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Posted by karcyn from on 05/05 at 03:22 PM
Judge facing hit-and-run charge
Wytheville Enterprise: News > The Floyd Press: News >
Mon May 05, 2008 - 01:52 PM
By NATE HUBBARD/Staff
M. Keith Blankenship, a former Wythe County commonwealth’s attorney and current juvenile court judge, found himself on the wrong side of the law for the second time in the past two months Saturday when he was arrested on one misdemeanor hit-and-run count stemming from an April 27 incident in Powhatan County, just west of Richmond.
According to a Virginia State Police new release, Blankenship, 43, was arrested at his Wytheville residence around 9 a.m. Saturday morning.
Trooper D.W. Pruett, one of the arresting officers, described Blankenship as “very cooperative” and said he was released later that day on an unsecured bond.
On March 1, Blankenship was pulled over on Interstate 81 in Smyth County and charged with driving under the influence and refusing a breath test. A hearing on those charges is scheduled for May 20 in Smyth County General District Court.
In the latest incident, Blankenship was driving northbound in a 2006 Subaru Forester on Huguenot Springs Road in Powhatan County at about 5:15 p.m. on April 27 when he swerved off the right side of the rural road and plowed into a telephone-line box, said Corinne Geller, public relations manager for the state police.
The release states that Blankenship then drove into a yard beside the telephone-line box, causing “substantial damage.”
Before leaving the scene, state police say, Blankenship crossed over to the left side of the road, hit an embankment and uprooted a tree in another yard.
Geller said multiple witnesses saw the crash. Trooper O.L. Jackson eventually found Blankenship that evening at a hotel in Chesterfield County, just southeast of Powhatan County.
No one was injured, Geller added.
Jackson was unavailable for comment Monday morning.
Geller refused to say if alcohol was being considered as a factor in the crash, reiterating that at this time Blankenship has been charged only with the hit-and-run offense.
“The crash is still under investigation,” she said.
Blankenship did not immediately return a phone message left at his residence Monday morning.
Geller also did not have any information regarding why Blankenship was in Powhatan County on April 27.
Powhatan County Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert Beasley said he knew of the incident but was unaware of Blankenship’s arrest when reached Monday morning.
He said he and Blankenship were both elected as commonwealth’s attorneys the same year and added that although they “weren’t extremely close,” they have had a “professional relationship” for many years.
At this point, Beasley said he’s unsure if he will seek to have the case moved out of his jurisdiction or if he will prosecute Blankenship.
“I don’t treat people differently because of their positions,” he said. “I don’t treat them any more harshly or easily.”
Beasley added that he is still gathering details on the case and couldn’t comment at this time regarding whether alcohol may have played a role in the crash.
He also said it would be inappropriate to comment regarding his personal reaction to the incident.
Judith Green, who lives at 2434 Huguenot Springs Road, said she was in her home on April 27 when she heard a vehicle crash into the embankment at the edge of her property.
“Basically I thought it was one of our neighbors’ children that had just gotten their license,” Green said.
From her house, set back approximately 300 feet from the road, Green said she couldn’t make out the kind of vehicle that had run into her yard and just caught a glimpse of it as it backed out into the road and drove off.
Green added that there is a bit of a sharp turn on Huguenot Springs Road near her residence, but she said she saw no indications of anything else that may have caused the crash.
In addition to a toppled tree in her yard, Green said there were also tire ruts left on her property. She said Monday morning that she had not yet received an estimate of the damage.
Her neighbor across the street, James Dufficy of 2431 Huguenot Springs Road, called police after the accident, Green said.
There was no answer to two telephone calls made to Dufficy’s residence Monday, but Green said Dufficy’s property also was damaged by the wayward vehicle.
Blankenship served as the commonwealth’s attorney in Wythe County from 2000, when he began his tenure as a juvenile and domestic relations court judge for the 27th Judicial District in July 2005.
The 27th Judicial District encompasses multiple localities in the area including Bland, Carroll, Floyd, Grayson and Wythe counties.
Since Blankenship’s arrest back in March, there has been no public disciplinary action taken against him.
Nate Hubbard can be reached at 228-6611 or .
Reader Reaction:
So where’s the Admiral now to defend this pathetic little twerp? What an embarrasment for a Judge.
Posted by Doctor Watson from on 05/05 at 04:16 PM
This guy is still at it and will keep it up until he kills somebody. He is going to be a repeat offender and not even been to court on the first offence. How long will it take to get him off the road and off the bench?
Posted by bombender from on 05/06 at 12:20 AM
This is twice in two months and he is still on the bench dishing out punishment. How can this be?
Posted by bed159 from on 05/06 at 09:14 AM
It would’ve been most appropriate for him to go on leave until these matters were settled, in my opinion. Of course he is still innocent until a court finds him otherwise.
Posted by Will from FC from on 05/06 at 12:18 PM
The odds are he was intoxicated but even if he was he can’t be charged. Sad.
