Deal of the Day
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Parrishes get maximum sentences Published: June 11, 2009  File photo By Roslyn Ryan, Editor It’s been almost a year since a simmering feud between two Powhatan teenagers came to a violent and deadly end, shattering one family and leaving others struggling to move forward. Finally last week, after months of speculation and controversy that threatened to divide a community, a conclusion. A few moments after a Powhatan County judge sentenced Ethan and Joseph Parrish for the 2008 shooting death of Tahliek Taliaferro last Thursday, as the courtroom emptied out, Taliaferro’s grandmother Jean could only shake her head. “That was nothing,” she said quietly, learning that the combined sentence for both cousins totaled 27 years. “Tahliek is gone…they should have gotten life.” In what was perhaps a fitting end for a tragic story, the final chapter of the trial ended last Thursday with no clear winners. While both cousins received the maximum allowable sentence for the crimes they were convicted of, it was not the outcome those on either side of the controversial verdict had been looking for. “What [punishment] could be expected for someone who has a semi-automatic weapon and fired [at a group of people]?” Judge Thomas V. Warren, sentencing Ethan Parrish “In terms of impact on the community, this case is in a class by itself.” Commonwealth’s Attorney Bob Beasley, explaining why the maximum sentence should have been handed down. “How it could be argued that the jury had no reason to believe Joey was involved in this ... frankly escapes me.” Judge Warren, denying a motion to set aside the verdict from Joseph Parrish’s trial. “[A]ll those kids were involved. Joey never told Ethan anything about shooting the gun.” Cindy Parrish, Joey’s mother, who said her family is planning an appeal. Not the parents of Joseph Parrish, who had publicly expressed the hope that the judge would throw out their son’s conviction on the grounds of insufficient evidence.
Jean Taliaferro, the victim’s grandmother, after the Not members of the Taliaferro family, who had said in multiple press conferences that they hoped the court would find a way to impose a stiffer sentence than the established guidelines called for. Instead, Judge Thomas V. Warren stayed within the guidelines and sentenced Ethan Parrish to a total of 11 years. Joseph Parrish received a total of 16 years. “I can’t increase the sentence,” said Warren to Ethan Parrish, though he noted that the sentence seemed more appropriate for someone who had killed someone by running a stop sign. “What [punishment] could be expected for someone who has a semi-automatic weapon and fired [at a group of people]?” he asked, noting that Parrish had obviously been looking to put an end to the feud. “You put an end to it,” the judge said quietly, just before handing down the sentence. “There’s no question about that.” Warren reserved his harshest words for Joseph Parrish, a juvenile at the time of the shooting. Shortly after denying a motion to set aside Parrish’s conviction, Warren handed down a sentence of 16 years. “This happened largely because of you,” he said to Parrish. “You were the one who knew everybody; you were the one who was yammering away. “I don’t believe [Ethan] would have done anything if it weren’t for you.” Both cousins were convicted of involuntary manslaughter in March, eight months after an argument at a local ice cream store ended with Taliaferro’s death. The two had admitted to spending a day drinking and doing drugs before the chance meeting with Taliaferro and his friends near the Sheetz in Flat Rock. After a brief altercation, the two groups apparently made arrangements to fight and headed down Dorset Road. Taliaferro was killed when his car drove past the Parrishes’ vehicle and Ethan Parrish opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle. Taliaferro was shot in the head, and died at the scene. Stephanie Reynolds, who had been driving the Parrishes’ vehicle and fled the scene with them, was released with a suspended sentence last week after pleading guilty to a reduced charge. Addressing the court, Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert Beasley said that the impact of crime on the community should be factored into the sentence. “In terms of impact on the community, this case is in a class by itself,” said Beasley. He also highlighted the devastation it had caused the shooting victims’ families. Before the sentences were handed down, those in the courtroom witnessed the emotional testimony of Taliaferro’s mother, Kaa Caputo, and Carolyn Jackson, the mother of then 15-year-old Courtney Jones, the teen who had been critically injured in the shooting. Responding to a question about the trauma her son’s death had caused her family, Caputo broke down sobbing on the stand. “In the back of my mind I try to deny [he’s gone],” said Caputo. “Like he’s away.” Before that, Jackson had described her son Courtney as being angry and withdrawn since the June 14, 2008 shooting. “I’m seeing a different child than I’ve raised for 16 years,” said Jackson, adding “I don’t even know him now.” |
