Following emotional testimony from Jennifer Brinklow, the mother of 20-year-old Tristen Brinklow on the devastating impact on her life of her son’s 2019 murder, and a perhaps surprisingly emotional series of apologies from his accused killer for his role in that murder, the Commonwealth and defense counsels debated at which end of sentencing guidelines 38-year-old Richard Matthew Crouch should be incarcerated on Second Degree Murder and related and unrelated charges he submitted guilty pleas to as part of a plea agreement.

By plea agreement already accepted by Warren County Circuit Court Judge William Sharp, the sentencing range was between 8-years-and-7-months and 28 years-and-9-months. The other involved suspect, George Good, received a 10-year prison sentence with 25 years suspended on August 13, on a similar plea agreement involving two charges of helping Crouch dispose of Brinklow’s body and a variety of unrelated charges. Good was 29 at the time of his sentencing three months ago.

After hearing about an hour and a half of testimony, questions, and arguments Judge Sharp adjourned to chambers at noon, Monday, November 29th to consider his sentencing decision. After 17 minutes Judge Sharp returned to deliver his ruling. That ruling was the high-end 28-years-and-9-months according to sentencing parameters of the plea agreement, after imposing two, 5-year sentences on concealing and defiling (allowing to decompose) a dead body; and 30 years on the Second Degree Murder charge. Crouch will also get credit for time served, about two years. It was said that currently it is estimated that inmates will serve about 85% of their sentence with good behavior time taken off. Crouch also had four, 5-year sentences related to an earlier attack on an ex-girlfriend and his drug possession with intent to distribute charges imposed with all 20 years suspended. He will be on supervised probation for five years after his release.

While getting credit for his time served, two years was later tacked on to the 28-year-9-month sentence, on a probation violation charge argued outside the plea agreement. Arguing that aspect of the cases, Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Nick Manthos countered defense co-counsel Eric Wiseley’s call to waive the two additional years of active incarceration after his client received nearly three times the sentence George Good did for their respective roles in Brinklow’s murder.

Richard Matthew Crouch in July 2021 mug shot from Northwestern Adult Regional Detention Center. Below, charged as an accessory in the murder of Tristen Brinklow, George Lee Good (Oct. 2020 RSW Jail mug shot). Good received 10 years of active incarceration for his believed role in the killing. On Monday Crouch was sentenced to a total of 30 years and 9 months.

Manthos, as Commonwealth Attorney John Bell had earlier, noted that while Crouch held to his story that it was Good who actually beat Brinklow to death, the physical evidence matched Good’s story that it was Crouch who attacked and strangled Brinklow to death in a methamphetamine-induced paranoid delusional state. Crouch did admit to being up for at least five days straight, perhaps as many as 10 days, doing an extraordinary amount of methamphetamine – he estimated at 3.5 grams (an 8-ball) to twice that amount per day – while trying to finance being on the run from police from an incident several days earlier in which he non-fatally had strangled an ex-girlfriend.

The Commonwealth noted that in his earlier attack on the ex-girlfriend, Crouch had not only choked her but cut off a large portion of her hair. When Good led authorities to Brinklow’s decomposed body, a bone in the neck was discovered broken at autopsy indicative of strangulation, and a large portion of Brinklow’s hair was discovered cut off. Those aspects of the earlier Crouch attack on the ex-girlfriend were not known to Good, the prosecution told the court.

The fact that all the crimes he enter guilty pleas to, including the assault on his ex, the methamphetamine use, and dealing, as well as Brinklow’s murder, occurred while Crouch was on probation led Judge Sharp to side with the prosecution on the necessity of imposing the two probation violation years hanging over Crouch – “There has to be a consequence, otherwise probation means nothing,” Judge Sharp said in rendering his decision on that second part of the day’s hearing on Crouch’s fate behind bars.

While admitting to the drug use and paranoid state leading him to believe that he was going to be robbed of his meth stash worth several thousand dollars, Crouch insisted that Brinklow coming at him with a knife and Good’s response of pulling him off Crouch and beating him to death was not a part of his drug-induced delusions. However, it seemed Crouch and his attorney in the plea sentencing, Howard Manheimer, may have been the only two in court buying into that scenario. It appeared seven relatives and friends accompanied Jennifer Brinklow to court Monday.
Several times asked by the court if he had anything to say before decisions were rendered, Crouch in a low, emotional voice expressed remorse, saying, “I am so sorry, I am so sorry with all my heart.” Crouch told the court and Brinklow’s mother that he had become involved in a jailhouse ministry conducted at RSW and related drug abuse counseling to try and steer inmates away from drug addiction upon their release.

