Police responded at about 7 a.m. to the Cottage Grove Apartments, off Jefferson Avenue south of Briarfield Road, following an alert from ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection system.

Police found the teen lying on the ground in the 700 block of Gloucester Drive, inside the complex. He died at the hospital a short time later.

“An officer tried to save that young man’s life,” Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew said, choking up briefly as he described the rescue attempt that he said he viewed on video footage.

Drew began a news conference at police headquarters Tuesday morning by saying he was “frustrated that we’re having this conversation.”

Any loss of life is a tragedy, he said, “but when we start talking about youth and teenagers, we’re in another conversation.”

Drew said he wanted to clear up rumors that that the killing stemmed from a dispute inside a school that then “spilled over into the community.”

“We’re not tying this to an incident or a situation that has happened inside or at the schools,” he said.

Still, Drew said he wouldn’t rule out that the shooting was connected to the slaying of the 15-year-old Menchville High School student who was shot last week while waiting for the school bus on 16th Street and Garden Drive at Stuart Gardens.

“We’re two or three hours in,” Drew said, saying detectives are still tracking down leads and making such a connection between the cases would be “premature.”

The shooter in Tuesday’s killing is still at large. No arrests have been made in either case, and police have not released motives in either one.

This week’s slaying at Cottage Grove, he said, did not take place at a bus stop, and it was not immediately clear whether the slain teen was on his way to school when he was killed. High schools in Newport News begin at 7:10 a.m. daily, or about 10 minutes after Tuesday’s shooting.

Drew declined to say which high school the 17-year-old attended, though both the chief and Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones visited Heritage High School — less than half a mile from the shooting site — shortly after the slaying.

Later, Drew predicted that both of the killings would be solved. “We have good information coming in,” he said. “People are going to be held accountable.”

Jones said at the news conference that the shootings in both cases appear to have stemmed from particular issues between the young people.

“These appear to be targeted,” he said. “These are not random acts of violence.”

Still, Jones said, “This is unacceptable in the city of Newport News, and this has to stop.”

“I’m tired of getting the phone calls in the morning,” the mayor added. “I’m tired of going down to the scene. This is on parents. This is on families. There is no excuse for not knowing what your child has in their bedroom. If someone lives in your house, you should know exactly what they’re doing.”

Jones went to the crime scene Tuesday morning with Newport News City Council member John Eley, who represents the South District.

He and Drew then visited Heritage.

“The call to action that I have for you is, if you see something, please let us know,” Jones said at the news conference. “We have individuals that are trying to go to school. We have an amazing community, (and) I refuse to let these acts of violence characterize our city in a negative light. This is a great place to live, to work and to raise your family, and this has to stop.”

Drew said it struck him that parents at Heritage felt the need to remove their children from school on Tuesday.

“I saw kids’ faces in that hallway, and I saw parents taking their kids out of school, and that bothers me,” Drew said. “I want the students that are going to school here … to know that they’re safe being in our schools, and they’re going to be safe in these communities, and these acts aren’t going to be tolerated.”

Newport News Public Schools released a statement shortly before the press conference.

“While this undoubtedly will impact our community, our school staff remains diligent in ensuring the well-being of our students,” the statement reads. “Student support specialists and counselors are available to talk with students and families at all schools who may need support as they hear and learn more about these types of violent events in our community and across the country.”

Eliza Noe, eliza.noe@virginiamedia.com

Peter Dujardin, 757-897-2062, pdujardin@dailypress.com

The 26-year-old had married her partner, Haley Crabtree Johnson, in December, and they planned to soon start a family.

After several years in Blacksburg, the Hampton natives decided to return to the Peninsula to be closer to their own families as they began their own. They were set to close on a new home in Newport News in June.

After spending all day packing in Blacksburg on May 26, the Johnsons and several relatives ran a four-vehicle caravan back to Hampton Roads that Memorial Day weekend.

“We were all very excited for them to start their own family,” said Morgan’s mother, Rose Johnson Paul, 59, of Hampton. “I talked to Morgan all throughout the day, not knowing that would be the last time I ever talked to my daughter.”

About 20 minutes from home, Morgan’s 1998 Chevy Silverado pickup was struck from behind by a 2010 Volvo SUV on Interstate 64 near Fort Eustis, in Newport News.

The pickup veered to the right, struck a guardrail and flipped multiple times, landing on its roof. Johnson was wearing a seat belt, but died at the scene.

The Volvo’s driver, Gregory Todd Pugh Jr., 30, was uninjured. The Hampton resident was charged with reckless driving, driving on a suspended license and failing to have insurance.

___

Family wants increased charges

Now, Johnson’s relatives want prosecutors to upgrade the misdemeanor reckless driving count to manslaughter. Reckless driving, they contend, amounts to a glorified speeding ticket.

“He killed someone, you know?” said Morgan’s sister, Chelsie Johnson Schrum, 33. “To me it’s black and white. You weren’t supposed to be on the road, and you killed somebody. To me, that’s manslaughter … not a traffic infraction.”

