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Thread: Brice and Garrett Crouse Sentenced in 2011 VA Murder of Ricky Joseph James

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    Brice and Garrett Crouse Sentenced in 2011 VA Murder of Ricky Joseph James

    A regular grand jury seated next week will consider capital murder indictments against a father and son from Sugar Grove already charged in connection with the abduction of 18-year-old Nathan Cord Combs.
    Smyth County Commonwealth’s Attorney Roy Evans confirmed Tuesday that he will present the grand jury indictments charging Daniel Brice Crouse, 38, and Garrett Crouse, 18, with the capital murder of Combs. Evans said he will also present indictments charging Ricky Joseph James, 24, of Marion, with accessory to capital murder.
    Evans said additional related charges will also be sought. He said further forensic confirmation is necessary to determine if the facts support Virginia’s requirements for consideration of the death penalty.
    Combs’ body was found around 11:30 a.m. Saturday in the Comer’s Creek area of Smyth County, according to Sheriff David Bradley.
    His parents last saw him around 12 p.m. March 4.
    Bradley said the Marion Police Department took a missing person report for Combs, whose address was on Catron Street in Marion, on March 7.
    Bradley said a witness reported at the Marion Police Department on March 10 that “foul play may be involved” in Combs’ disappearance.
    Another witness the same day reported Combs and three others were “held against their will for approximately one hour at a location off Maywood Lane” in Marion, Bradley said. “According to witnesses, the abductors left the scene and Nathan Combs has not been seen since.”
    MPD contacted the sheriff’s office on March 11 for assistance with the investigation.
    On Saturday morning, March 12, Bradley released a statement requesting information about Combs’ whereabouts. That statement said Combs “has attention deficit disorder and according to his father has left home before, but would always call home or return soon thereafter.”
    On Saturday evening, another statement from the sheriff said Combs’ body had been found.
    Interviews with witnesses and suspects resulted in abduction-related charges against five people, Bradley said.
    The sheriff said Daniel Brice Crouse and Garrett Brice Crouse, of the same Sugar Grove Highway address, are each charged with four counts of abduction and four counts of conspiracy to commit abduction.
    Bradley said the elder Crouse is also charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, use of a firearm in commission of a felony, four counts of abduction, and four counts of conspiracy to commit abduction.
    Mindie Mae Davidson, 32, also of the Crouse home, is charged with four counts of conspiracy to commit abduction, Bradley said.
    Sheriff’s investigator Chip Shuler said Davidson was “a paramour to Daniel Crouse.”
    James, of Buck Lane, Marion, is charged with abduction, Bradley said.
    Michael Ray Brown Jr., 37, of Spring Street, Galax, is charged with four counts of abduction and four counts of conspiracy to commit abduction, Bradley said.
    The sheriff said all of the suspects are being held without bail in Southwest Virginia Jail at Abingdon.
    In a conference call Tuesday, Evans and Shuler could release little additional information about the abductions or the death of Combs pending action by the grand jury. Evans did say the abductions took place “in short order in the March 4 and 5 timeframe.”
    They declined to discuss the relationships among the suspects, but said Combs and the other abductees were “acquaintances.”
    Shuler and Evans declined to talk about motives in the incidents and Combs’ cause of death, but Evans confirmed these were not random incidents.
    Warrants for the suspects’ arrests were sought and obtained on March 12 and the arrests followed the same day, Shuler said.
    Bradley said his office, the Marion Police Department and the Virginia State Police were following leads on the whereabouts of Combs, 18, when his body was found. Evans and Shuler declined to discuss what led authorities to the body.
    Bradley said Combs was wanted on an outstanding warrant “issued for property damage and law enforcement had been looking for him prior to him being reported missing.”
    Shuler said the offense occurred Feb. 25, and the warrant for Combs was issued March 5.
    Court records showed Garrett Brice Crouse was charged April 5 for a concealed weapon violation. Evans said Marion police handled that incident, but declined to discuss it further.
    More details about the charges will be available after the grand jury completes its work, which Evans expects to be late in the afternoon of March 25.
    Combs’ body was taken to the medical examiner’s office in Roanoke Monday for autopsy.
    The ME’s office was busy following a weekend of violence in two parts of Southwest Virginia. According to Bradley, Combs’ autopsy followed the examinations of the bodies of two Buchanan County sheriff’s deputies killed Sunday in the line of duty.
    Virginia State Police said Cameron Neil Justus and William Ezra Stiltner were shot and killed by a high-powered rifle as they set up a perimeter in the search for a suspect in a reported larceny in progress at a Vansant salvage yard.
    The suspect had previously shot and wounded deputies Eric Dwayne Rasnake and Shane Earl Charles as they began the search for the larceny suspect. Both crawled to a nearby residence where they took cover and called for help, VSP said.
    VSP Troopers later shot killed the suspect, Randy Gilbert Newberry, 52, of Vansant, when he drew a handgun on them, VSP said.

    http://www.swvatoday.com/news/articl...and_jury/9545/

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    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Capital murder indictments returned in Combs’ case

    A Smyth County grand jury meeting in regular session Tuesday handed down capital murder indictments in connection with the death of 18-year-old Nathan Cord Combs earlier this month.

