Charlottesville Divorce Lawyer: Defendant Properly Convicted of Felony Violation of Protective Order.

In the case of Calloway v. Commonwealth of Virginia, the Virginia Court of Appeals, in a published opinion, ruled that the trial court did not err in convicting the Defendant, a former boyfriend, of felonious violation of a protective order where evidence was sufficient to prove the Defendant appellant “furtively” entered victim’s home.  A first-offense violation of a protective order is ordinarily a misdemeanor. See Code§ 16.1-253.1(C). But Code § 16.1-253.2 elevates it to a felony when a person “violates such aprotective order by furtively entering the home of any protected party while the party is present.”The Defendant argues that the evidence at trial was insufficient to prove he “furtively” entered thevictim’s home.The evidence at trial showed that the Defendant and the victim were in a romantic relationshipthat ended in August 2011. Within weeks of their breakup, the victim obtained a protective orderagainst the Defendant to prevent him from contacting her. The Defendant was served with a copy of theprotective order on September 1, 2011. On September 2, 2011, between midnight and 1:00 a.m.,the Defendant approached the house where the victim was living. The lights in the house were off.  The doors and windows were locked. The victim, who was asleep on a couch in the living room,was the only person in the house.  The Defendant broke a bedroom window at one end of the house to gain access. The victimwas awakened by the noise. As the victim stood up to search for the source of the noise, she sawthe Defendant coming towards her from the kitchen. She immediately ran for the front door.The Defendant chased her into the front yard, where neighbors saw him attempting to drag her backinside while holding a knife to her throat. A neighbor who witnessed the altercation called thepolice. The Defendant fled when he heard the sound of an approaching car. He was arrested in anearby forest about two hours later.