Posted by J.R. from on 05/06 at 02:55 PM
What i want to know is when the trooper found him that evening why was he not arrested then instead of the next morning? could it have been because he knew he was a judge and trying to cover for him by not giving him a dui chargeand waited until the next day when he sobered up sounds funny to me!
Posted by clay687 from on 05/06 at 03:46 PM
i hope his supporters are seriously considering some type of help for their friend, unless they can find an excuse for this behavior. everyone just needs to be thankful no children were out playing during this. if the judge asked him to decide his punishment, we would all se just how much concern he has for juvenile and domestic relations. i firmly believe ALL of his decisions in that court should be questioned because it is evident he has a problem.
Posted by momof4 from on 05/06 at 06:32 PM
you can count on this, i bet with him being a judge he will not spend any jail time even though there is mandatory sentences for dui. if it was any other regular citezen they would go for sure. he has no business on the bench judging anyone else for any case whatsoever.
Posted by clay687 from on 05/06 at 06:47 PM
The good side to all this is that the Enterprise already had a recent copy of his photo handy from the last time around.
Posted by Dan East from Wytheville, VA on 05/06 at 09:41 PM
It would be interesting to know who was with Blankenship when he was arrested. People leave the scene of accidents because they are intoxicated. Judges should not be given preferrential treatment. You can rest assure that Blankenship would dish out the harshest punishment he could. So much for the bench and on and on and on. He should be off the road before he kills somebody.
Posted by lroop from on 05/07 at 04:25 PM
AND THIS MAN IS ACTUALLY A JUVENILE JUDGE ? WHAT KIND OF EXAMPLE IS THIS FOR ALL THE CHILDREN WHO HAVE BEEN BEFOR HIM IN COURT.AND I AM SURE IF IT HAD BEEN JOHN DOE HE WOULD HAVE BEEN AWAKENED , HANDCUFFED AND ARESTED THE NIGHT OF THE WRECK.BY LAW I THINK THAT IS COMMON PROCEDURE. AND I’M SURE A BREATHALIZER WOULD HAVE BEEN IN THERE SOMEWHERE. BUT THEN AGAIN THIS IS A JUDGE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT , NOT YOU OR I. THIS IS A MAN WHO IS SUPPOSE TO BE OF SUCH HIGH STANDARDS AND UPHOLD OUR LAWS AND HOLDS OUR CHILDRENS LIVES IN HIS HANDS WHEN THEY APPEAR BEFOR HIM, FOR WHAT EVER REASON IT MAY BE. THEY MAY HAVE CHOSEN THE WRONG FRIENDS AND THE WRONG PATH. OR IT MAY BE A LITTLE GIRL WHOSE FATHER IS MOLESTING HER. AND HE STILL GIVES HIM WEEKEND VISITATION RIGHTS, OR WHOSE PARENTS ARE BEATING THEIR CHILDREN. HE MADE A DECISON THOSE DAYS ALSO, WAS HE USING HIS BEST JUDGEMENT THAT DAY ? IT REALLY MAKES ME WONDER. DOES IT MAKE YOU WONDER TOO ? I’M ANXIOUS TO SEE WHAT KIND OF REPREMAND HE WILL GET FOR THESE CHARGES. WILL IT BE A JOHN DOE SENTENCE OR A JUDGE BLANKENSHIP SENTENCE.
Posted by DoWhat? from on 05/07 at 08:56 PM
The last time Blankenship was in the paper for this type of stuff I wrote about lunchtime discussions in which he argued employers had the right to know what employees did off the clock and in private. Like most right-wingers, he was generally holier than thou on most everything, a standard bearer for Jesus, he would say. Well, I knew it was bull then, but I never knew we might be able to one day share rehab anecdotes. He apparently needs help. But like most conservatives he has never seemed to think people with substance abuse problems deserved any help, just jail time and punishment. I believe the opposite. Still, in my 45 years, it has become increasingly obvious that the loudest righteousness rallyers or WWJD pray-real-loud-in-public-so-everyone-can-see-how-faithful-I-am folks seem to need more than a little shepherding themselves, from Swaggert to Sen. Larry Craig, they crumble like cookies when the curtain is lifted. They need our pity as much as any others. ‘For all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.’ Go figure!?! The truth shall set you free, Keith. – Don Simmons Jr., former editor of The Smyth County News & Messenger
Posted by don simmons jr from on 05/08 at 11:03 AM
i agree he needs help, i also think the decisions he has made in court need to be questioned, as pointed out he has little concern for the welfare of children, i hate to be so cynical but i have lived a long time and have seen what money can do for the fortunate and the lack of money can do for the unfornate - justice be D__ned. who is to say he was not under the influence on the bench, doctors have done it nurses have done it, police officers have done it, the list goes on and on, being KEITH BLANKENSHIP now does n not put him above question.
Posted by momof4 from on 05/09 at 04:59 PM
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