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Sexy Lingerie of United States
Jul. 22, 2009, 12:38 PM
Certainly, teenagers still cannot see how important it is to be alive. If they only know how hard it is to live a life, then maybe they will learn to value it and appreciate the little things that comes along. chesterfieldst of chesterfield
Jul. 15, 2009, 03:51 PM
I am still wanting to know what happened to all of the missing court records on Lawrence…. Let’s do some digging…
chesterfieldst of Chesterfield
Jul. 15, 2009, 02:14 PM
http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/crime/article/POWW28_20090627-221404/276839/
UNEDUCATED BUT COM'ON!!! of moseley
Jun. 18, 2009, 04:03 PM
TO: JUST GO AWAY!! HERE’S SOMETHING NEW! I PERSONALLY DON’T WANT THEM TO SPEAK TO ME. I’M NOT GOING TO EXPLAIN MYSELF TO ANOTHER INCOMPREHENSIVE PERSON, SUCH AS YOURSELF. YOU COMPREHENDED MY COMMENT THE SAME WAY, THOSE THREE COMPREHEND AND LISTEN TO “EVIDENCE” IN THEIR COURTROOM, “NOT AT ALL”!!!! I’M NOT BLIND TO ANY OF THEIR “UNJUST, WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS OR SENTENCINGS”, DAVID WOODFIN JR IS MY SON, SO I WONT BE GOING ANYWHERE, MAD OR OTHERWISE, HAVE A NICE DAY!!!. Are you kidding me?? of Powhatan
Jun. 18, 2009, 10:20 AM
Look, Concerned… the key to what you said in your last comment was “you heard” well don’t believe everything you HEAR! I happen to have two children that know ALL parties involved. They are 19 adn 20 and have been in Powhatan schools since elementary… Joey Parrish used to come to my house and go fishing and hunting with my son when he was younger… Tahliek and Lawrence who by the way goes to college and Tahliek was doing the same… were also friends with my children… I said they did some stupid things, most teenagers make stupid decisions especially when in groups… they certainly made a bad choice that day… but for you to repeat what “you heard” verses what you know as a fact makes you just as irresponsible as they were that day… if not more because I am assuming you are a GROWN ADULT. All parties involved were not perfect children… but unless you have confirmed police reports saying that Lawrence carried guns all the time and was a drug dealer then keep your uneducated alligations to yourself. I believe that gossiping is a sin. just go away of powhatan
Jun. 18, 2009, 06:29 AM
Uneducated maybe they just are not in Moseley. I see them out in the county and they talk to me. They are not out to get those boys and are not out to get you. They did their jobs so take your meds and rest. You will never see the light because you are blind to what happened. You never come up with anything new to say. So don’t go away mad just go away. concerned of Goochland
Jun. 17, 2009, 06:34 PM
To respond to “Are you kidding me” How do you explain the gun that the deputy found at Tahlieks feet and laid on top of the car then ending up in the trunk of the car wiped clean with no fingerprints? Tahliek and his friends were chasing Ethan & Joey to hurt them. How do you explain Courtney testifying in the preliminary trial that Tahliek said Lets go fight them and changed it in the final trial to match what Lawrence said that they were going to one of the boys grandmothers house to pick up his clothes.Tahliek and his friends are not the angels that there supporters claimed and I think time will tell this. They lied on the stand and the jury heard it and that is the reason of the doubts and the charge of manslaughter. I have heard several that Lawrence always had guns and was a drug dealer, but the supporters don’t want to talk about that. Are you kidding me??? of Powhatan
Jun. 17, 2009, 01:52 PM
In reference to the comments from concern of Goochland… everyone was innocent in this except for Joey, Ethan and Stephanie… there is nothing that warrented what they did to Tahilek and Courtney. UNEDUCATED BUT COM'ON!!! of moseley
Jun. 17, 2009, 12:19 PM
EVERY LAW BOOK, AND WEB SITE I READ, CLEARLY DEFINE THE CHARGES OF 1ST AND 2ND DEGREE MURDER, MANSLAUGHTER AND INVOLENTARY MANSLAUGHTER!!! BUT THIS MURDER CASE AND THE “MANSLAUGHTER” CASES OF WOODFIN AND SCENAZY, CLEARLY SHOW THAT WARREN, BEASLEY, COX,AND THE 12 JURORS ON THIS CASE DO NOT AGREE WITH THE DEFINITIONS OF THESE CHARGES, AND ARE DETERMINED TO KEEP ON MAKING THE “LAWS” AS THEY SEE FIT IN THE “GREAT STATE” OF POWHATAN!! TO THE CITIZENS OF THE “GREAT STATE” WE HAVE THREE PEOPLE WHO THINK “THEIR $#%!@# DONT STINK” RUNNING THIS JUDICAL, “UDIDSO” SYSTEM, THEY NEED TO BE EXPOSED FOR THEIR CRIMES!!!, AND REPLACED WITH SOMEONE WHO WOULD AT LEAST SPEAK TO THE PUBLIC, WHEN PAST ON THE STREET, BECAUSE IF THEY WERE NOT TREATING THE PEOPLE “UNJUST” THEN THEY WOULDN’T HAVE TO SNEAK OUT THE BACK DOOR ALL THE TIME, A LIL THING CALLED “GUILT AND SHAME”!!! IF YOU’RE POSITIVE YOU DONE YOUR JOB HONESTLY AND TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITY, YOU SHOULD HOLD YOUR HEAD UP AND BE A PART OF YOUR COMMUNITY, BUT WE DON’T SEE THIS FROM THESE 3 PARTICULAR INDIVIDUALS, HELL THE PRESIDENT COMES OUT MORE THAN THEY DO!!!!. Submit Your Comments Below Commenting is not available in this weblog entry. |
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