Heavy winds help spread house fire in Chesterfield
Heavy winds played a major role in the spread of a house fire Friday afternoon in Chesterfield County, officials said.
Firefighters responded at 12:44 p.m. and found heavy fire on the back of a house in the 500 block of Rebel Ridge Road, said Chesterfield fire Lt. Jason Elmore. A resident and a pet escaped safely.
The house fire sparked a few brush fires in the area, too.
"The heavy winds … definitely played a part in the spread of the fire to the rest of the home," Elmore said.
It took about an hour to mark the fire under control. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.
Middle schoolers treated after school bus accident
Several Thornburg Middle School students were taken to a medical facility after a school bus was involved in an accident Friday after school.
The bus, carrying 43 students, ran off Massaponax Church Road near Summit's Crossing Road.
A spokeswoman for Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center said several students were brought to the facility. All the students were treated for minor injuries and released.
Portsmouth gang leader gets eight-year sentence
A leader of a Portsmouth gang has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison for his role in illegal activities in southeastern Virginia.
Draindell Domonta Bassett Jr., 23, of Portsmouth was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Norfolk.
Bassett pleaded guilty in August to participating in a pattern of racketeering activity that included conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to distribute narcotics. Court documents show that Bassett and other members of the Bounty Hunter Bloods gang tried to hunt down a rival gang member.
Man accused of stealing Bobcat from Strayer
An Independent Hill-area man faces theft charges after police said he stole a Bobcat construction vehicle.
Johnathan Larry Ellington, 39, is accused of taking the vehicle, valued at $30,000, from Strayer University in Woodbridge on Thursday, police said.
Ellington was charged with possession of stolen property and grand larceny and was held in lieu of a $2,000 secured bond.
Lunenburg man charged with faking his death
A Virginia man has been charged with faking his death to collect on a $750,000 life insurance policy.
A federal grand jury last week indicted 38-year-old Jamie Dwayne Long of Lunenburg on three counts of mail fraud. He was arrested Thursday.
Long is accused of buying equipment to create a false death certificate and other documents so he could collect on the policy. He also is accused of posing as his brother-in-law and reporting his death to the insurance company. He allegedly asked the insurer to send paperwork for the claim to his wife.
From staff and wire reports
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