Sam in court today September 20, 2010

I'm still up studying - this hearing will be over with before I get the sleepy out of my eyes tomorrow.

Looking forward to finding out when the trial date is.

Ah. Thanks for the heads-up, Zig. So they set a trial date today. Anything else--planned or unplanned--that could happen, or is this pretty much in the bag?

I'm eagerly awaiting for some info. No news yet and its already noon on the east coast.

Hi Everyone!

Last I heard he still has not entered a plea yet. Does anyone know if he is supposed to do that today?

I beleive he is supposed to enter a plea today. Still searching for some news. Thought for sure it would be over by the time I got to work on the West Coast.

The hearing is scheduled for 1:30 and that assumes that everything starts 100% on time.

These four charges are all Nolle Prosequi
ROBBERY FELONY
GRAND LARCENY FELONY
1ST DEGREE MURDER FELONY
NO O. L. (operator license)

Nolle prosequi is a declaration made by a prosecutor in a criminal case or by a plaintiff in a civil lawsuit either before or during trial, meaning the case against the defendant is being dropped. The declaration may be made because the charges cannot be proved, the evidence has demonstrated either innocence or a fatal flaw in the prosecution's claim, or the prosecutor no longer thinks the accused is guilty, and/or the accused has died. It is generally made after indictment, but is not a guarantee that the person will not be reindicted.

In civil cases, a nolle prosequi may be entered as to one of several counts or to one of several defendants. In a criminal case, it has been held improper for a court to enter an order of nolle prosequi on its own without a motion by the prosecutor. As long as a jury trial has not been commenced, the entry of a nolle prosequi is not an adjudication on the merits of the prosecution, and the legal protection against double jeopardy will not automatically bar the charges from being brought again in some fashion.

Nolle prosequi is similar to a declination of prosecution, which is an agreement not to prosecute which may be made by an attorney, but also by the aggrieved party. In contrast, nolle prosequi is usually made after a decision to prosecute has already been made. A declination of prosecution may be made for many reasons, such as weak evidence or a conflict of interest.



What are your thoughts on this? Maybe a plea deal in the works?

Perhaps compared to the capital murder charges the robbery, larceny, and a traffic summons are insignificant and not worth the prosecutions time.

The first degree murder charge was an old charge when Sam was held only for Marc's murder. Once they had sufficient evidence to charge him with all four the charges were amended to the greater charge. Generally speaking killing one person is not a capital offence. There has to be something else involved. In this case the multiple homocides allow a capital charge.

Thank you! I just now found the active listings for the 6 capital charges and a auto theft grand larceny. I was having a hard time finding it. Here is the site for anyone who is looking.
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Click criminal type mccroskey should do the trick.

There is a red link at the top you must click for the new system.

Where did you see this information? I'm looking on the court's site right now and am wondering where you found the nolle prosequi info.

LoveEndsWar wrote:Thank you! I just now found the active listings for the 6 capital charges and a auto theft grand larceny. I was having a hard time finding it. Here is the site for anyone who is looking.
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Click criminal type mccroskey should do the trick.

There is a red link at the top you must click for the new system.

Totally clueless by what the red link etc. means...

For those who may not get that: here's what I did on that site to access the information -

ON the left side menu select
Case Status and Information
Then select Circuit Court
Then Case Information

This will take you to a new page with a drop down and you should select Prince Edward County.

Once you do that you can either enter his name or just the hearing date - which is easier.

Then all the charges and case numbers will appear.

Case # Defendant Name Hearing Date/Time Status Paid Pay
GC09005189-00 MCCROSKEY, RICHARD SAMUEL; III 11/03/2009 10:00 AM Nolle Prosequi
Court:
Prince Edward County Combined Charge:
ROBBERY-FELONY Complainant:
ELLINGTON, A. Q.; SGT FPD

GC09005190-00 MCCROSKEY, RICHARD SAMUEL; III 11/03/2009 10:00 AM Nolle Prosequi
Court:
Prince Edward County Combined Charge:
GRAND LARCENY-FELONY Complainant:
ELLINGTON, A. Q.; SGT FPD

GC09005191-00 MCCROSKEY, RICHARD SAMUEL; III 11/03/2009 10:00 AM Nolle Prosequi
Court:
Prince Edward County Combined Charge:
1ST DEGREE MURDER-FELONY Complainant:
ELLINGTON, A. Q.; SGT FPD

GT09005194-00 MCCROSKEY, RICHARD SAMUEL; III 11/03/2009 09:45 AM Nolle Prosequi

There were nol pros in the lower court [General District]

ziggy wrote:

LoveEndsWar wrote:Thank you! I just now found the active listings for the 6 capital charges and a auto theft grand larceny. I was having a hard time finding it. Here is the site for anyone who is looking.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Click criminal type mccroskey should do the trick.

There is a red link at the top you must click for the new system.

Totally clueless by what the red link etc. means...

For those who may not get that: here's what I did on that site to access the information -

ON the left side menu select
Case Status and Information
Then select Circuit Court
Then Case Information

This will take you to a new page with a drop down and you should select Prince Edward County.

Once you do that you can either enter his name or just the hearing date - which is easier.

