Christopher Charles Blevins

On March 1, 2010, Christopher Charles Blevins, 32, of Wise, Virginia was convicted of Arson and sentenced to 15 years in prison with 5 years suspended. Blevins was accused of setting fire to his mother-in-law’s home in Coeburn, Virginia on June 26, 2009. Blevins entered a guilty plea under the Alford rule, admitting the Commonwealth possessed enough evidence to convict him of the crime.
Upon release, Blevins will be placed on supervised probation for 3 years followed by 5 years of unsupervised probation. This case was prosecuted by Sarah Wynn Jessee of the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office and investigated by the Wise County Sheriff’s Office and Virginia State Police.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Ron Elkins expressed his gratitude to agencies involved in the investigation. “We have great law enforcement agencies in Southwest Virginia that work well together, and I appreciate all of their hard work” said Elkins.

For more information, contact Sarah Wynn Jessee or Ron Elkins at the Wise County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office: 276-328-9406

The ever-evolving criminal has found a new pool of cash that could hurt any law firm. We’ve recently heard of a new scam in which a potential client emails a law firm asking about fees in cases, such as divorce, DUI, etc…. The potential “client” then sends a check to the firm for representation in an amount higher than the quoted fee.

Most attorneys notify the client, and send the overpayment back, only to discover the check was not good, and their Client Trust Fund now has less money than before, resulting in a loss for the attorney and his/her legitimate clients.

It isn’t just happening here, I found this recent release from the FBI warning of similar conduct:

FBI Press Release

For years Virginian’s have had a duty to retreat from an intruder in their own homes. The theory that a person’s home is there “castle” has been referred to as the Castle Doctrine for years, and never adopted by Virginia. Yesterday in the Virginia General Assembly, the House of Delegates voted in favor of the Castle Doctrine with a 75 to 24 vote margin. It now heads to the Senate for consideration. If you are interested in following this bill, you can do so HERE It was introduced by new Delegate Will Morefield from Tazwell.

The Wise County Courthouse will be closed Thursday, February 11, 2010 due to the weather. In case of emergency, please call the Wise County Sheriff’s Office at (276)-328-3566 or 911. Should you need immediate assistance from our office, please use the contact form on this website.

This video explores the scary reality of budget cuts in Commonwealth and how cuts could impact services on localities.

Due to the lack of electricity in the Wise area, the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office will be closed all week. We will reopen December 28, 2009 at 8:30. Hopefully power will be restored to the County soon.

Should you have an emergency, please call 911 or the Wise County Sheriff’s Office at 276-328-3566

Check out the menu bar to the left. We have now started a Digital Office Blog to help offices through the transition. On the blog you will find tips, tricks, and general discussion of transforming into a digital office.