“What I want is accountability,” Morgan’s mother added.

Haley Johnson, 24, said she would be upset if the charges are not upgraded.

“That would be absolutely devastating,” she said, saying keeping the charges as is would make it appear “that they don’t care that a life was lost.”

Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, said that every few years in the Virginia General Assembly, a lawmaker puts in a bill to enhance criminal liability for fatal crashes. That typically follows a wreck in which a lawmaker’s constituent has lost a loved one on the road, he said.

But though several states have increased criminal liability for fatal crashes, Virginia has not.

“I think the reason that it hasn’t really caught on in Virginia is that we typically base the punishment on the level of intentional conduct, not necessarily the outcome,” Surovell said. “People make simple mistakes while driving cars all the time.”

Some cars are safer than others, he said, and whether someone lives or dies can turn on such factors as someone’s physical condition or whether or not they wore a seat belt. A healthy teen, for example, might walk away from a wreck that could kill an older person.

“How fair is it to hold a driver at fault for all the different variables that can cause a death?” Surovell asked.

___

Manslaughter vs. Reckless Driving

Involuntary manslaughter in Virginia — a felony punishable by up to 10 years — is typically reserved for crashes involving such behavior as racing, driving at high speeds or driving under the influence. The charge can be “aggravated,” and the sentence doubled, when someone shows a “wanton” and “reckless disregard for human life.”

Reckless driving is a lesser crime, defined as operating a motor vehicle “so as to endanger the life, limb, or property of any person.” It’s a Class 1 misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. Standard jail policies, moreover, would cut any resulting jail term in half.

Drivers who cause fatal accidents can also be charged with a rarely used “felony reckless driving” count — but only if their license was already suspended on past moving violations. (That doesn’t apply here, as Pugh’s license was suspended for failing to carry insurance rather than prior driving charges, police have told Johnson’s family).

Pugh could not be reached last week. His attorney, Timothy Clancy, declined to comment — and said his client would have no comment — on the case scheduled for an Oct.22 hearing in Newport News General District Court.

Meantime, Johnson’s family has a Thursday meeting scheduled with Newport News prosecutors where the family plans to press for the upgraded charge.

___

Crash report

The State Police report into the May 26 crash estimates Pugh was driving about 75 mph in a 65 mph zone when he struck Johnson, who was driving her loaded pickup about 55 mph.

Paul said investigators weren’t able to salvage black boxes from the vehicles to “confirm the speeds,” but she said police and prosecutors were still considering ways to determine whether those speed estimates are accurate.

Neither drugs nor alcohol were factors in the crash, the State Police report said. A trooper told Johnson’s family that there were no indicators at the scene — such as slurred speech, open containers or the smell of alcohol — to warrant a sobriety or breath test.

Johnson’s family contends sobriety tests should be mandated in all fatal wrecks, given that a driver’s impairment could go undetected by sight and smell.

But Surovell said it’s unconstitutional to require a sobriety check without probable cause — and that a fatal crash alone does not constitute such cause. Though police can ask someone to voluntarily submit to a sobriety test, he said, officers typically don’t request that without evidence of alcohol or drug use.

The State Police report also has boxes checked indicating that “driver distraction” — such as from a cell phone — was not a factor in the crash, but Johnson’s family said police told them that whether or not Pugh was using his cell phone at the time is still under investigation.

___

‘Loved her family hard’

Morgan Johnson grew up in Hampton, with a fraternal twin sister, an older sister and an older brother.

She played softball “her whole life,” including two years at Kecoughtan High School. When she didn’t make the team her sophomore year, she went to the coach to say she’d “love to be part of the team somehow,” Haley said. She ended up becoming the team manager.

“If Morgan hadn’t gone and reached out to the coach, we probably would have never met,” Haley said. The two became best friends first and then began dating while still at Kecoughtan.

Morgan also served as Kecoughtan’s “Warrior” mascot for three years, and worked as a trainer at a local YMCA and on the staff of the County Grill & Smokehouse and Harpoon Larry’s.

After Haley went to Virginia Tech for college, Morgan moved to Blacksburg in 2020.

While there, she got certifications in photography, welding and advanced welding. The couple launched a photography business, taking senior pictures for students at Tech and Radford University. Morgan was also a certified personal trainer, rescued animals, and enjoyed fishing, traveling and her Pittsburgh Steelers.

“Morgan worked hard, played hard, and loved her family hard,” Paul said, with the family saying she was outgoing and caring to her many friends.

Haley said Morgan “was meant to be a mother,” and began talking several years ago about wanting a family. After getting married late last year, the couple pegged August as “baby month,” to start planning an in vitro pregnancy in which Haley would carry the baby to term.

“She was excited,” Haley said.

In fact, having a family was what drew the newlyweds back to the Peninsula. “We had a great group of people in Blacksburg, but it wasn’t our parents, right?” Haley said.

While Haley landed a school teaching job in the Williamsburg public schools, Morgan was set to begin a welding job in June that included working on a race car at Langley Speedway, one of her favorite hangouts.

