THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 10, 1996 TAG: 9604100347
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
Two of the three men charged with stealing an all-terrain vehicle from the home of Vice Mayor Robert T. Nance Jr. pleaded guilty Tuesday to burglary.
Kenneth W. Storck, 22, of Moyock, N.C., and Sean P. Devinney, 23, of the 5000 block of New Colony Drive in Virginia Beach, pleaded guilty before Circuit Court Judge Warren Stephens.
Under plea agreements, neither will serve jail time and both will be on supervised probation for three years. In return, Devinney and Storck agreed to take polygraph tests and give full accounts to Chesapeake police investigators about their role in the theft.
The third defendant, William L. Spruill Jr., the 23-year-old son of Chesapeake Police Capt. William L. Spruill, is scheduled for trial on June 12. Devinney and Storck are expected to testify against Spruill Jr. under their plea agreement.
Storck and Devinney admitted taking part in the December 1994 theft of the ATV from the home of Vice Mayor Nance. Even though a wheel of the ATV had been chained to a post to keep Nance's son from riding it, Storck and Devinney said they found bolt cutters, broke the chain and rolled the ATV to a waiting pickup.
Nance's ATV was found seven months later, in July 1995, at a home in Virginia Beach. Police were told it had been brought to the home by Spruill Jr., according to court documents.
The ATV was later stolen again and has never been recovered.
Spruill Jr. was not arrested until November 1995.
Special prosecutor Kenneth A. Phillips said Storck, who waived extradition from Utah, cooperated fully with investigators. Phillips also told the court that, in his 16 years as a prosecutor dealing with defendants, Devinney was ``the most cooperative I've ever had.''
The theft of the ATV, and complaints by Nance that the theft investigation was stalled because of Spruill Jr.'s involvement, led police to conduct an internal investigation into police actions surrounding the theft of the ATV and the burglary of about $160,000 in ATVs, generators and boat motors from the Givens Corporation in Chesapeake. In the Givens theft, the sons of a longtime city councilman and a sheriff's captain were arrested and charged with receiving stolen property.
Allen Keith Butt, the 27-year-old son of Councilman John W. Butt, was charged with receiving stolen property after allegedly buying an ATV stolen from Givens. He is scheduled to go to trial May 1.
Also charged was the son of sheriff's Capt. William Brickhouse, William Jeremy Brickhouse, 20, who is accused of buying another ATV stolen from Givens.
As a result of the police department's internal investigation, Capt. Spruill and four other officers were reprimanded for violating police department policy.
In February, the Chesapeake City Council asked the state police to investigate. State police officials refused, saying the matter appeared to be administrative, not criminal.
The council then asked Chesapeake Chief Judge Russell I. Townsend Jr., to consider calling a special grand jury. Townsend ruled that it was not necessary. by CNB