Factory sued by former workers

HARRISONBURG -- A class-action lawsuit filed this week claims a cheese-making plant in Winchester owes two months pay to about 70 workers it laid off in December.

Lumber suit defendants declare bankruptcy

HARRISONBURG -- A Kentucky couple being sued by the insurers of Winchester-based American Woodmark have declared bankruptcy.

Action filed over dropped drive shaft

HARRISONBURG -- A Virginia man claims he suffered injuries in 2010 when his car hit a drive shaft that had dropped from a tractor-trailer onto a Frederick County road.

Extradition postponed for city bank heist suspect

WINCHESTER -- Canadian immigration authorities on Thursday gave bank heist suspect James Louis Whittlesey one more chance to obtain a lawyer before he faces possible deportation to the United States.

Trial delayed in sex crime case

HARRISONBURG -- Citing additional forensic evidence and the possibility of more charges, U.S. Attorney Timothy Heaphy has asked a U.S. District Court judge to delay the trial of a man accused of molesting a girl in Frederick County.

Husband sues over wife's death

WINCHESTER -- A West Virginia man claims his wife's death at Winchester Medical Center two years ago occurred because hospital staff lacked training to read scans.

Authorities: Dog stabbed after biting woman twice

WINCHESTER -- Authorities say a Frederick County woman stabbed a dog with a knife after it bit her twice on Sunday

Report won't lead to charges in murder case

WINCHESTER -- A special prosecutor won't press criminal charges after reviewing a man's murder case from 1994.

Judge bars men from using data

A federal judge has banned two Winchester men from using any proprietary information they may have taken from their former employer.

Man sentenced in child sex crime case

WINCHESTER -- A Frederick County man accused of exposing himself to a 5-year-old boy in August was sentenced to 10 years in prison Wednesday, with only one year to serve.

Gilbert: Athey's confirmation coming 'very soon'

A snag in former Del. Clifford L. "Clay" Athey Jr.'s appointment as circuit judge in the General Assembly is likely to prove only temporary, a local House of Delegates member said Thursday.

Alien charged for having firearm

WINCHESTER -- Authorities responding to a domestic assault call say it was illegal for the alleged victim's boyfriend to have a firearm because he is not a U.S. citizen. Jose de Jiminez-Melendez, 55, of 138 Sleepwood Lane, is charged with felony possession of a firearm by an alien.

Fugitive spotted on reality show appears in court

WINCHESTER -- A man authorities say fled the country to avoid trial on a sex crime charge pleaded guilty Tuesday for failing to appear in court 10 years ago.

Jeffrey Washington murder case report coming soon

WINCHESTER -- A special prosecutor said Friday she expects to release her report investigating part of a 1994 murder case by the end of this month.

Berryville man accused of trying to deposit fake money released on bond

WINCHESTER -- A Berryville man remains free on bond after authorities say he tried to put $9,000 in fake money into a bank account last week.

Fatal crash passenger faces alcohol charge

TOMS BROOK -- A passenger in a fatal crash in November is scheduled to appear in Shenandoah County General District Court on an alcohol charge next month.

Legal Aid needs assistance

WINCHESTER -- Denise isn't sure what she would have done without Nora Mahoney, domestic violence attorney for the Winchester branch of Blue Ridge Legal Services Inc.

Ex-New Market Fire Auxiliary official indicted, surrenders

HARRISONBURG -- Mary Lou McAlexander surrendered to Rockingham County authorities Wednesday after being indicted Tuesday for embezzlement.

Settlement reached in firing suit

FRONT ROYAL -- Town officials and a former town police officer have reached an out-of-court settlement in a federal lawsuit the woman filed challenging her firing.

Dog placed on dangerous list after cat's mauling death

WINCHESTER -- After defending himself in a trial that lasted about an hour Wednesday afternoon, Peter Mattens lost his case to keep his dog off the list of registered dangerous dogs in the city following a September incident in which the Jack Russell terrier, named Reggie, may have killed a neighbor's cat.