“It felt like everything was just kind of falling into place, kind of perfectly,” Haley said.

The May accident and past four months provided a dramatic, painful shift. Haley is still reeling from the loss of a woman she’s known about half her young life.

“You can be in the worst mood ever, and she knows how to pick you up,” Haley said of Morgan. “I miss her ability to laugh at everything and to make everybody else laugh.”

Haley said she misses Morgan in the small things, too, like going to the grocery store together.

“She was my confidante, my person,” Haley said. “She knew what I was feeling before I felt it. She knew what I needed at all times.”

Morgan’s sister Chelsie said the most difficult part was telling her three children — aged 3, 6 and 9 — that their aunt had died. Two nieces will serve as flower girls when Morgan’s twin sister, Madison Johnson, gets married next May. During the service, the girls will use flower petals from their Aunt Morgan’s funeral a year earlier.

“Making Morgan a part of the wedding,” Paul said of her daughter. “She’s gonna be with us.”

Peter Dujardin, 757-897-2062, pdujardin@dailypress.com

According to police, an alert from ShotSpotter — which traces sound waves to determine where gunshots are coming from — prompted officers to go to the 1200 block of 16th Street, just after 6:15 a.m. Emergency workers found the teen “with at least one gunshot wound.”

He was taken to a hospital, where he died.

Another Menchville student told the Daily Press she was among about five or six other students waiting near the stop, at the intersection of 16th Street and Garden Drive, at the Stuart Gardens apartments.

The girl, also 15, said it was still mostly dark outside when she “saw this guy walk past me” on 16th Street. He was wearing a gray hoodie and a blue medical-style mask of the kind popular during the pandemic.

“And I didn’t think anything of it,” she said. “I knew it was kind of like, weird.”

Then, she said, she saw the male walk completely around a small residential apartment building at the corner of 16th and Garden Drive.

He then walked into the middle of the street on Garden Drive, she said. That’s when he suddenly pulled out a handgun and began shooting toward the 15-year-old male student who had just arrived at the bus stop.

“I saw him pull the gun out,” the girl said of the shooter. “I saw the flash, and I ran.”

Shots continued to ring out as she ran, with at least one bullet striking a car that was parked on 16th Street. Neighbors reported hearing five shots — three rounds in quick succession, then two more after a few seconds.

The shooter ran off, and he’s still at large. Police have not released a motive for the killing, and have not immediately released the slain teen’s identity. Suspect information was also not released.

“Thank God my kid didn’t get hit, because he was shooting in her direction,” said the girl’s father, who said he and his daughter were speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the potential for retaliation.

The girl said she didn’t know the slain boy well, but saw him on the bus beginning with the first day of school a couple weeks ago.

She said she was having flashbacks to last Thursday, when the boy was with a female friend at the bus stop. “And she was like, ‘Can I get a hug?’, and he was like, ‘No, I don’t want to.'”

“And I don’t know if they seen each other since then,” said the girl, who then broke down in tears at the memory. “It’s sad.”

The school bus arrived at the stop “almost immediately” after the shooting, the girl’s father said.

“It kind of got trapped there with the police coming,” he said. The bus, with about five students on board, remained at the scene for about an hour and a half.

Drew confirmed a school bus was in “close proximity” to the shooting, but couldn’t say exactly how far away. Investigators plan to interview those that were on the bus.

A neighbor who lives on 16th Street, Michael Banks, said he was lying in bed when “all of a sudden I heard gunshots” at 6:18 a.m. He said he heard five rounds.

“It sounded like a cannon,” Banks said. “I laid there and I told my wife, ‘Something’s going on across the street.'”

When the rescue squad and fire trucks pulled up a few minutes later, he said, “They jumped out of the truck, and they were running.”

“So I knew that whatever happened, it was serious,” Banks said. “They got out of the truck running. Evidently they knew that it was pretty bad.”

“Tragic events like this can be difficult to process,” Menchville High School Principal Jason Hollar said in a message to the district on Tuesday. “We recognize that some students and staff will need additional support and encouragement. Members of the school division’s support and response team are available at school today to meet and talk with students and staff.”

Drew said additional student resource officers and other resources were added at Menchville in response to the shooting. He added that there will be an officer stationed at the bus stop in the morning for the remainder of the week.

Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones released a statement commending the police investigation and quick response.

“Today our community was struck by a senseless tragedy,” his statement reads. “A young boy’s life has been cut short, and my heart aches for his family and loved ones during this unimaginable time. Words cannot fully convey the grief we feel.”

“My heart is just broken,” said Newport News City Council member John Eley, who represents the South District. “A 15-year-old lost his life.”

“Hasn’t even begun life yet,” he said.

Eley said his mother lives two streets from where the shooting occurred, and that she was “shaken up” by what had happened.

“I woke up to nine missed phone calls from my mother,” he said. “When I finally called back, she was hysterical about the situation. … She said, ‘John, I’m not calling as your mother. I’m calling as a citizen of Newport News. What can we do to help combat crime in the community?'”

Eley urged the community to “continue to come together during these times” — and if they know anything, to come forward to help the police.