    Combs’ body was found around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, March 12, in the Comer’s Creek area of Smyth County, according to Sheriff David Bradley.

    Daniel Brice Crouse, 38, and his son, Garrett Brice Crouse, 18, were each indicted on three counts of capital murder. The indictments said they unlawfully and feloniously killed Combs in the commission or attempted commission of a violation involving a Schedule I or II controlled substance, in the commission of abduction with intent to extort pecuniary benefit, and in the commission of robbery or attempted robbery.

    The men, of the same Sugar Grove Highway address, were also each indicted on a count of abduction of Combs with intent to extort money or pecuniary benefit, a count of robbing Combs by “violence or putting him in fear of serious bodily harm,” a count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, a Schedule II Controlled Substance.

    The elder Crouse was also indicted on a count is using a firearm in the commission of a felony.

    Ricky Joseph James, 24, of Marion was indicted on three counts of capital accessory to the killing of Combs. The indictments charge James acted as an accessory in the commission of a violation involving a Schedule I or II controlled substance, in the commission of abduction with intent to extort pecuniary benefit, and in the commission of robbery or attempted robbery.

    James was also indicted on a count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, a count of robbery, and a count of abduction with intent to extort pecuniary benefit.
    Jessica James Edwards, 27 of Groseclose, was indicted on three counts of felony abduction with intent to extort pecuniary benefit involving Combs, Dakota Jones and Jackie Barrett, the indictments said.

    Two others remain charged by warrants in Smyth County General District Court, according to Commonwealth’s Attorney Roy Evans. Mindie Mae Davidson, 32, also of the Crouse home, was charged with four counts of conspiracy to commit abduction, court records showed.

    Michael Ray Brown Jr., 37, of Spring Street, Galax, is charged with four counts of abduction and four counts of conspiracy to commit abduction, according to records.
    Sheriff’s investigator Chip Shuler said Davidson was “a paramour to Daniel Crouse.”
    Search warrants in the case were sealed by court order, a deputy clerk of Smyth County Circuit Court said Monday.

    The house where Combs and the others were reportedly kept looks vacant but for two satellite dishes. The porch is caving in, the siding is patched with shingles and the windows are broken and covered in plastic. The front door is padlocked from the outside and a screwdriver holds the storm door closed.

    Shuler and Commonwealth’s Attorney Roy Evans declined to talk about motives in the incidents and Combs’ cause of death, but Evans confirmed these were not random incidents.

    Sheriff Bradley said his office, Marion Police Department and Virginia State Police were following leads on the whereabouts of Combs when his body was found.

    Combs’ body was taken to the medical examiner’s office in Roanoke for autopsy.
    The case began with Marion Police Department taking a missing person report for Combs, who lived with his parents on Catron Street in Marion, on March 7, according to Bradley.
    Bradley said a witness reported at Marion Police Department on March 10 that “foul play may be involved” in Combs’ disappearance.

    Another witness the same day reported Combs and three others were “held against their will for approximately one hour at a location off Maywood Lane” in Marion, Bradley said.
    MPD contacted the sheriff’s office on March 11 for assistance with the investigation.

    On Saturday morning, March 12, Bradley released a statement requesting information about Combs’ whereabouts. That statement said Combs “has attention deficit disorder and according to his father has left home before, but would always call home or return soon thereafter.”

    On Saturday evening, another statement from the sheriff said Combs’ body was found.
    Court records showed Daniel Crouse was convicted in U.S. District Court in 2006 of distributing methamphetamine. In his plea deal, three other drug charges and two weapons charges were dismissed. He was sentenced to 36 months of probation and fined $100.

    The court documents showed Brown’s criminal record includes cocaine distribution, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, habitual traffic offenses, using abusive language and reckless driving.

    http://www.swvatoday.com/news/articl...mbs_case/9621/

  3. #3
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    Capital murder defendants appear in court

