crime and courts at a glance [Corrected 01/05/12] [Virginian – Pilot]

Suffolk

Man convicted of selling coke could get 18 years

A jury Friday found a Suffolk man guilty of two counts of distributing cocaine. The jury recommended that Earnest C. Darden spend 18 years in prison and be fined $20,000 for the crimes.

Prosecutors played videotapes made when Darden, 45, was involved in drug sales to a confidential informant. Suffolk police gave the taping equipment to the informant, said prosecutor Amanda Burks.

The tapes were taken of Darden and the informant on three nights in July 2010 on First Avenue, near downtown, although one tape was too grainy to identify the subject of the video.

Darden said he had known the informant since childhood and claimed he had never sold the informant cocaine, but said he had sold marijuana several times.

Darden will be sentenced in December.

- Linda McNatt, The Pilot Virginia Beach

Man in prison for DUI deaths settles lawsuit

A man serving a 15-year prison sentence for the drunken-driving deaths of an English couple has settled a lawsuit against him and his insurance company for $200,000.

Christopher Dockiewicz, 46, was convicted of driving under the influence and two counts of aggravated involuntary manslaughter in a January 2010 crash that killed Anthony and Jean Tonking in the 1900 block of Princess Anne Road.

The Tonkings, both in their 70s, were visiting family in Virginia Beach.

Dockiewicz was on his way to pick up his 9-year-old son from school when he slammed into the Tonkings' vehicle while driving at least 77 mph, according to evidence presented in the criminal case against him. His blood-alcohol concentration was nearly twice the legal limit for driving.

Julie Olszewski, the Tonkings' daughter and administrator of their estates, filed two wrongful-death suits in Circuit Court.

Dockiewicz and USAA Casualty Insurance Company agreed to pay $100,000 in each of the cases, according to the court records.

- Kristin Davis, The PilotVirginia Beach

Cop leaps from window to nab suspected robber

A police officer jumped from the second-story window of a home Thursday night to catch a man suspected of robbing its occupants.

Officers responded about 10:45 p.m. to the 4600 block of Glanmire Drive in Indian Lakes, where several people claimed three armed men wearing stockings over their faces had kicked in the front door, said Officer Grazia Moyers, a police spokeswoman. The men demanded money and tried to flee, she said.

But when the officers arrived, witnesses ran outside and said one of the men was still in the home. Police went upstairs, where an officer saw a man jump out of the window, Moyers said.

The officer jumped after him, catching and arresting him, Moyers said.

Police didn't release the arrested man's name because they said they are still looking for the other suspects and believe they may be tied to additional incidents.

No one was reported injured.

- Kathy Adams, The Pilot

CORRECTION A story and headline ("Man in prison for DUI deaths settles lawsuit") on Page 2 of Saturday's Hampton Roads section erroneously said that the estate of a couple killed in a crash filed lawsuits against the driver, Christopher Dockiewicz. In fact, a judge approved petitions outlining a settlement and no suit was filed. Further, the total amount, $200,000, represented the limit of insured liability for two people for the vehicle operated by Dockiewicz. Correction published Sept. 28, 2011, p. 2 of the Front section.