“It’s a sad situation, but like I told reporters earlier, our city, our community, our police department and the citizens of Newport News work very closely together, and we will catch who did this crime,” he said.

“We have zero tolerance for crime in our city,” Eley added.

Council member Tina Vick, who also represents the South District, called the tragedy “disheartening.” She said she drove by the scene in the afternoon.

“It’s really just tragic that our young people — not all of them, but some of them — are in a mindset to think that this type of violence is OK when it’s not,” she said.

“And to see that some young person’s life has ended when they’re just trying to go to school — I’m deeply saddened by that. It really is a sad day in our city. A sad day in our city and the entire Hampton Roads region when we keep losing our children to this gun violence.”

Vick is urging the community to “support our children” and said anyone with information about what happened should come forward.

“I know for many people, it’s very difficult, but we cannot keep allowing our community to suffer through this type of violence,” she said.

Detectives and police forensics technicians were at the scene until about 11 a.m. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call 911 or the nonemergency number at 757-247–2500.

Peter Dujardin, 757-897-2062, pdujardin@dailypress.com

Eliza Noe, eliza.noe@virginiamedia.com

Nour Habib, nour.habib@virginiamedia.com

Josh Janney, joshua.janney@virginiamedia.com

Earlier in the morning, students had been moved to rooms with windows, and telephone and internet access were affected, according to a text sent to parents at about 9:30 a.m. Parents received a follow-up message from the school at 10:30 a.m. about the outages and the subsequent dismissal at 11 a.m.

An electrical worker at the scene told a Daily Press reporter that a “squirrel in the line” triggered the electrical issues. Power to the building has been restored, but the dismissal will continue.

Eliza Noe, eliza.noe@virginiamedia.com

Peter Dujardin, peter.dujardin@dailypress.com

But this time, he was seeking to benefit others, too.

“In these last 10 years, I went through a divorce, I moved, and just had a lot of personal stuff that I went through,” Scott said. “So turning 50 feels kind of more reflective. I wanted to do something big, but I wanted to do it in a way where I could give back.”

So now, Scott is riding his bicycle 588 miles across Virginia — and raising money for charity — to celebrate his 50 years.

It all began in early 2023, when Scott — a former college English teacher who now runs a fledgling business called Fennario Coffee Roasters — began talking to one of his new customers at the Farmer’s Market in Hilton Village.

That customer, Caroline Dutle, is the director of development at THRIVE Peninsula, a nonprofit that provides food and financial, housing and utilities assistance for those in need.

When THRIVE received a large whole-bean coffee donation a few months later, Dutle thought of her “coffee guy” and asked Scott if he’d be willing to grind the beans down before it’s given away.

“Most of our clients can’t afford coffee, let alone a coffee grinder,” Dutle said. “So a donation isn’t too helpful if it’s in bean form.”

Scott immediately said yes.

“He came to check out our facility, and has been really active and involved in supporting us ever since,” Dutle said. “So it all started with coffee beans.”

Scott took the beans home, ground them up and returned them in packages, ready for distribution. Though most consider coffee a staple, she said, for others it’s a “luxury item.”

“Any time we can provide things beyond the necessities, it’s a real treat for our clients,” Dutle said.

THRIVE Peninsula was founded 50 years ago by several churches in Newport News’ Denbigh section, and still considers itself a Christian-based organization. But Scott said he was drawn to the fact that the nonprofit helps people of all faiths — or no faith.

“I am sensitive to people telling me what to do or trying to evangelize me,” Scott said. “But (faith) doesn’t affect who gets help or who doesn’t get help. The only thing that you have to do is qualify financially.”

“And once I saw how selfless and giving these people are, the volunteers, I was like, ‘Man, I’ve got to be involved in this somehow.’ ”

THRIVE has a pantry where people can come once a month by appointment and get about a week’s worth of groceries. It also offers financial assistance and coaching.

So when it came time for Scott to mark his 50th birthday, he decided he wanted THRIVE to be the recipient of a charity event. He came to Dutle with a concept: He’d bike 500 miles to raise $5,000 and 500 pounds of food — all multiples of 50 — to benefit the organization.

Dutle liked the idea, and helped him put the plan — and the fundraising mechanisms — into action.

It began Saturday morning at Breaks Interstate Park near the Kentucky and Virginia border. Scott will then trek the Virginia portion of the TransAmerica Trail — 588 miles — over nine days. That’s about 65 miles a day.

The route will take him south to Damascus, then northeast to Radford, Christiansburg and Lexington. He will hit the Blue Ridge Parkway, then Charlottesville, Ashland and Richmond before heading back to Hampton Roads.

Scott can be followed online in real time — at www.tinyurl.com/heathwatch — as he makes his way through the commonwealth.

Though Scott has done lengthy rides in the past, this will be the longest. He said the first several days — where the route is most mountainous — will be the most challenging.

Luckily, Scott is no stranger to physical exertion. He has been an ultra distance runner in the past. And over the past couple years, his coffee business includes a guarantee to deliver the java the next day anywhere in Newport News by bike. That also ensures he’s getting in his daily rides.

