morrissey lost the Democratic primary in June, four days after being indicted on five charges.
Morrissey earlier was acquitted of two counts of bribery and one count of solicitation of bribery in connection with a settlement in a rape case. He also was charged with one count of perjury, but prosecutors withdrew that charge.
- Associated Press
\ Disney to ask taxpayers for $60 million in work
WASHINGTON - Walt Disney Co. will ask for at least $60 million in road and site improvements from Virginia and Prince William County for its proposed American history theme park, The Washington Post has reported.
The county Board of Supervisors agreed to a Disney request Tuesday and slashed planning review fees for the project by more than $400,000, to $219,000.
The Post said the improvements would include additional lanes on Interstate 66 and U.S. 15 and an interstate interchange at the proposed park's entrance.
In addition, the Post reported that sources said the company will ask for state and local aid in bringing water, sewer facilities and electricity to the 100-acre site near Haymarket. The newspaper said Disney also would ask for help in building roads within the park.
The $730 million Disney's America would create more 3,000 jobs and provide an additional $1.5 billion over 30 years in state and local tax revenues after it opens in 1998, according to Disney projections.
- Associated Press
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