by Laurence Hammack | Jul 3, 1994 | Investigative reporting
With the banging of gavels this month, four men will start work in some of the Roanoke Valley’s most powerful jobs. As new judges, they will change peoples’ lives every day. They will decide who goes to prison or jail, and for how long. They will decide...
by Laurence Hammack | Apr 10, 1994 | Courts/legal issues
When he was 14, Bobby Ingram would ride his bike to the corner store, a $5 bill stuffed in his pocket for soda and snacks. He soon noticed that other kids had a lot more money than he did. “We would go to the store and I would pull out the $5 my mom had gave...
by Laurence Hammack | Jul 17, 1993 | Courts/legal issues
The case of Charles A. Cotton was handled with assembly-line speed; just one of 279 traffic cases jamming the July 1 docket. Cotton pleaded guilty to driving after his license had been suspended – for the 10th time. He was fined $100. Five minutes later, Cotton...
by Laurence Hammack | Feb 8, 1992 | Race relations
Fourteen Roanoke police recruits became rookie officers Friday, making history even before responding to their first call. With the graduation of the 36th Basic Police Academy, the seven blacks and seven whites became the most racially mixed class ever to enter the...
by Laurence Hammack | Nov 3, 1991 | Race relations
FOURTEEN police recruits sit in nervous anticipation, wearing crisp blue uniforms and polished badges that they have yet to earn. “Police Academy; ten-hut!” a sergeant barks from the back of the classroom. Chairs skid backward on the scarred floor as the...