BY ALLIE ROBINSON
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
DAN KEGLEY
SMYTH COUNTY NEWS & MESSENGER
A Galax, Va., man took an Alford plea Thursday and was convicted on two counts of abduction in Smyth County Circuit Court.
Michael Ray Brown, Jr., was sentenced to 20 years in jail on each count, with 18 years and three months suspended on each count, said Smyth County Commonwealth’s Attorney Roy Evans.
Under an Alford plea, a defendant maintains he or she is innocent while admitting the prosecution has evidence sufficient for a conviction.
Brown was originally charged with four counts of abduction and four counts of conspiracy to commit abduction in the case of a special-needs boy and two other teenagers who went missing in March 2011. The body of Nathan Cord Combs, 18, was later found in the Comers Creek area of the county, in the Jefferson National Forest.
Evans said Thursday’s plea also included two unrelated drug charges from 2008. Brown received an effective total sentence of 55 years, but will serve 42 months and then serve six years of active probation.
Last March, the Sheriff’s Office reported someone came to the Marion Police Department about a week after Combs went missing and said the boy had been held against his will for nearly an hour at a location just 10 minutes from his home.
After learning of his death last year, Combs’ father, Pete Combs, told the Bristol Herald Courier that Nathan Combs was well-loved in the town of Marion.
“Everybody loved Nathan,” he said at that time.
Four other people have been accused of participating in the crime.
Daniel Brice Crouse is charged with capital murder, three counts of abduction, one count of robbery, one count of conspiracy to distribute a schedule II controlled substance, one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and five counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony, court records show. His trial is set to begin April 9 and is expected to last about a week.
Crouse’s son, Garrett Brice Crouse, faces capital murder charges, three counts of abduction, and one count of robbery, one count of conspiracy to distribute a schedule II controlled substance, court records show. His trial is set to begin June 4.
Ricky Joseph James, of Marion, faces capital murder, three counts of abduction, one count of robbery, and one count of conspiracy to distribute a schedule II controlled substance, court records show. His trial is scheduled to begin July 23.
Jessica James Edwards, of Marion, is charged with three counts of felony abduction, court records showed. She originally claimed to be a victim in the abduction. Her trial date is June 18.
arobinson@bristolnews.com
(276) 645-2531
dkegley@wythenews.com
(276) 783-5121
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement