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Section B—8 PagesTuesday Afternoon, March 26, 1 974Youth Is GivenBy Jury For Rape, AbductionAfter lengthy closing arguments of opposing counsel this morning, the rape-abduction case against Robert Darnell Saunders III was handed to a Danville Circuit Court jury composed of eight men and four women.10 — A performance of Haydn’s “Creation” is set L Martinsville’s First Presbyterian Church, with ists (above) to be concert and recording artists 5, a Spanish tenor, and soprano Priscilla Gordon, a native.rio will be presented by the 75-voice Community • the direction of Katherine Tuggle, with organist ind as accompanist.ble To StateI :rgy office spokes-arper, was asked te could demon-td for additionaleven 100 per cent of the March 1972 total would mean critical shortages because of the state’s growth in the last two years. .ated need wouldat the pumps,” he 'r*ontends that its tion, which is 85 March 1972 total, ufficient and thatRowe predicted supplies may be acute toward the end of the month in the Shenandoah Valley and on the Eastern ShoreThe jury returned two guilty verdicts an hour and 15 minutes later, ordering a life term on the rape charge and a 20-year term for abduction.The youth was 15 years old at the time of his arrest, according to court records, with today being his 16th birthday.Judge Stuart L. Craig told the remaining members of the jury panel that the start of the trial for Bobby A. Neal, charged with murder, would depend on whether a jury trial was waived or not. He noted that not enough jurors were left for a trial to start until the Saunders panel ended its deliberations.In his final argument in the rape-abduction case, defense attorney George B. Anderson referred to the testimony of the prosecutrix as incredible. He questioned whether a lady alone in her house would admit a stranger without asking him his business before admitting him.He talked to the jury also about the inconsistencies in her testimony which he called numerous. He said any reasonable person would have gone tothe police the very first thing.He questioned the fact that the woman was not bruised or hurt in any way and that no clothing had been introduced to prove that she had been in a field, as she contended. He repeated that he found it incredible that she did nothing towoman was only interested in saving her life and that’s what she did. She promised this bigboy everything, he said,realizing he could have killed her at any time.Fuller raised his voice to say, “You saw his attitude on the stand. My God, she was bound to be afraid.”He added that a 15-year-old can kill someone as quick as a 30-year-old. “Self preservation is the most powerful motivation,” he observed, “and is the right of everyone.” She went along with him only to save her life, he said.Fuller harked back to , the testimony of a Quickie Shop employe who had said the youth bought some cigarettes there at the time all events refer red to. in the trial were taking place. He noted that it had been proved that the employe didn’t even work that night and morning when he was supposed to have seen Saunders.He also pointed to the fact that Officer A1 Smith had foundrf * •the scissors, said to have been discarded at the crime scene, but only after spending an hour(Continued On Page 2-B)Area Scouts Gather TonsiOf Litter From HighwaysMembers of Boy Scout troops from throughout the Dan River District, Boy Scouts of America, collected an estimated 45,500 pounds of litter from alongside highways and roads in the district over the weekend.and said the outlook wasn’t good in the Richmond, Tide- .resist the youth after gettingwater, Southwest and Northern Virginia areas.Ircutive Deniesranged Wifey, the prosecution rebuttal witnesses Payne’s testimony 1,000 police said n the defendant’s ;ht his wife wasss-examination by 1th’s Atty. Joseph I, Payne testified carrying about $60 ight of the murder;fact, Mr. Payne, /as $1,000 in your he night your wife Campbell asked, my knowledge, -nded. “I’m stating was not there.”nthat Payne might have needed the money to finance his admitted affair with an associate in the real estate firm where he worked part-time.Payne said he and his wife were married March 2, 1968 and early in the marriage they “got along okay. We had the usual marital diagreements, I guess you could say.”But after his son’s birth in November 1971 “we didn’t get along as well,” he said.“Our sexual life almost came to a complete halt” because of difficulties his wife had suffered in childbirth, Payne said.back to the apartment when he admittedly had no weapon.In a forceful and impassioned plea to the jury, the prosecutor pointed to the defendant and said that the sentence of the jury should be such ttiat he would never be allowed to abduct or rape, or put in fear of their lives anyone, or to make someone bear the stigma of such a crime for the rest of their lives.Fuller commented that whenthe defense doesn’t have a case¥they try the police or the prosecutor. After a woman, the poor victim, is ravished, he said, she then comes to court and findsherself, on trial. That’s why, he noted, this crime is the largest which goes unreported in the United United States.He referred to the honesty ofthe prosecuting witness, with nothing at all manufactured. Speaking very indignantly, Fuller told the jury that theW. Townes Lea Jr., district chairman of the local Scouts, said a total of 1,300 litterbags— made available by the PepsiCola Bottling Co.—were distributed to Scouts' for the cleanup drive, conducted last Saturday. He said each bag is capable of containing some 35 pounds of trash.Results of the massive cleanup campaign were much in evidence, particularly in the vicinity of Rt. 622, between West Fork and Cascade, where a passerby reported that “hundreds” of the plastic bags could be seen along the road for some miles.The passerby said the bagsappeared to be filled and awaiting pickup, and described themas “a beautiful sight.”Taking part in the Scouting Environment Day were troops from throughout the Dan River District, which includes Danville and South Boston, and Pittsylvania and Halifax counties.Lea said area Scouts also are planning to take part in Keep America Beautiful Day on Saturday, April 27, as part of Project SOAR (Save Our American Resources). In addition, Scouts have the opportunity of participating in World Environment Day on Wednesday, June 5.Theme of this year’s clean-up effort, said Lea, is “Strike Out Litter.” He reported that Scouts last year cleaned the nation of 1.5 million tons of trash. “This year, we believe we’ll generate more interest with our campaign,” he remarked.School Board, Council4Budget Session TonightCity Council and School Board members will hold ai joint session tonight to consider the coming fiscal year’s school budget, which apparently will require $665,000 more than is presently being provided for school operations.School Supt. Zane Eargle has also warned that state aid may be cut by as much as one percent—$28,000 for Danville-due to inaccurate estimates of sales tax monies.Additional funds for busing— figured at more than $100,000— cannot be avoided, because of aup considerably,” he said.Recent General Assembly action reducing. state . funds for schools will have to be considered at the joint session tonight, and also to be discussed will be an increased salary-scale proposal for teachers.The school budget is a part of the over-all city budget, whichwas far enough out of balance, as originally outlined, to be returned to the city manager for major revisions before being given further Council study.TL.I
Newspaper Details
Danville Bee
Danville, Virginia, US
Tue, Mar 26, 1974
Page 9
Full Page
Clipped by
Melissa B.
VA, USA 10 Aug 2021
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