Death penalty sought in killing of Va. Beach officer

VIRGINIA BEACH

Commonwealth's Attorney Harvey Bryant is seeking the death penalty against the man accused of killing a Virginia Beach police detective last year.

The decision was revealed in Circuit Court on Tuesday, shortly before prosecutors and defense attorneys for Ted Vincent Carter chose Jan. 26 as the start date for the trial. It is expected to take two or three weeks.

Carter, 24, has been jailed without bond since his arrest late Aug. 7, moments after Detective Michael Smith Phillips was fatally shot during an undercover drug buy. Carter is charged with capital murder, first-degree murder, use of a firearm in a felony, robbery, possession of a sawed-off shotgun and conspiracy to distribute drugs.

Officers who were assisting in the undercover operation heard gunshots and rushed through the Green Run Square Shopping Center parking lot along Holland Road. They said they found Carter inside Phillips' pickup, picking up the officer's blood-streaked cash, as Phillips lay dying on the pavement.

"The manner in which he committed the murder meets the aggravating criteria required by the law in my view," Bryant said. He declined to comment further on his decision.

While Bryant has sought the death penalty for other defendants in his nine years as commonwealth's attorney, none have been sent to death row. Bryant sought the execution of another accused killer, Carl Lee Walton, but a mistrial was declared in the case in 2007. Walton is set for trial in October and still faces execution if convicted, Bryant said.

Carter's co-defendant, Marshall D. Moyd, is awaiting a July 6 trial on robbery, first-degree murder and drug conspiracy charges. Police said he arranged the deal that night with Phillips.

During Tuesday's court hearing, attorneys for Carter requested permission to use a private investigator - a former Virginia Beach police officer - to research the Aug. 7 shooting. But Bryant and his chief deputy, Colin Stolle, opposed the request, noting the move could lay the foundation for an appeal based on the investigator's relationship with the Beach Police Department.

Circuit Judge H. Thomas Padrick Jr., himself a former Beach police officer, agreed and told capital defender Timothy Quick to hire a Norfolk investigator.

Also during the hearing, Bryant acknowledged that the special grand jury that indicted Carter on capital murder charges had not been properly empaneled. He told the court the same evidence was presented Monday to another grand jury, which indicted Carter on the same charges.

Shawn Day, (757) 222-5131, shawn.day@pilotonline.com