Circumstances kept slaying suspect Hagans free

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...

Feds Indict Sheriff, Employees In Racketeering

ROANOKE, Va. -- Henry County Sheriff Frank Cassell and 12 of his employees have been indicted on federal charges in an alleged drug-related racketeering conspiracy.

A U.S. Postal Service employee, a probation officer and five citizens were also charged in the indictment, which was unsealed Thursday.

U.S. Attorney John Brownlee rolled off the list of charges during a press conference Thursday.


The 48-count indictment alleges drugs and guns seized by the Henry County Sheriff's Department were turned around and sold back to the community.

"You have law enforcement risking their lives to take these guns off the streets," Brownlee said. "Then a very few other members of law enforcement putting them right back there, not to mention cocaine, crack, and others."

Brownlee said it was corruption by a sheriff and others who were turned to by the community during the Jennifer Short murder investigation.

In 2002, a Virginia couple was killed in their home and their 9-year-old daughter abducted.

The body of the girl, Jennifer Short, was found several weeks later beneath a bridge in Rockingham County. No one has been charged in the slayings.

Charges in the indictment -- handed down on Tuesday -- include racketeering, narcotics distribution, obstruction of justice and perjury.

Federal agents arrested most of the defendants early Thursday morning.

The indictment alleges that beginning in 1998, drugs seized by the sheriff's office were sold to citizens for distribution. The drugs include cocaine, marijuana, steroids and the sedative Ketamine.

Cassell was charged with impeding the investigation by federal agents, who began their probe in March of last year.

He has been sheriff of Henry County since 1992, and his department has 122 employees, including 96 sworn law enforcement officers.

News of the arrest left the community shaken.

"It hurts a whole lot, I'm saddened by the situation," said resident Jack Cristall.

I ALL WAYS KNEW THAT THERE WAS WAY TOO MANY DIRTY COPS IN VA, AND LETS NOT FORGET THOSE THAT WORKS IN THE COURTS AS WELL... I STILL HAVE TO WONDER HOW MANY OF THESE DIRTY COPS ARE STILL AROUND AND HOW MANY ARE IN CHESAPEAKE....

Todays Topics

TODAY WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE RECENT FEDERAL ROUND OF CRIMINALS CALLED Operation FALCON III ... I WOULD HAVE TO ASK WHY WAIT SO LONG TO DO THESE ROUND,, SIMPLY CAUSE LARGE NUMBER MAKE IT SEEM THE FED'S AND LOCAL COPS ARE DOING THERE JOBS....



Nationally, Operation FALCON task-force members arrested 10,773 people, including 1,659 sex offenders and 364 documented gang members.

NOW IN VIRGINIA A WILL ARREST YOUR ASS STATE FOR ANYTHING HAD THESE ADD TO THE LIST

Eleven unregistered sex offenders also were arrested along with five gang members, and four handguns and 40 capsules of heroin were seized.

Local investigators also cleared 379 warrants, federal prosecutors said.

IT'S FUNNY THEY ALWAYS START OF WITH THE SEX CRIMES, FIRST.... THESE DAY JUST LOOKING SOMEONE WITH YOU MOUTH OPEN IS CRIME, OR IT SOON WILL BE.. IN TIME THE COUNTRY CITIZENS WILL HAVE FELONIES RECORDS FOR SOMETHING.. SINCE THE STATE IS MAKING EVERY CRIME A FELONY THESE DAYS.... SOON A DAMN SPEEDING TICKET WILL BE A FELONY.....