Louisa prosecutor ponders options after charge dismissed in fetal miscarriage

Louisa County Commonwealth's Attorney Tom Garrett is looking at options for prosecuting a man for allegedly causing the miscarriage of an 8-week-old fetus after a judge dismissed a charge of malicious wounding.

Substitute Juvenile & Domestic Relations Judge Jannene L. Shannon declined yesterday to certify the malicious wounding charge against Mark Lewis Franck to Circuit Court for prosecution. But Garrett said his office is still looking at the circumstances surrounding a domestic altercation on June 10 that allegedly led to the miscarriage.

Franck's 19-year-old girlfriend, who was eight weeks pregnant, had a miscarriage after she was punched in the stomach and face during an argument with him, authorities said.

"I take it very seriously any time you have a case that results in the termination of the pregnancy," Garrett said today.

Initially, Louisa authorities charged Franck, 21, with murder of a fetus and assault and battery. Garrett's office dropped the misdemeanor assault charge and amended the fetus murder charge to aggravated malicious wounding, a Class 2 felony under a state law that defines involuntary termination of a pregnancy as a severe injury.

Franck is being held in Central Virginia Regional Jail on unrelated drug charges, Garrett said. A grand jury indicted him yesterday on two counts of possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute it, the prosecutor said.

-- Michael Martz