*Former Winchester prosecutor faces federal tampering charge

Related Information PDF: Criminal complaint, United States of America vs. Paul Hampton Thomson and Nannette Boden PDF: Winchester police narrative and supplement concerning Paul Thomson (Warning: This document contains strong language. Two pages have been removed due to privacy concerns.)

By Alex Bridges -- abridges@nvdaily.com

WINCHESTER -- Winchester attorney and former chief prosecutor, Paul Hampton Thomson, faces disbarment and prison time if convicted in federal court of evidence and witness tampering.

Thomson and his assistant, Nannette Susan Boden, remain held at different regional jails without bond on one charge each of conspiring to tamper with evidence and to alter documents to influence a federal drug investigation, between Aug. 25 and Nov. 24, according to online records. An affidavit filed in the case in U.S. District Court states Thomson tampered with a witness on Nov. 24.

Authorities charged the co-defendants in U.S. District Court in Harrisonburg in documents filed Thursday then unsealed by magistrate Judge James G. Welsh on Monday.

Thomson is currently incarcerated at Central Virginia Regional Jail in Orange. Boden, held at Rockingham Regional Jail, has a bond hearing set for Thursday.

Attorneys convicted of a felony face automatic suspension of their license to practice law in the state, according to an official with the Virginia State Bar Association.

Several of Thomson's current clients appeared for scheduled times in Frederick County and Winchester circuit courts on Tuesday morning. In Winchester, Judge John Wetsel Jr. postponed Thomson's cases to give defendants time to seek new counsel or make other arrangements.

For further developments, visit nvdaily.com or read the print edition of The Northern Virginia Daily.