Motions

An attorney for a man charged in the July 2006 shooting death of a young mother on a Hagerstown street withdrew a motion to suppress evidence Thursday in Washington County Circuit Court. Assistant Public Defender Carl Creeden said he was withdrawing the motion after consulting with his client, Demetrius P. McDaniels. McDaniels, 28, whose last known address was 10522 Noland Drive in Hagerstown, is charged with first-degree felony murder and first-degree premeditated murder in the death of 20-year-old Trisiviah Rodriguez.

chambersburg@herald-mail.com Chambersburg Municipal Airport will close permanently at midnight July 27 but the same runway will be back in operation under new management 24 hours later. On Monday night, the Chambersburg Borough Council voted to authorize the preparation and advertisement of an ordinance to sell the airport to the Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority, or SARAA. The proposed ordinance would sell the 93-acre airport to the authority for $790,000.

bobp@herald-mail.com If Gene Richards has his way, there is one thing Hagerstown Suns fans won't be doing much of this season. Blinking. That's the kind of team the manager wants the Suns to be - one with oodles of "Now you see them, now you don't" excitement. The kind that's in constant motion, kind of like a lottery machine filled with ping pong balls. And if the Suns can follow Richards' plan, it could be an enjoyable 25th anniversary season for everyone except Hagerstown opponents, starting tonight when the Suns host the West Virginia Power in the South Atlantic League season opener at Municipal Stadium.

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - An attorney representing two Shepherd University football players charged after a Thanksgiving day altercation at a local bar was granted an order Wednesday night giving him evidence the prosecution has in the case. Andy Arnold obtained the order in a hearing before Municipal Court Judge David Alter. No trial date has been set. Robert Flint Jarvis, 23, of 4928 Shepherdstown Road, Martinsburg, W.Va., and his brother, Brian Allen Jarvis, 20, same address, each were charged with two counts of battery, records state.

The Washington County Commissioners and dispatcher Robert Myerly filed a motion on Wednesday in Washington County Circuit Court to dismiss a complaint against them from the mother and fiance of a woman who died from pregnancy complications. The 23-count complaint, which was filed March 2, alleges that bitterness over a dispute between the ambulance company and Smithsburg Volunteer Fire Co., where Christina Lynn Hess and her fianc, Danny A. Gibson, were volunteers, resulted in the deaths of Hess, 20, and her unborn baby on March 5, 2003.

andrews@herald-mail.com Washington County Commissioner William J. Wivell on Friday continued to press for a court order to release details of a confidential agreement between the county and a retired department head. Wivell is suing the county commissioners to divulge the retirement package for former Economic Development Commission Executive Director John Howard. Howard went on administrative leave in late March and left his job on May 8. The county announced his retirement on June 11. On Friday, Wivell filed a memorandum in Washington County Circuit Court opposing the county's motion to dismiss his suit.

A judge ruled Thursday that evidence in an August 1997 shooting death in downtown Hagerstown was admissible in the upcoming trial of one of the defendants, despite spirited defense efforts to have it thrown out. Hagerstown residents Jerome Bernard Lockley, 19, and David Paul Paschall Sr., 24, are each charged with first-degree murder, felony murder, armed robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery. At the crux of the debate Thursday in Washington County Circuit Court was how police obtained a watch belonging to the victim of the Aug. 25, 1997 shooting - a watch that was found in a boot belonging to defendant David Paul Paschall.

scottb@herald-mail.com The PenMar Development Corp. has filed a motion in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in an attempt to evict its tenant, Role Models America Inc., from land on the former Fort Ritchie U.S. Army base, PenMar Board Chairman Brett Wilson said Wednesday. Role Models, a military-style academy for high school dropouts, on May 10 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which frees it from the threat of creditors' lawsuits while it reorganizes its finances. As a result of Role Models' bankruptcy filing, PenMar and Army officials delayed a ceremony planned for May 20 at which they were to sign a deed transferring 236 acres from Army ownership to PenMar.

dank@herald-mail.com Almost half of Washington County's public schools will be welcoming a new principal and/or assistant principal in the coming school year. School officials say the number of moves is typical, and beneficial because new principals bring new ideas and a fresh perspective to their new schools. Meanwhile, assistant principals are exposed to different management styles, which helps prepare them to become principals. Representatives from parent, teacher, and administrator groups, as well as top school system administrators, said the only drawback is that sometimes it can take some time for teachers, students and parents to become accustomed to a new principal.

pepperb@herald-mail.com A motion to withdraw 17-year-old Liley Lee Gordon's guilty plea in connection with an Oct. 23, 2004, carjacking on Outer Drive was denied Thursday by Washington County Circuit Judge Donald E. Beachley, who said there was insufficient evidence that Gordon misunderstood the consequences of his plea. Gordon's attorney, Elisha Elliott, said Gordon "entered a plea of guilty without full knowledge of the consequences ... He believed he was facing no more than 10 years.