The week in review
Most eagerly awaited fugitive: Former restaurateur Jim Baldi, pictured, returned to town February 5 after waiving extradition, according to San Francisco public defender Mark Jacobs. Now housed in the Albemarle Charlottesville Regional Jail, Baldi, who shuttered his Belmont eatery, Bel Rio, and disappeared in July 2010, was in Charlottesville Circuit Court February 11 on an embezzling charge. He faces three more embezzling counts in Albemarle.
Worst place to bring your drone: City Council votes 3-2 for a resolution against unmanned surveillance drones in Charlottesville, the first city in the country to do so, Aaron Richardson reports in the Daily Progress.
Worst infection: A UVA student has bacterial meningitis, and 47 people the student may have come in contact with are treated, according to the DP.
Worst blowing of a career, part 1: UVA engineering prof Paul Allaire is under investigation for allegedly steering between $700,000 and $1 million in business from the university to his own private consulting company, according to search warrants filed by UVA Police, Rachel Ryan reports for the Newsplex. No charges have been filed.
Worst blowing of a career, part 2: Former Albemarle police lieutenant Ernie Allen, a 27-year veteran of the force, is convicted of misdemeanor embezzling February 6 for taking $380 from petty cash and will serve 10 days in jail, NBC29 reports.
Most confusing: Citing the exemption for criminal investigation materials, Albemarle police refuse to turn over video and photos requested under the Freedom of Information Act from an Occupy protest a year ago outside the Pantops Verizon Wireless store. Requester Larry Bishop and his attorney, Jeff Fogel, point out that no criminal charges came from the protest. The county changes course February 7 and allows the two to view 148 photos and four videos. K. Burnell Evans has the story in the Progress.
Most controversial Beta Bridge paint job: A vandal sprays over a memorial February 4 to Casey Schulman, the fourth-year-who died in an accident December 1 during Semester at Sea, the Cav Daily reports. The message, “If she weren’t white, wealthy, popular, etc … would this still be here?”, is painted over a few hours later.
Most vicious mugging: A woman is assaulted and left unconscious around 6pm February 5 on the Greenbelt trails. A police release describes the suspect as a black male, 5'10', 130-150 pounds, approximately 30 years old, pushing a grocery cart with a yellow pad in the upper portion of the cart.
Most horrific: Gladstone resident James E. Jessup III, 38, is charged in Nelson and Appomattox counties with a total of 54 sexual felonies involving a 14-year-old, a 16-year-old, and an adult who was considered a minor when some of the alleged acts occurred, according to the Lynchburg News & Advance. Jessup is charged with 10 counts of rape, 10 of sodomy, 13 of inanimate object penetration, eight counts of aggravated sexual battery, eight of indecent liberties, and five of carnal knowledge.
Latest to fall for a cop pretending to be a 13-year-old online: Matthew Musselwhite, 30, is arrested February 5 after he attempts to meet the imaginary teen and charged with soliciting a minor, according to a release.
Latest woes for the Bridge Ministry: Its head, Pastor William Washington Jr., faces charges for removing the identification number from a '67 Camaro and possessing the Camaro without a vehicle ID number. Both charges are felonies. The ministry helps addicts and ex-cons, and has fallen on hard times, according to the Progress.
Best get: Attorney General/GOP gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli speaks to Larry Sabato's 400-member Intro to American Politics class February 6. Sabato has Dem candidate Terry McAuliffe onboard for later this spring.
Most open to experimentation: Cuccinelli says he's open to watching how Colorado and Washington deal with marijuana legalization in response to a student question, the Cav Daily and NBC29 report
Best value: UVA tops the Princeton Review's "Best Value Public College" list, followed by number two UNC.