He also looked at Tristen’s mother testifying from the witness box directly in front of him as she recounted the multiple impacts, including being told she now suffers from PTSD (Post Traumatic Shock Disorder) in the wake of her son’s murder. “I didn’t know a person could live without a heart and soul,” Mrs. Brinklow told the courtroom of her life since December 13, 2019, when she was informed it was her missing son’s body discovered in an abandoned freezer near the river. The murder occurred in September 2019.

She said tears came often, stimulated by “a smell, food, a cloud – ANYTHING. I never had anxiety, now there are places I can’t go without breaking down … It’s beyond obvious those two did not know Trey – a few minutes with him and he’d give you anything he had … Four days after he turned 20 you took his life – he was just a kid.”

Tristen Brinklow’s photo from the family social media page was reproduced and displayed in court Monday in support of his mother Jennifer Brinklow’s testimony as an auxiliary victim of her son’s murder. The second photo of him with his mother and grandmother was also displayed. Below, ‘Justice for Trey’ demonstrators outside George Good’s plea agreement hearing in August. More support was promised during Monday’s plea hearing for Richard Matthew Crouch.

Following the rendering of his plea agreement sentence of 28-years-9-months, Judge Sharp told Crouch he hoped he made the best out of the portion of his life that will now be spent in prison; that he was truly remorseful for letting a dangerous, illegal drug get a grip on his life that led to this point; and that he would continue to work to counsel others away from a similar fate, and turn his life in a positive direction.

“I wish you luck,” the judge told Crouch.

“Thank you,” Crouch replied.

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On November 17, 2021, the Front Royal Police Department and the Northwest Virginia Regional Drug and Gang Task Force arrested Phillip Michael Fincham for the robbery of City National Bank and possession of a controlled substance. Mr. Fincham was taken into custody without incident in the 500 block of Manassas Avenue.

Phillip Fincham was arrested for robbery of City National Bank. Photo courtesy of RSW Jail.

On November 12, 2021, a male subject entered the City National Bank located at 600 North Commerce in the afternoon hours and presented a note to the teller demanding money. The Criminal Investigations Division was also able to connect the same suspect to an attempted robbery of the Circle K Convenience Store on Sunday, November 7, 2021, and attempted Break and Enter of the Knotty Pine Restaurant on Sunday, November 8, 2021, and a Break and Enter with larceny of the Knotty Pine Restaurant on Wednesday, November 10, 2021.

On November 17, 2021, the Northern Regional Drug Task Force determined that Fincham was in possession of narcotics and made contact with him in the 500 block of Manassas Avenue. After a short interview, Fincham was taken into custody and charged with possession. Fincham was also in possession of U.S. currency that matched the serial numbers of the money taken during the robbery from City National Bank on Friday.

Mr. Fincham was subsequently interviewed and confessed to the robbery of City National Bank. Additional charges will be obtained against Mr. Fincham regarding the break and enter of Knotty Pine and the attempted robbery at the Circle K in the next couple of days. Mr. Fincham was held without bond pending his court appearance on the current charges.

The Front Royal Police Department would like to thank the businesses and public for their assistance in this investigation that led to a quick conclusion to this investigation and the ensuing arrest of the suspect. Anyone with any further information is requested to contact the Front Royal Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division at (540) 636-2208.

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Town of Front Royal Police are seeking what is described as a young, white male suspect 5-foot-3 to 5-foot-6 in the Friday afternoon, November 12, robbery at the City National Bank located at the busy mid-town intersection of Sixth Street and Commerce Avenue. Here is the FRPD Press Release issued shortly after 4 p.m. Monday in its entirety:

“On Friday, November 12, 2021, at approximately 3:45 pm, Front Royal Police Department responded to a reported robbery at the City National Bank located at 600 North Commerce Avenue. Arriving officers were advised that a male suspect had entered the bank and showed the bank teller a note requesting money. The male suspect was given an undisclosed amount of U.S. currency and fled the bank on foot. He was last observed crossing Commerce Avenue heading east on 6th Street. There weren’t any injuries reported in the incident.

