A Rappahannock County Circuit Court judge sentenced a Luray man to six months in jail last Thursday for violating probation 48 times following his conviction in a robbery at Sperryville resident Bill Fletcher’s property in 2020.
Terry Dovel, 25, pleaded guilty to nine felony charges in May 2022 after he and fellow Luray resident Corey Hanner were accused of stealing more than $2,000 worth of items from Fletcher’s property. Dovel was considered an accomplice in the robbery, and was compliant with the prosecution at the time, according to Commonwealth’s Attorney Art Goff.
Dovel was placed on probation after his release in November 2023, and was arrested first in Page County in June 2024 for violating probation. He was then charged with 48 additional counts of probation violation in Rappahannock.
Dovel violated four conditions of his probation, including failure to follow the instructions of his probation officer, use or possession of illegal substances and violation of the law, according to court records. Out of the 48 total counts, Judge Dennis L. Hupp found Dovel guilty of eight and revoked his probation.
When he was initially convicted, Dovel was sentenced to nine years in jail, with seven years suspended — that suspension was conditional on good behavior upon release.
Hupp resuspended all but six months of the jail sentence. Dovel will also serve one year in jail for charges in Page County, and will be placed on two years of supervised probation when he is released, according to court proceedings.
Dovel’s attorney, public defender Anna Cox, asked the judge to consider placing Dovel in Town Creek Assisted Living Facility in Lovingston, Va. for mental health treatment, and Hupp agreed.
“[This] would put him in a better situation than he was in before,” Cox said. She added that Dovel has not received support he needed up to this point.
Goff agreed that inpatient care is the “best solution for Mr. Dovel” and that he believes Dovel is in need of “a lot of intensive mental health treatment.” Goff said Dovel was a cooperative witness in the robbery case, and provided “essential assistance” and testimony for the prosecution.
“Thank you,” Dovel said to Hupp before the case concluded.