“Rain and snow doesn’t stop me,” he said. “I had a broken rib last year, and was out delivering on the bike … so it’s gonna take a lot to stop me.”

THRIVE, for one, is appreciative.

“I think it’s just such a superhuman feat that Heath is taking on, and this is just an amazing opportunity for us to be recognized in this way,” Dutle said Friday. “He’s really garnered a lot of support within the community, and it’s been very helpful to THRIVE.”

Scott will carry a tent and sleeping bag, and plans to camp on his route. It’ll be a mixture of “stealth camping” — finding a spot in wooded areas along the way — and campgrounds, and a hotel for his night in Richmond.

He’ll bring a couple days’ worth of trail food with plans to replenish in small towns along the way.

“It’s all back roads, and you’re never more than an hour or two ride from any kind of convenience store,” Scott explained.

A friend plans to meet him Thursday at the Blue Ridge Parkway to help him resupply and offer moral support. Scott’s wife, Woodside High School art teacher Heidi Compton, will meet him in the evenings starting that same night.

He plans to be back on or about Sept. 15 — his 50th birthday.

Road construction on the Capital Trail will prevent Scott from finishing at the end of the cross-country TransAmerica trail in Yorktown. So he plans to end the route at the THRIVE building on Nettles Drive in Newport News, likely arriving by way of Warwick Boulevard.

Scott has already surpassed his initial $5,000 fundraising goal. That’s in large part because of Priority Bicycles, the New York-based company that makes the bike he’s riding, a belt-driven Priority 600.

“I’ve seen them do charitable work, on everything from suicide prevention to getting kids on bikes,” Scott said of the company. “I sent them a letter explaining what I was doing, and they didn’t hesitate. They got back to me within 24 hours and said, ‘We’d love to help out.’ ”

Scott asked Priority to donate a less expensive bicycle than the $2,500 one that Scott will be riding. “And they came right back and said, ‘No, let’s do the Priority 600,’ They completely donated it, no strings attached.'”

The bike will be raffled off as part of the fundraising effort. Tickets are selling for $25 apiece or five for $100, with all proceeds counting toward the $5,000 goal. And last week, an anonymous local family kicked in $2,630 — at the time just enough to hit the $5,000 mark.

“Their anonymity will be respected, but we can assure you that they are one of the most wonderful families we’ve had had the honor to get to know,” Scott wrote on his coffee company’s Instagram page. “They are true models of how to be a good human.”

The fundraiser is now up to $5,370 and counting, with 100% of the proceeds going to THRIVE.

Canned goods and other non-perishables are being collected at THRIVE (12749 Nettles Drive) or Village Bicycles (9913 Warwick Blvd.). Both are in Newport News.

“I’m just really excited,” he said Friday before leaving for the Kentucky border. “I’m pretty humbled by the outpouring of support from folks and the interest from folks. I was doing this as a kind of a small way to help try and raise some money, and the swell of support that I’ve gotten from the community, it’s just been unbelievable.”

THRIVE will host a community day Sept. 22 with Scott, featuring refreshments, a mobile coffee bar and an opportunity to learn more about the organization’s mission. That’s also when the donated bicycle will be raffled off.

To contribute or buy a raffle ticket for the bike, go to the donation website, “50 to 5000: Heath’s Trans-Virginia Birthday Ride for THRIVE,” at givebutter.com/HeathsRide4THRIVE.

“Trading river views for mountains tomorrow,” Scott wrote Thursday on Instagram, with a picture of his bicycle near the James River. “Who knows what adventures lay ahead?”

Peter Dujardin, 757-897-2062, pdujardin@dailypress.com

Gunter “Garshon” Morgenstein, 88, bought Boar’s Head liverwurst July 30 from a Newport News Harris Teeter, and consumed some of it over the next several days.

Morgenstein’s son said his father would typically spread the liverwurst over a bagel, just like he did as a boy growing up in Germany in the 1940s.

But a few days later, Morgenstein began to feel weak and short of breath and developed a fever.

“As his condition deteriorated, he began to look increasingly ill, and his family called emergency services,” according to the lawsuit.

An ambulance took him to Riverside Regional Medical Center on July 8. While hospital staff thought Morgenstein would be out within a couple days, he didn’t improve.

“For the first few days the hospital staff was perplexed by his worsening condition,” the lawsuit said.

Hospital staffers took a blood culture July 11. It came back positive for bacterial meningitis, with the presence of listeria monocytogenes. Morgenstein’s red blood cell count kept dropping, and his fever continued unabated, the lawsuit. Though the hospital took “aggressive measures” to save him, he died July 18 at Riverside.

After surviving the Holocaust in Germany, Morgenstein emigrated to Canada in 1954, according to his family’s obituary. He moved to Newport News more than 50 years ago and became a “master hair designer.” He leaves behind a son and two daughters, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

His son, Garshon “Shon” Morganstein, 49, of Virginia Beach, said the family “put two and two together” when they saw news reports about a massive recall involving Boar’s Head meats.