“The suspect is described as a young white male possibly in his 20’s, 5’3-5’6, 140-160 lbs. He was last seen wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and a white covid style mask with sunglasses. The suspect did not display a weapon. The police department advises that anyone with information please contact Detective DL Fogle at (540) 636-2208 or dfogle@frontroyalva.com”

Security video image of suspect in City National Bank robbery last Friday afternoon – Courtesy Photo FRPD

Looking south toward the 6th St.-Commerce Ave. intersection police have the bank and its parking lot cordoned off. Royal Examiner Photos by Roger Bianchini

Units from FRPD and the WCSO responded to the scene as bank staffers appear to be gathered in rear parking lot with investigators.

Crime scene tape has cordoned off the bank building as the search for suspect who may have fled on foot proceeded in other parts of downtown area.

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Contacted about the new dates in late 2022 of trials in the now federal prosecutor-handled criminal indictments against former Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority (EDA) Executive Director Jennifer McDonald, current EDA Board of Directors Chairman Jeff Browne said while it has little, if any, impact on the EDA’s civil litigation seeking recovery of assets, he understands public frustration from continued delays on the criminal side of the EDA financial scandal.

“I don’t believe the delay in the criminal case impacts our civil case. We have no control over the criminal case, but it is frustrating that Warren County residents must wait so long for justice to be served. I understand the reasons for the delay, but it still is frustrating,” Browne told Royal Examiner.

The reason for the delay continues to be, as it has been from the outset for the most part, the volume of evidentiary documentation in the case, as well as the introduction of new attorneys into the legal equation who must absorb the information in that documentation estimated at well over a million pages.

File photo of Jennifer McDonald booked in August 2019 during state criminal prosecution process. That was her second arrest related to the local/state criminal investigation of EDA finances during her executive director leadership of the EDA. Royal Examiner File Photos

Most recently, federal Judge Elizabeth Dillon granted McDonald’s newest attorney, court-appointed Andrea Harris’s request for a continuance of McDonald’s criminal trials slated for the first week of this month. The federal prosecutor from the Western District of Virginia did not object to the continuance. Consequently, new trial dates between October 11 and November 18, 2022, are now on federal docket. Since the delay came at the request of the defense, speedy trial guidelines will not come into play.

As Royal Examiner previously reported, on August 31 McDonald was re-arrested on a 34-count indictment handed down by the Western District of Virginia Federal Prosecutor’s Office in Harrisonburg.

On April 16, 2019, FBI and Va. State Police jointly seized material from EDA offices, including the former executive director’s office computer which had been locked down from outside access since Dec. 20, 2018.

Of those 34 counts, 16 were for money laundering, 10 for bank fraud, 7 for wire fraud, and 1 count of aggravated identity theft regarding someone identified as “T.T.” – our best guess representing ITFederal principal Truc “Curt” Tran. The 40-paragraph True Bill elaborating on the charges to a Harrisonburg Grand Jury is dated August 25, and signed by then-Acting U.S. Attorney Daniel P. Bubar. McDonald was once again released on bond.

Dan Whitten, left, Greg Drescher, back to camera, former county attorney and EDA Board chairman respectively, as well as Tim Grant, seated at computer, lock down McDonald’s office and computer as a potential crime scene in the wake of her Dec. 20, 2018, emailed resignation in the wake of mounting closed session scrutiny by her board. Below, the same office following the April 16, 2019, FBI-led seizure of materials from the EDA offices.

The charges and outline of the case in support of them echo earlier criminal indictments filed at the state level before the State Special Prosecutor’s Office in Harrisonburg turned the case over to federal authorities in late 2019. The state special prosecutor had dropped the indictments it had filed to avoid speedy trial issues due to the volume of evidentiary material – estimated at 800,000 to over a million pages at the time. Failure to meet speedy trial deadlines could have led to defense motions for dismissal of charges on the criminal side of the EDA financial scandal case.

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A federal jury convicted a Winchester, Virginia man yesterday for conspiring with others to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin as well as distributing heroin that resulted in serious bodily injury.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Robert Bradley Lockhart, 33, was a heroin dealer connected to a drug pipeline between Baltimore, Maryland and Front Royal, Virginia. During the course of the investigation, the Northwest Virginia Drug and Gang Task Force (NWDGTF) Front Royal Team identified more than 30 overdose injuries connected to that heroin pipeline, and conducted dozens of controlled heroin buys, traffic stops, search warrants and interviews with Virginia-based heroin sub-distributors. This investigation led to the arrest of many individuals, including the defendant, Robert Bradley Lockhart.

“Stopping the flow of heroin and other powerful drugs from out-of-state is a top priority of the Justice Department,” United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh said today. “Lockhart, and others, brought hundreds of grams of deadly drugs into Virginia and caused multiple overdoses. I am grateful to the work of the Front Royal Police Department, the DEA, and the Assistant United States Attorneys who prosecuted this conspiracy for closing this deadly pipeline.”