Then all the charges and case numbers will appear.

I apologize for any confusion, they are converting to a new server/information system so sometimes the red link is there sometimes not. Its like a redirect link, Anyhow that information you are asking about is in the District court info link.

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link for the lower courts. This is where some of the charges were nol pros fairly early in the process.
Any attorneys or those with greater experience can correct me if I am mistaken here. General district is for misdemeanors and prelim hearing on felony matters. Circuit court is for felony matters.
All current pending cases against McCroskey are in Prince Edwards Circuit court.

FROM RICHMOND TIMES DISPATCH

Richard Samuel Alden McCroskey III pleaded guilty today to two counts of capital murder and two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of four people last year.

He was sentenced to life in prison on each charge as part of a plea agreement.

McCroskey faced capital murder charges in the bludgeoning deaths of Longwood University professor Debra S. Kelley; her husband, church pastor Mark Niederbrock; their daughter, Emma Niederbrock, 16; and her friend Melanie Wells, 18, of West Virginia.

The four bodies were found Sept. 18 of last year in Kelley's home on First Avenue, just blocks from campus. McCroskey was captured the next day at Richmond International Airport.

McCroskey, who recorded music with lyrics that obsessed about murder and gore, had met Emma online and was visiting Emma from his home in California.

Emma's parents took the young couple and Wells to a horrocore music festival in Michigan a few days before the four victims' bodies were found.

Authorities have not assigned a motive to the case.

GUILTY PLEA. LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE.

Wow. Well guys I guess that's it then. I wonder if anyone will ever get him to talk about what happened.

Percy you still planning on a book/documentary? Still hoping for a jailhouse (or prison, I should say) interview?

Well that's it then. Kind of nice to see a guilty person actually plead guilty instead of dragging things out in court like those nasty criminals in the Dr. Petit case in Connecticut.

Richmond Times with photo of Sam arriving for court:

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And here's how the Bay Area news liked to portray Sam: Don't think I've seen this picture before...

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My random thoughts on this:

Good for Bowen - I'm sure he advised Sam this would be best. He probably could have entered a not guilty plea, spent a lot of taxpayer money on a trial and made a name for himself; but instead I think he did the right thing. So even if you wanted Sam to get the DP - you should still understand that this is a very good thing.

Anti-DP people are happy.

Emma and Mel don't have to be dragged through the mud nor will Debra and Mark's failed marriage or parenting decisions be disected.

Sam will be sent away and drift into oblivion. Hopefully the numbnuts who seem to be his fans and follow him online will get a new hobby now.

I don't feel anything can be gained from telling Sam's story at this point because I think his story is that he is a sociopath who just felt like killing them, acted out his gruesome fantasies and maybe had some delusions of grandeurd in his head. There is no answer to "why" that will satisfy the "normal" or the "right-thinking" folks. Any further story of Sam will put dual focus on Horrorcore which gives them publicity they don't deserve. You won't be able to tell one story without the other since three of the five players were all involved in it.

There are some evil, horrible people in this world. I was following the trial in Connecticut of the Petit family murders and it is so unbelievable that these men could be so vile, so mean, so downright evil. I'm actually hoping for a DP in that case - man, I'm right by Dr. Petit with that. Sam is of the same ilk. We can't really learn anything from his story except that he's just bad news and fortunately now he's locked up until he's dead. I guess instead of sending this defective product back to the manufacturer - he'll just be put in the drawer until the manufacturer recalls him.

ziggy wrote:Well that's it then. Kind of nice to see a guilty person actually plead guilty instead of dragging things out in court like those nasty criminals in the Dr. Petit case in Connecticut.

The defendants in the Petit case wanted to plead guilty but the D.A. would not accept it. It would have meant life sentences, and the State wanted to go for the death penalty. Weird, huh?

About Sam pleading guilty, I guess it's best in a lot of ways, but I think I would like to have seen him go through a trial. I guess I want to see it made real for him. It never has seemed that way, going by his look, statements, letters.

Well, it wouldn't help the victims anyway, I guess.

Oh thanks for the background on that Tapu. I can see why in that case they wanted to go for the DP - also Dr. Petit's feelings might have had some impact on the DA's decision plus they didn't all want to end up like the movie LAW ABIDING CITIZEN :O

I see your point but in a way I think Sam is so detached nothing can seem real. Would he just be numb to the photos of what he did or would he feel superior for having done it and getting to re-live it? Would this sad kid enjoy all the attention? I think anything is possible except for "feel bad about it" because I don't think he has remorse or is capable of that.

Yeah, I take your point about Sam. You know what it is? It's that I want more bad shit to come down on Sam. This is so dull of a thud. But I think you hit it when you said he'd feel superior. He'd probably like to hear the testimony and see the exhibits go through. God.

I think Sam is about to get a dose of reality in prison. It will be a very different experience for him than the regional jail.

My radom thought are....
I'm not sure. It is the outcome I had hoped for. No secret there. It does not feel like a win. There was never a way to win this thing.

I agree with Ziggy's post above. She said it more eloquently than I did in my initial draft here so I will take the easy way out and defer to her.

The attorneys on both sides here did a likely under appreciated job to resovle this in the best manner for everyone.