The lawsuit was filed in Sarasota County, Florida — where Boar’s Head Provisions is based — by Ron Simon & Associates, a Texas law firm. It was filed on behalf of Morgenstein’s wife, Margaret “Peggy” Morgenstein, and son.

The complaint doesn’t seek a specific dollar amount, but asks for a jury to determine damages.

According to the lawsuit, the U.S. Food and Drug Administraiton, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and state regulatory agencies began on July 19 investigating a multi-state listeria outbreak that was resulting in sicknesses and deaths.

Listeria most affects older people and those with weakened immune systems, federal regulators said.

“Food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria usually look, smell, and taste normal, meaning that a consumer has no warning of contamination,” the lawsuit added.

Invetigators ultimately traced the illnesses to the Boar’s Head liverwurst “as the likely source.” As part of that investigation, the Maryland Health Department got an unopened meat package from a Baltimore grocery store, with its contents testing positive for listeria monocytogenes.

On July 26, Boar Head Provisions Co., based in Jarrett — about 75 miles west of Norfolk — recalled the Boar’s Head Strassburger Brand Liverwurst, made at the plant between mid-June and mid-July. The meat has a shelf life of 44 days, with “sell by” dates ranging from late July to late August.

The company also recalled ham and bologna products made on the same line, with more than 200,000 pounds of meat ultimately recalled.

According to the lawsuit, 57 people in 18 states have been hospitalized from the liverwurst, with nine people dying from the illnesses. But the true number of victims is likely “much higher,” the lawsuit asserted, in part because some who got sick were able to recover without medical care.

Boar’s Head Provisions Co. has posted an extensive post on its website about the recall.

“We deeply regret the impact this recall has had on affected families,” the statement said. “No words can fully express our sympathies and the sincere and deep hurt we feel for those who have suffered losses or endured illness.”

Production has been paused at the Jarratt plant and won’t resume “until we are confident that it meets USDA regulatory standards and Boar’s Head’s highest quality and safety standards,” Boar’s Head added. The company said it’s conducting an extensive examination to determine how the contanination happened to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

So far, the company said, only the liverwurst has been found to have been adulterated. “You have our promise that we will work tirelessly to regain your trust.”

Peter Dujardin, 757-897-2062, pdujardin@dailypress.com

Portsmouth prosecutors had charged McClean with manslaughter in two separate 2018 cases. In both, the officer was accused of failing to render first aid to people police arrested before they died.

Stanfield, 38, wanted to see the records, he said, in large part because it’s “so unusual to me that it’s law enforcement being prosecuted by the local prosecutor.”

This was only the latest in court cases stemming from the York County man’s hobby — filing open records requests to state and local agencies, which he says he does about a half-dozen times a week.

“I’ll read a news article in the morning, and I’ll think, ‘Oh, that’s interesting,’ ” he said. “I want to see some records.’ ”

Several of Stanfield’s open records requests have gone to court. He tends to focus on high-profile cases — a meals-tax scandal in Richmond, casino controversies in Richmond and Norfolk and a report into a shooting at a Richmond high school graduation last year.

And when he pushes for records, he said, it’s all about attitude.

“Public bodies think these are their records — and that when you do a (Freedom of Information Act) request, you’re asking permission for them to share something with you,” he said. “And that’s just not my position. My position is what the law says — that these are all presumed to be mine. They’re the public’s. They’re all of ours.”

Though agencies can withhold some documents under certain exemptions, he said, those should be the exception rather than the rule.

By the time Stanfield asked for records into the McClean case in December, the officer already had been acquitted of one of the manslaughter counts. He was acquitted in the second three months ago.

Also at the time, Stanfield wanted records about Robert Huntington, a former Portsmouth Commonwealth’s Attorney’s investigator who helped look into McClean — and whom McClean sued in May, alleging malicious prosecution.

On Dec. 19, Stanfield sent a Virginia Freedom of Information Act request to the Portsmouth Police Department and Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.

He asked for “any and all documents and communications mentioning or concerning any closed investigations” into McClean. And he sought “any and all documents and communications mentioning or concerning any complaints or disciplinary actions against Mr. Robert Huntington” between 2014-23.

The city eventually acknowledged they had 20 files “with hundreds of pages of records” into McClean. But they cited personnel and administrative exemptions in withholding them.

But police referred Stanfield to the Portsmouth Commonwealth’s Attorney regarding documents pertaining to Huntington. But about a week later, the prosecutor’s office said the police were actually the “custodian” of that record. Stanfield wrote back to the police — and they referred him back to prosecutors.

Feeling the runaround, Stanfield emailed Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie Morales and two others.

“Please clarify who is the proper custodian of the records, otherwise I will be forced to bring the question to a Circuit Court judge,” he wrote on Dec. 27.

He never got a response.

But Stanfield didn’t take that lying down. Though he typically takes his cases to court without a lawyer, he hired attorney Verbena M. Askew to represent him in this case, explaining that “Portsmouth can be tricky.”

