THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 29, 1995 TAG: 9503290431
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Short : 37 lines
After failing city inspections for four years, a Main Street law office gleams with a fresh coat of grayish-blue paint and a shiny red roof.
The building's recent face lift - which came after 16 court delays - persuaded city officials to drop charges against the owners - Dennis Montgomery and his former law partners, Ida Outlaw McPherson and Alfreda Talton-Harris, who is now a Juvenile Court judge.
A Hampton judge approved the decision, Assistant City Attorney Kay Rudiger said Tuesday.
The case, which had put Harris in a hot seat because her name was still on the deed, became something of a hot potato when prosecutors tried to get the charge dismissed. The charge - failing to make repairs - is a misdemeanor.
Two weeks ago, Rudiger appeared before Judge G. Blair Harry, hoping to finish the case. But Harry had excused himself and asked the state Supreme Court to find an impartial alternate.
Retired Hampton Judge Thomas H. Wilson had agreed to sit in, but city officials wanted to spare him an hour's drive to Suffolk, since the city had decided to drop the charge.
The proceeding was delayed again, allowing time for an order to be drawn and signed by all parties.
The building has a history of failed inspections and code violations. In January 1991, inspectors cited peeling paint, broken windows, unsafe steps and a bad roof. Except for the paint, the violations had been corrected before officials renewed legal efforts early this year to remedy the situation. by CNB