Christopher E. Hagans
By JON FRANK, The Virginian-Pilot
© November 16, 2006
VIRGINIA BEACH - Christopher E. Hagans might have been in jail last weekend, when a woman was killed at a Hilltop shopping center, if prosecutors had asked a judge to put him there based on an earlier theft conviction.
Hagans' defense attorney said Wednesday that the judge in that case probably would have kept Hagans in jail if prosecutors had asked.
Prosecutors said Wednesday that they didn't ask because they didn't know the extent of Hagans' criminal record. ok, first off the damn DA when entering a court of law to prosecute someone should have done a full background check. Why wasn't this done.. I say it because most of the DA's and ADA's in VA are lazy as hell. They only watch out for their careers..
"We should have moved to revoke his bond, had we known these other crimes had been committed," Commonwealth's Attorney Harvey Bryant said Wednesday.
here they going singing their's shoulda, coulda, woulda, and now there is a lost of life..
Hagans, a 19-year-old Norfolk high school dropout, is accused of shooting and killing Elisabeth Kelly Reilly early Saturday evening in a parking lot near Stein Mart at the Hilltop North Shopping Center. He was arrested Sunday in Norfolk.
Hagans - charged with murder, robbery and a weapons violation - could face the death penalty. He is being held in the city jail pending a Nov. 27 hearing. we all know he will pay with his life, for what he did, and for the mistake the DA make in this case....
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Over the past year, Hagans has been charged with 15 crimes - all nonviolent, mostly misdemeanors - in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk and Newport News. He has three convictions, among them a felony, receiving stolen goods in Virginia Beach. Hagans pleaded guilty March 28 and received a three-year, suspended prison sentence. He remained free pending his good behavior. Still pending are three felony charges in Chesapeake.
On June 24, Hagans was arrested again in Virginia Beach and accused of five non violent crimes, ranging from petty larceny to credit card theft.
At a hearing Sept. 14, General District Judge Pamela Hutchens granted Hagans a $2,500 personal recognizance appeal bond after Hagans pleaded guilty to petty larceny, a misdemeanor.
As a result, Hagans remained free pending his appeal of the larceny conviction to Circuit Court, where it is still pending.
At the same court hearing, Hagans also waived a preliminary hearing on a felony charge of credit card theft. He is set to be tried on that charge, and re-tried on the petty larceny charge, in January.
Hutchens sentenced Hagans to a year in jail on the larceny charge. Hagans appealed the sentence, posted his bail - which required no money - and was released. Yet here I thought that after conviction ever after you apply for a appealed, you should had placed sometype of bail...
Prosecutors did not oppose the bail. I wonder why..
Hagans' lawyer, Janee Joslin, said Hutchens has a reputation for being very tough on appeal bails and probably would not have granted Hagans bail had she known the defendant's record.
Mark A. Andrews, the Virginia Beach prosecutor who handled the case, said Wednesday that he did not provide the information to Hutchens at the hearing.
I guess he thought it wasn't his job...
He said he did not check the court computer record before the hearing.
Bryant said his prosecutors do not check records at the preliminary hearing stage because they do not have the time or manpower to do so. It doesn't not take that long to check, hell anyone with a computer can check for crimial records of each city, with just a name search..
"It would be great if we could check every defendant in every city," Bryant said, but "I would need six or seven more people if we were going to check all the localities." once again i thought all these courts are networked together through the Information Technologies Agency
Bryant said his staff handles 16,000 cases a year, making it the state's second-busiest office. Also, Bryant said, no other city made an effort to keep Hagans in jail this year. what an excuse, i was juzt to busy to do my job
"This was not a violent guy, from what everybody thought, on the face of it," Bryant said. wasn't the same thing said abou the son of sam and few other serial killers
But he acknowledged that had he known of Hagans' criminal record, it would have made a difference. just another asshole tring to cover his ass. for his major fuck up...
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