Ex-auxiliary official indicted, surrenders

HARRISONBURG -- Mary Lou McAlexander surrendered to Rockingham County authorities Wednesday after being indicted Tuesday for embezzlement.

Former Agency on Aging director reduces damages sought

FRONT ROYAL -- The former director of the Shenandoah Area Agency on Aging filed an amended complaint Tuesday in Circuit Court that sharply reduced the amount of damages she is asking for in a lawsuit against the agency.

No bond in gun possession case

WINCHESTER -- A judge denied bond to three men accused of illegally possessing guns and leading authorities on a chase before evading capture in 2010.

Bankruptcy could affect lawsuit

HARRISONBURG -- A U.S. District Court judge has ordered several parties involved in a civil suit related to a fatal Shenandoah County crash to explain how one's bankruptcy will affect the case.

Plea deal in murder-for-hire case

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- A West Virginia woman will serve no more than five years in prison after admitting in U.S. District Court that she tried to hire a hitman to kill a Strasburg woman.

Mail carrier avoids jail in theft case

HARRISONBURG -- A Strasburg postal worker was sentenced to probation this week in U.S. District Court for stealing cash and gift cards from residents along his route.

Hearing waived on drug charges

WOODSTOCK -- Prominent attorney James H. Allamong Jr. waived his right to a preliminary hearing on drug charges Tuesday afternoon in Shenandoah County General District Court.

Cocaine suspects due in court today

HARRISONBURG -- A pair of New Yorkers caught on Interstate 81 in Edinburg with a large amount of cocaine in their car are scheduled to appear today in U.S. District Court. Yulissa Eusebio and Jose Augusto Ferreira-Flores are scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge James G. Welsh in the early afternoon, according to online court records.

Two arrested after undercover deals

EDINBURG -- Two women were recently arrested by the Shenandoah County Sheriff's Office on drug charges.

Jail time in false report of rape case

WINCHESTER -- A Stephens City woman who accused a Front Royal police officer of rape must serve eight months in jail for lying about the alleged incident.

Judge rebukes attorney

HARRISONBURG -- The judge presiding over prominent Winchester attorney Paul Hampton Thomson's federal case has rebuked his defense lawyer for "unprofessional conduct."

Kellam family says sentence 'unjust'

WINCHESTER -- The justice system failed Charceil D. Kellam and unjustly sent her to serve life plus 30 years in prison for minor drug crimes, according to the woman's supporters.

Woman indicted on sex abuse charges against 11-year-old boy

FRONT ROYAL --A local woman was indicted Monday on charges that she committed sexual acts with an 11-year-old boy in June.

Fingerprints sought in post office theft

WOODSTOCK -- Search warrants have been executed in the last two weeks to obtain fingerprints of three men in connection with the suspected theft of items from the Toms Brook Post Office in August, according to Shenandoah County Circuit Court records.

Man charged in stabbing amid dispute over drugs

NEW MARKET -- A resident of the Blue Ridge Inn is accused of stabbing a neighbor following a dispute regarding a drug transaction.

Couple avoids jail time after torching car

WOODSTOCK -- A New Market couple played with fire but didn't get burned by having to spend any time behind bars for doing so.

Washington man charged with abduction

WINCHESTER -- A Washington, D.C., man held his fiancee captive after assaulting her and another woman in Stephens City before fleeing to Warren County on Christmas Eve, authorities said Monday.

City man pleads guilty to federal conspiracy charge

HARRISONBURG -- A Winchester man recently convicted of running a check-fraud ring in the area in 2009 pleaded guilty Wednesday morning to a federal conspiracy charge, according to court documents.

Man, 22, guilty of larceny charges

FRONT ROYAL -- A White Post man who authorities said stole firearms from a relative's home in March, and later threatened to burn down the residence after he broke into it, must serve two months in jail after pleading guilty Tuesday morning to a larceny charge stemming from the incidents.

Man charged with incest had just served time

WOODSTOCK -- A Mt. Jackson man recently charged with incest was released from incarceration only about a month before the sex crimes are thought to have first surfaced, according to Shenandoah County Circuit Court records.