Substitute judge quits in wake of pot arrest
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Recommend ThisAllamong charged after shed fire on his Copp Road property
By Sally Voth -- svoth@nvdaily.com
FISHERS HILL -- Local attorney James H. Allamong Jr. has stepped down as a substitute judge in the wake of his arrest on drug charges.
Allamong, 62, was arrested Oct. 5 and charged with possession with the intent to distribute marijuana and manufacturing marijuana. Firefighters had responded to a fire at a building he uses on Copp Road several days earlier and found marijuana plants growing nearby, according to Shenandoah County Sheriff's Office Maj. Scott Proctor.
Proctor, who would not say how many plants were found, said the marijuana had a street value of more than $150,000.
Allamong, a wounded Vietnam War veteran, said he used marijuana to alleviate chronic pain.
In addition to being an attorney, Allamong has been serving as a substitute General District Court Judge in the 26th judicial circuit.
Rockingham County General District Court Clerk Bonnie L. Simmons said Friday that Allamong had submitted a letter of resignation to James V. Lane, the chief Circuit Court judge for the 26th Judicial Circuit.
Shenandoah County Bar Association President William B. Allen III said Lane sent the bar a letter saying Allamong had resigned. He praised Allamong's service to his country and profession.
"In my personal opinion, Jim has done a lot for the bar and judicial system," Allen said. "I admire his war record and what he has done for this community. I will just wait to see what happens when the judicial system actually takes care of the case rather than the press."
Allamong is scheduled to appear in Shenandoah County General District Court on Oct. 28. He is free on his own recognizance.
Allamong could not be reached for comment Friday.
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What you have here is an individual that embraced the law, but the law failed him for his injuries he suffered in the Vietnam War. I see no harm in his using marijuana to ease the pain.
I say let Mr. Allamong be the first Political person in Virginia to advocate the legalization of marijuana. He can take something very wrong here and turn it into a grassroots push for legalization. (No pun intended).
I don't do marijuana or any drugs for that matter. I just don't see any reason to keep marijuana illegal. It wastes millions of dollars, places a permanent scar on our citizens public records and is not as harmful to our society as alcohol and tobacco.
Problem being what else would we have our lazy state and local police departments doing other than writing speeding tickets if marijuana was legal? I think we could probably use a few less State police drug enforcement teams and save the real drug work for the hard core meth, coke and heroin.
Mr. Allamong you have my support if you make a push for legalization for medical needs in Virginia. Like I said earlier, I don't use it, but I an going to condemn anyone that has for any reason.
If I were to set on the jury, Mr. Allamong is going to be able to walk out of the court a free man.
I wonder how many people he put in jail for the same crime or less?
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