Ex-Rocky Mount police officer seeks release from jail, Va. budget surplus swells to $2.6 billion, Nelson County residents celebrate pipeline cancellation, and more headlines

By: Robert Zullo - July 15, 2021 8:06 am

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• The ex-Rocky Mount police officer who participated in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot is seeking his release from jail. “Mr. Robertson’s own words show that he is a danger to the community,” a federal prosecutor said.—Roanoke Times

• A Chesterfield judge set aside a guilty jury verdict for a Chester man who killed a teenager who stole a car belonging to the shooter’s girlfriend. “Never before have I seen a judge completely set aside a jury’s guilty verdict and acquit the defendant,” the Chesterfield commonwealth’s attorney said.—Richmond Times-Dispatch

• The Norfolk Police Department has launched an online data hub going back five years that includes use-of-force data.—Virginian-Pilot

• Virginia Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger is teaming up with a West Virginia Republican, David McKinley, to crack down on insurance companies and prescription drug middlemen.—Culpeper Star-Exponent

• Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin isn’t answering questions about his views on abortion access.—WVTF

• Chesapeake’s city council voted to put “In God We Trust” decals on all city vehicles as part of an effort to “quell divisive rhetoric” and to unify people along racial and political lines, one council member said.—Virginian-Pilot

• Virginia’s surplus has swelled to nearly $2.6 billion.—Richmond Times-Dispatch

• Workers at a Volvo truck plant in Southwest Virginia will end their strike after reaching a deal with the company.—Associated Press

• A former spokeswoman to Gov. Bob McDonnell is among a group of Republicans seeking the nomination to run against U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Henrico.—Washington Post

• A year after the cancellation of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Nelson County residents celebrated.—Nelson County Times

• The father of a woman killed during the Virginia Beach municipal building mass shooting was having trouble finding a memorial to the victims at Old Dominion University. He got a personal escort from police and firefighters after asking directions at a local fire station.—Virginian-Pilot

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Robert Zullo

Robert spent 13 years as a reporter and editor at weekly and daily newspapers before becoming editor of the Virginia Mercury in 2018. He was a staff writer and managing editor at Worrall Community Newspapers in Union, N.J., before spending five years in south Louisiana covering hurricanes, oil spills and Good Friday crawfish boils as a reporter and city editor for the The Courier and the Daily Comet newspapers in Houma and Thibodaux. He covered Richmond city hall for the Richmond Times-Dispatch from 2012 to 2013 and worked as a general assignment and city hall reporter for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from 2013 to 2016. He returned to Richmond in 2016 to cover energy, environment and transportation for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He grew up in Miami, Fla., and central New Jersey. A former waiter, armored car guard and appliance deliveryman, he is a graduate of the College of William and Mary. Contact him at [email protected]