Former Deputy Should Remain in Retirement
Take a good look at this retired "Bozo" who has decided to run for Sheriff. Oh I forgot he is also a grandfather. This upstanding citizen, arrested for a felony among other things is actually able to have people sign his petition for office. I thought maybe they had not read a newspaper or it could be that the man has a very large family. I doubt it. Mr. Hatcher should seriously consider remaing in retirement. Let's go and ask his victim what they think, shall we?
According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch-retired Amelia County deputy was arrested by state police early yesterday.
Leroy Hatcher, 55, was charged with breaking and entering while armed with a deadly weapon, which is a felony, and with attempt to commit sexual battery, a misdemeanor, police said.
The arrest came just days after Hatcher had announced plans to run for county sheriff. The charges were the result of a months-long investigation and stem from an incident at an Amelia residence Aug. 15, police said.
Hatcher was arraigned yesterday in Amelia General District Court and was released on personal recognizance. A date for a preliminary hearing was not set.
Hatcher, a Cumberland County native, has served as a deputy in the city of Richmond and the counties of Powhatan and Amelia. Last month, he retired as a courtroom security officer in Amelia.
Hatcher also has operated several businesses in Virginia and North Carolina and is the owner of a catering business in Amelia.
He told the Amelia Bulletin Monitor last week that as sheriff he would increase cooperation between the sheriff's office and the county schools and that he would concentrate on reducing drug problems by joining a regional drug task force.
-- Kathryn Orth