Askew sued Morales on March 20, asserting the prosecutor violated the state’s open records law by failing to properly cite an exemption within the five working days. Morales, meantime, hired two outside lawyers to represent her.

In May — five months after Stanfield’s initial request — the commonwealth’s attorney’s office’s lawyers said the records about Huntington are exempt from mandatory disclosure under protections for personnel records and administrative records. Separately, the city said it had 70 pages of records into Huntington on file, but also withheld them based on the same provisions.

At a hearing Monday, Askew asked Circuit Judge Randall Smith to rule that the prosecutor’s office ceded its right to withhold the records when it took five months to invoke an exemption. Under law, Askew noted, they only have five business days to do so.

“They have played games with Mr. Stanfield,” Askew said at Monday’s hearing. “You don’t get to wait five months to say the records are exempt. So I would submit that they have waived that.”

A spokeswoman for the commonwealth’s attorney said this week that the office was unable to comment because of the pending litigation.

Attorneys representing Morales acknowledged at the Circuit Court hearing that the prosecutor’s office should have cited the exemptions earlier. Still, they contended, that doesn’t mean they give up their right to cite the provisions allowing the withholding under law.

Because the records Stanfield wants are clearly exempt from mandatory disclosure anyway, they asserted, “the alleged failure is immaterial … and of no consequence.”

Smith said the runaround “must have been frustrating for Mr. Stanfield.”

“No one likes to have to submit a bunch of requests,” he said. “It certainly would lead a reasonable person to be frustrated.”

But Smith stopped short of granting Askew’s motion to force Morales to turn over the records. While the prosecutor’s office improperly ignored the response deadlines, Smith said, he would still allow them to cite the exemption.

Still, Smith voiced skepticism that a government agency should be the unilateral arbiter that a document should be withheld, particularly when it ends up in a court challenge.

“No one can ever see if they were following the law or not?” he asked skeptically during the hearing. “No one can check behind the public officer?

Smith told attorneys from both sides to file briefs on that issue in the coming weeks. He also appeared open to the possibility of reviewing the documents himself to determine what can be released.

Stanfield said the episode proves he has a lot more work to do to push for government transparency.

“I thought one way to get public bodies to comply more often with the law was to get a reputation where they think, ‘OK, maybe we ignore the timelines with other people, but this guy, he’ll be a pain in our ass,'” Stanfield said. “He’ll sue us. We need to follow the law with this guy.”

But so far, he said, “it hasn’t had that effect.”

Peter Dujardin, 757-897-2062, pdujardin@dailypress.com

Philip Charles Bay, 33, was found guilty of 20 counts of possession of child pornography following a two-day bench trial before Virginia Beach Circuit Judge Kevin M. Duffan.

A Verizon cloud storage service that automatically scans stored images for suspected child pornography first reported the case to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

That led to Virginia Beach surveilling and searching Bay’s home off Princess Anne Road in June 2023 and seizing multiple electronic devices.

On the cloud storage service, police investigators found 20 sexually explicit pictures that became subject of this week’s trial. Those images — of girls between about 8 and 12 years old — had been uploaded to the cloud eight months before Bay’s home was searched.

Bay was arrested on June 22, 2023.

His attorney, Eric Korslund, honed in on the fact that the images were stored on the cloud service — which backed up data automatically — and not on Bay’s electronic devices.

“My argument was that in order for somebody to be found guilty of (child porn) possession, the commonwealth has to prove that they knew the stuff was on there,” Korslund said. “You may not necessarily know what’s on the cloud, because every time it backs it up, you don’t get a notification.”

Virginia Beach prosecutors, however, contended the images came from Bay.

According to the Verizon cloud service data, the images came from the same make and model phone Bay used. Moreover, several other pictures of Bay were uploaded to the cloud storage service around that same time — with no evidence anyone else had access to it.

The first child possession count is a Class 6 felony, punishable by up to five years in prison. The other 19 counts are Class 5 felonies, each punishable by up to 10 years. That means Bay faces a maximum 195 years when Duffan sentences him Nov. 26.

The guilty verdicts come 15 years after the Landstown High School case. In April 2009, when Bay was 17, police discovered hours of homemade videos and journal entries indicating he’d been plotting to attack fellow Landstown students on the 10-year anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre.

Investigators also found a stockpile of Molotov cocktails and pipe bombs in Bay’s home. They determined that he developed a hit list of targeted students and enlisted two younger classmates to help.

But one of those classmates tipped off police just two weeks before the planned attack. Word spread quickly among students and more than 850 students were reported absent that day.

In 2011, Bay was sentenced to 12 years in prison on multiple terrorism, weapons and conspiracy charges. He was released from prison in that case in October 2019.

Staff writer Jane Harper contributed to this report.

Peter Dujardin, 757-897-2062, pdujardin@dailypress.com

A correction was made on Aug. 29, 2024: Due to a reporting error, a previous version of this story gave an incorrect spelling for Landstown High School.

The “Cold Case Team” will include two full-time detectives and a retired police investigator who is being hired back part-time.

“The Cold Case Team will help bring back a voice to victims that, through time, has become a whisper,” said Aaron Thornton, a veteran homicide detective who is part of the initiative.

“We hope to help those families desperately looking for answers,” added Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew. “We have assembled a skilled and compassionate team dedicated to making this happen.”

The others on the team are veteran homicide detective Amber Rogers and retired investigator Misty Mercer. The three have 80 years of combined law enforcement experience, “with an emphasis on complex investigations,” the department said.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many cold case killings the team will have on its plate. But the city’s unsolved homicides number into the hundreds.

In 2010, Newport News police began an initiative to farm out some of the older unsolved cases to robbery detectives. But in more recent years, the department’s homicide unit — at 10 detectives when fully staffed — has handled investigations of recent and cold case killings.

In practice, the unit focuses mostly on the more recent cases, looking at older cases in their spare time.

The existing homicide unit will maintain a manpower of 10 detectives, with the three Cold Case Team positions in addition to that, department spokeswoman Kelly King said.

While the part-time investigator position is new to the department’s ranks, the two other detective slots are being shifted from different investigatory areas. The change, King said, stemmed from regular staffing reviews designed to “optimize operations and respond to the evolving needs of our residents.”

The department said the new three-person team will use DNA analysis and other technological advances to investigate the older cases, and will work in partnership with local, state and federal law agencies.

They also are seeking tips from the community, with the department asking that anyone with information about an unsolved case share it with the new team.

In certain cases, experts say, the amount of time that’s elapsed since a killing can cause people to finally come forward after years of sitting on crucial information.

“Behind every unsolved homicide is a family looking for answers,” the department said in announcing the new team.

“As months and even years pass by, they live with uncertainty and unanswered questions about their loved ones. The Cold Case Team is dedicated to solving these cases and providing some sense of closure to these families.”

Peter Dujardin, 757-897-2062, pdujardin@dailypress.com

But his family said the liverwurst was contaminated, and the 88-year-old Newport News resident died a few weeks later.

Morgenstein — a retired Newport News hair stylist — was admitted to Riverside Regional Medical Center on July 8 after growing short of breath, and died there 10 days later.

“I think we’re all just still in shock, and just like completely mind blown, that this is how he died, because of lunch meat,” his son, Garshon “Shon” Morgenstein, said Saturday.

Though the elder Morgenstein was set to be released from the hospital a day or two after being admitted, his wife of 50 years, Peggy Morgenstein, questioned that decision.

“My mom was like, ‘I don’t think he should come home, because something is just off about him,’ ” said Shon Morgenstein, 49, of Virginia Beach. “He doesn’t look right, and he seems super weak.”

Riverside did more tests to get to the cause of the issue. A blood culture came back positive for Listeria monocytogenes.

Around that time, the family saw a news report about a major meat recall, to include the Boar’s Head Stassburger Brand Liverwurst made at a plant in Jarratt, about 75 miles west of Norfolk.

“Then we put two and two together,” Shon Morgenstein said.

According to the July 26 recall notice, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service recalled the liverwurst after finding that the Boar’s Head product made at the plant between June 11 and July 17 may be “adulterated with Listeria monocytogenes.”

The USDA warned that eating the contaminated food can cause listeriosis, an infection that begins in the gastrointestinal tract and leads to fever, muscle aches, headache, confusion, loss of balance and flu-like symptoms.

“Serious and sometimes fatal infections can occur in older adults and persons with weakened immune systems,” the report added.

Other meats made on the same line also were affected, with more than 200,000 pounds of meat ultimately recalled.

While his father’s liverwurst packaging had long been thrown away, Shon Morgenstein tracked the June 30 purchase to the Harris Teeter grocery store, on Warwick Boulevard in Newport News’ Hidenwood section.

Morganstein consumed the liverwurst “one or more times” between June 30 and July 7, according to Tony Coveny, an attorney with a Texas law firm that is representing the family in the case.

Despite being treated with antibiotics at the hospital, Gunter Morgenstein kept feeling worse.

“We said, ‘You just have to try to keep fighting, don’t give up,'” his son said. “I know you want to go home, but just keep fighting … But he never really spoke again after that.”

Morgenstein died July 18 at Riverside.

His death and his family’s contentions about the food poisoning were first reported Friday by WAVY-10.

Elizabeth Ward, a vice president for communications at Boar’s Head Provisions Co., could not be reached Saturday for comment. A spokeswoman for Harris Teeter declined to comment.

The family is in touch with Coveny, who works for Ron Simon & Associates, a Texas law firm that represents victims in food poisoning claims.

“We have not yet filed the lawsuit, on this or any of the other victims we represent, but will make that decision in the coming weeks,” Coveny said. ”

Gunter Morgenstein survived the Holocaust, and left Germany in 1954. After emigrating to Canada, he moved to Newport News more than 50 years ago and became a “master hair designer.”

He leaves behind a son and two daughters, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

“He showed his courage in facing life challenges with a smile, and stayed strong until the end,” the family’s obituary said.

Peter Dujardin, 757-897-2062, pdujardin@dailypress.com