Brown v. Commonwealth

COLE, Senior Judge.

In a jury trial, appellant, Billy Joe Brown, was convicted of first degree murder, abduction and attempted rape. On appeal, he contends the trial court erred in denying: (1) his motion for appropriate relief in connection with the pretrial sponsorship by two Virginia Beach police officers of a memorial scholarship fund in memory of the deceased victim; (2) his motion for a mistrial or, in the alternative, for dismissal of the jury panel after a juror indicated that the venire, prior to trial and in the jury assembly room, had engaged in a widespread discussion of the guilt…