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Fletcher pleads not guilty to speeding, DWI

by | Nov 20, 2024

Arrested again for traffic violations

James “Bill” Fletcher III pleaded not guilty last Tuesday to speeding and DWI charges stemming from a June arrest, but his trial was postponed until February after a key witness was unable to appear. On Nov. 7, Fletcher was also arrested on additional traffic infractions while driving an ATV near Massies Corner.

Fletcher, 72, a longtime Rappahannock resident and lawyer, has been charged with speeding at 78 mph in a 55 mph zone, DWI and refusing a blood or breath alcohol test after he was arrested at a Blue Rock polo match on June 7 in front of about 100 onlookers.

Last week, Fletcher was arrested at the intersection of Zachary Taylor and Lee highways on two more traffic violations — failure to stop at a stop sign and failure to display tags on a farm vehicle — while driving an ATV,  according to court documents. He will appear in court on these charges Dec. 10.

After Fletcher pleaded not guilty in Rappahannock County District Court Tuesday, the court was informed that Virginia State Police Trooper Eric Smith, a witness in the case, was unable to appear because he was called to the scene of an accident.

Fletcher’s attorney Whitson Robinson apologized to Judge Lorrie Sinclair Taylor, who said she came to Rappahannock from Loudoun County to hear the case. Sinclair Taylor told the attorneys she wanted to “wait and see” if Smith would appear later in the day before eventually continuing the case. District Court Judge Jessica H. Foster and Commonwealth’s Attorney Art Goff earlier had recused themselves from the case.

Robinson said he and his client wanted to proceed with the trial, but without Smith’s testimony, he said he did not feel he could.

“My client wants to go [to trial] today, but I cannot in good faith proceed without this witness,” Robinson said.

Fletcher’s trial was postponed until Feb. 4.

Ireland Hayes is a reporter for Foothills Forum, a nonprofit organization that supports local news in Rappahannock County.

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By Ireland Hayes

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Ireland joined Foothills Forum as a full-time reporter in 2023 after graduating from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication with a degree in journalism and minor in music. As a student, she gained valuable experience in reporter and editor positions at The Red & Black, an award-winning student newspaper, and contributed to Grady Newsource and the Athens Banner-Herald. She spent three years as an editorial assistant at Georgia Magazine, UGA’s quarterly alumni publication, and interned with The Bitter Southerner. Growing up in a small town in Southeast Georgia, Ireland developed a deep appreciation for rural communities and the unique stories they have to tell. She completed undergraduate research on news deserts, ghost papers and the ways rural communities in Georgia are being forced to adapt to a lack of local news. This research further sparked her interest in a career contributing to the preservation of local and rural news.