According to cooperating witnesses, Lockhart obtained quantities of heroin ranging from 10 to 30 grams each time he traveled to Baltimore between the summer of 2016 and December 2017, sometimes going to Baltimore several times a week. His heroin sales led to three different overdoses, one of which was the basis for the second count. Law enforcement conducted six controlled purchases of heroin from Lockhart and recovered 24 grams of heroin concealed in his anal cavity on the date of his arrest.

The Front Royal Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Northwest Virginia Drug and Gang Task Force investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn Rumsey and Heather L. Carlton prosecuted the case.

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On Tuesday, October 26, a misdemeanor “Stalking” warrant filed by Robert L. Shipley III against former Warren County School Board Chairman Arnold M. Williams Jr. was dismissed in Warren County General District Court at the request of the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office. The motion for dismissal cites inconsistencies between information in the citizen-acquired warrant and that shown in two video sources, body-cam footage of responding Front Royal Police officers and security video from the public retail site of Shipley’s initial complaint.

“Review of the body camera of the initial report is not consistent with the complaint presented to the magistrate,” Commonwealth Attorney John Bell wrote in his motion for dismissal. In addition to the police body camera recording, Bell references security camera footage at the Martins Grocery store site of the law enforcement response to Shipley’s complaint, noting, “Neither the original report nor the recorded events on the security cameras are sufficient to establish probable cause for a stalking warrant.”

Presented with this information Judge W. Dale Houff granted the request for dismissal.

Arnold Williams Jr. at School Board meeting in February, prior to his resignation due to his family’s move out of the North River District from which he was elected to serve. Royal Examiner File Photo

Had the case not been dismissed, Bell explained that he would have recused himself from it due to familiarity with one of the involved parties, in this case the defendant and his wife, the latter as an attorney a familiar face around the Warren County Courthouse. “If there was an arguable case with at least evidence for probable cause, I would have asked for a special prosecutor to take the case to trial. Since there was no evidence that even amounted to probable cause, I was ethically obliged to dismiss the case,” Bell told Royal Examiner.

It might also be noted that despite the law enforcement response to Martins, FRPD did not file a warrant from officers’ investigation at the scene. Rather, Shipley presented information to the magistrate requesting the warrant. As FRPD Major Kevin Nicewarner told us, FRPD only served the warrant after the magistrate issued it based on the information provided by Shipley.

And there are more layers to this story. It turns out that Williams’ wife, attorney Nancie Williams, had a previous stalking warrant filed against Shipley. RSW Regional Jail records indicate Shipley was booked into the jail on August 26 on a misdemeanor stalking warrant and released September 1, on a $5,000 bond.

And then on October 27, one day after Williams’ charge was dismissed, the 45-year-old Shipley was again booked into RSW Jail, this time on a charge cited as “Stalk person with protective order” believed related to his August arrest on the stalking of Nancie Williams warrant. A second stalking charge with a protective order in place makes it a felony charge. A bond hearing on that felony charge is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, November 3 (which is Shipley’s 46^th birthday according to the RSW website). A trial on the original misdemeanor stalking charge is slated for December 11, at 1:30 p.m. in Warren County General District Court.

RSW Jail mug shot of Robert Shipley III following his arrest earlier this week, Oct. 27, on a second ‘Stalking’ warrant involving attorney Nancie Williams, Arnold’s wife. Below, Shipley upon being booked into RSW on Aug. 26, following the first ‘Stalking’ warrant filed against him by Nancie Williams following her representation of the opposing side in a civil matter. Photos RSW Jail website

Contacted about the situation, Nancie Williams said that Mr. Shipley had been an opposing party in a civil matter she worked, the result of which she termed “quite agreeable” between the opposing sides. As to any ongoing civil matters involving Shipley, Williams added that she is no longer counsel in the case and has not been since the conclusion of the original case. However, she observed that from her perspective, “Mr. Shipley’s behavior seemed to escalate following the conclusion of the original case.”

Contacted about his entanglement in what had primarily been a legal situation between his wife and Shipley, Arnold Williams told us, “I guess it was his way to remove me from being protection for my wife and boys. And to be falsely accused is really a hard pill to swallow. But it’s good my charge was dismissed and I hope and pray for my family that Mr. Shipley gets the help he needs to resolve his obsession with my wife.”

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