Despite one attorney’s insistence both the judge and new prosecutor would have a conflict of interest, the trials against two men accused in the theft of materials from a construction site will move forward without a court granting requested recusals.
Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court Judge Michael McGinty overruled a motion Thursday that requested his removal presiding over the cases against developer Demetrios Florakis, who also serves as chairman of the City of Williamsburg’s Planning Commission, and contractor James Jenkins.
McGinty also overruled a motion to have the Hampton Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office recuse itself from prosecuting both cases.
Florakis is accused of embezzling from a construction company and using materials from a project called City Lofts — which turned a hotel on Richmond Road into apartments — on a project not associated with City Lofts.
He was indicted in January for the incident, which allegedly occurred in April 2013.
Contractor James Jenkins, indicted in June, is accused of stealing the construction materials, returning them to Lowe’s and then repurchasing them at a significantly lower price, according to a criminal complaint filed against him.
Both motions heard Thursday were filed by Patricia Nagel, who represents Jenkins.
After 11 months, both cases have yet to be tried, as claims of unlawful behavior and objections to new prosecutors made by Nagel have contributed to the delay.
Williamsburg-James City County Commonwealth’s Attorney Nate Green, while denying any wrongdoing, asked to recuse himself from both cases in September after Nagel accused of him and Williamsburg Police Investigator Winfield Rose of illegally recording an interview between Rose and Jenkins.
Green’s motion to recuse himself from Jenkins’ and Florakis’s cases was granted in October, and the Hampton Commonwealth’s Attorney was assigned to take over.
Nagel opposed the new appointment, saying in an Oct. 24 motion Hampton Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Sheree Konstantinou presented a conflict of interest with Florakis because she was married to his first cousin. The Hampton office had assigned Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Shakita Massey, not Konstantinou, to the cases.
“As Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney, Sheree Konstantinou is in position to influence the outcome of the case and make decisions bearing upon the outcome of the case, including to whom in her office the case is assigned for prosecution,” Nagel wrote in the motion.
She asked that the Hampton Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office be recused from both Jenkins’ and Florakis’s cases, stating in her motion that the court should “avoid appointing a special prosecutor in the Hampton Roads or Tidewater area,” where Florakis’ attorney, Tommy Norment Jr., serves as a state senator representing the third district.
In court Thursday, Norment argued the information in Nagel’s motion was “prejudicial” and “misrepresented” and asked that Nagel be prohibited from filing any more motions in Florakis’s case.
“She has created a toxic and prejudicial atmosphere against Mr. Florakis and it is outrageous, and it’s got to stop,” Norment said.
Massey initially asked the court to grant Nagel’s motion because the accusers in the case — a married couple who partnered with Florakis on the construction project — were concerned with the relationship Konstantinou had with Florakis.
Massey said during Thursday’s hearing she was wary of future allegations against her, but felt ethically she had no reason to recuse herself from either case, as she does not personally know Florakis or Jenkins and did not see a conflict of interest.
Nagel also asked McGinty to recuse himself, saying Norment — the majority leader in the state senate whose district represents part of the Historic Triangle — was “largely responsible” for McGinty’s appointment to the bench. In Virginia, a circuit court judge is appointed by a majority vote of both houses of the General Assembly.
McGinty overruled her motion to recuse himself, saying he did not know Florakis or Jenkins and did not see any issues with ruling on a case in which Norment represented a defendant.
Norment wrote a letter to McGinty addressing several of Nagel’s motions, asking the court to sanction Nagel for “deliberately and intentionally injecting herself into this case where she has absolutely no standing whatsoever.”
At the end of a nearly two-hourlong bout in court Thursday, Norment said he would be subpoenaing the tape of the recorded interview between Jenkins and Rose.
Nagel, who was also present during the July interview, said she planned to file a motion to suppress the subpoena.
That motion will be heard in Williamsburg-James City Circuit Court at 1 p.m. Dec. 12. A date for both trials will be set Nov. 21.
Related Coverage:
- New Hampton Prosecutor Assigned to City Lofts Theft Cases Requests Recusal
- New Prosecutor Assigned for Cases Against Planning Commission Chairman, Contractor
- Commonwealth’s Attorney Requests Recusal City Lofts Grand Larceny Case
- Judge: Search Did Not Violate City Planning Commission Chairman’s Constitutional Rights
- Court Documents: Stolen Construction Materials Found at Property Owned by City Planning Commission Chairman
- City Planning Commission Chairman Indicted on Embezzlement Charge