    Smyth County Commonwealth’s Attorney Roy Evans said Daniel Brice Crouse, Garrett Brice Crouse, Jessica James Edwards and Rick Joseph James and their attorneys appeared before Smyth County Circuit Court Judge Randall Lowe for their first pre-trial hearing Thursday.
    Daniel Crouse, 38, and his son, Garrett Crouse, 18, were each indicted in March on three counts of capital murder. The indictments said they unlawfully and feloniously killed Nathan Combs in the commission or attempted commission of a violation involving a Schedule I or II controlled substance, in the commission of abduction with intent to extort pecuniary benefit, and in the commission of robbery or attempted robbery.
    The men, of the same Sugar Grove Highway address, were also each indicted on a count of abduction of Combs with intent to extort money or pecuniary benefit, a count of robbing Combs by “violence or putting him in fear of serious bodily harm,” a count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, a Schedule II Controlled Substance.
    The elder Crouse was also indicted on a count of using a firearm in the commission of a felony.
    Ricky Joseph James, 24, of Marion, was indicted on three counts of capital accessory to the killing of Combs. The indictments charge James acted as an accessory in the commission of a violation involving a Schedule I or II controlled substance, in the commission of abduction with intent to extort pecuniary benefit, and in the commission of robbery or attempted robbery.
    James was also indicted on a count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, a count of robbery, and a count of abduction with intent to extort pecuniary benefit.
    Jessica James Edwards, 27, of Marion, was indicted on three counts of felony abduction with intent to extort pecuniary benefit involving Combs, Dakota Jones and Jackie Barrett, the indictments said.
    Eighteen-year-old Nathan Combs’ body was found around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, March 12, in the Comer’s Creek area of Smyth County, according to Sheriff David Bradley. Bradley said Marion Police Department took a missing person report for Combs, who lived with his parents on Catron Street in Marion, on March 7.
    Bradley said a witness reported at Marion Police Department on March 10 that “foul play may be involved” in Combs’ disappearance.
    Because of the nature of the case and the extensive documentation and discovery to be turned over, the defendants requested a continuance from the initial tentative June 15 trial date, Evans said.
    “The court will set the trial for two weeks in November or December, a date described by counsel as more realistic,” he said.
    Evans said Judge Isaac Freeman set the court date as a “place-holder” and that one day obviously is not enough time to hear the case.
    Freeman has since recused himself from the case. Evans said he entered a motion for recusal following the April 4 arraignments in the case based on Freeman’s “relationship with Defendant Daniel Brice Crouse and his father Larry Crouse,” said the motion was recorded April 15.
    Evans said Judge Freeman said in open court at the arraignments that he had work done on his property by the Crouses.
    On April 20, Lowe signed the order of disqualification of Freeman in the cases against defendants Daniel and Garrett Crouse, James and Edwards.

    http://www.swvatoday.com/news/articl...n_court/10198/

  4. #4
    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    Smyth County Commonwealth’s Attorney Roy Evans announced that Garrett Brice Crouse, 20, of Sugar Grove, pled guilty on Tuesday to Accessory to Capital Murder. Garrett Crouse is the son of Daniel Brice Crouse who was convicted in May for the March 4, 2011 murder of Nathan Combs. Garrett Crouse, 18 at the time of the homicide, was sentenced to serve life in the penitentiary with all but 30 years suspended. He was the last of the six persons charged with participating in the abduction and murder of Combs to be sentenced.

    Garrett Crouse’s trial was set to begin August 20, to last two weeks. Tuesday’s hearing was to argue pre-trial motions but became a guilty plea hearing at the last minute. According to Evans’ summary of the evidence in court, there was no dispute as to Garrett Crouse’s assistance in the initial events of March 4 when Combs was held at a Maywood Lane residence in Marion for interrogation by Daniel Crouse. It was also undisputed that Garrett Crouse accompanied his father and Ricky James when they took Combs to the National Forest site where the murder occurred. There, the cases diverged.

    For the Commonwealth, co-defendant Ricky James was expected to testify that he held a flashlight while the Crouses administered the blows and the shots that killed Combs. For the defendant’s case, Daniel Crouse was expected to testify on behalf of his son that Garrett was present but did not participate and it was James who participated in inflicting the fatal injuries.

    Daniel Brice Crouse, 39, of Sugar Grove, was convicted on May 29, 2012, in the Circuit Court of Smyth County and sentenced as follows: Capital Murder – Life without Parole; Robbery – Life; 5 counts of Use of a Firearm in Commission of a Felony – 3 years on each; and Felon in Possession of a Firearm – 2 years. The sentences are consecutive.

    On May 18, 2012, Ricky Joseph James, 25, of Marion, was convicted of Accessory to Capital Murder and sentenced to 50 years in the penitentiary with 27 years suspended.

    On February 3, 2012, Jessica James Edwards, 28, of Rural Retreat, was convicted of Abduction, and sentenced to 10 years in the penitentiary, with 8 years, 3 months suspended.

    On February 3, 2012, Mindie Mae Davidson, 32, of Marion, was convicted of Conspiracy to Commit Abduction and sentenced to 20 years in the penitentiary, with 17 years, 6 months suspended.

    On January 19, 2012, Michael Ray Brown, 37, of Galax, was convicted of 2 counts of Abduction, Conspiracy to Distribute a Schedule II Controlled Substance, and Conspiracy to Commit Robbery. He was sentenced to a total of 55 years in the penitentiary, with 51 years, 6 months suspended.

    The case was investigated by the Smyth County Sheriff’s Office, Marion Police Department, Virginia State Police and Forest Service

    http://www.facebook.com/notes/roy-f-...38712146215959

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