Courts

ABINGDON — A former companion care provider from Galax, hired to work with a social worker for the Grayson County Department of Social Services, pleaded guilty on Dec. 16 to federal fraud charges stemming from misuse of a debit card and theft from a bank account belonging to a patient the defendant was hired to care for.

Convicted killer Frederick P. Hammer was in Ashe County Superior Court on Dec. 7, where he pleaded guilty to the shooting death of his nephew, Jimmy Blevins.
Hammer, who is already serving seven life sentences without parole for the 2008 shooting deaths of three men in Grayson County, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the Blevins murder.

Editor’s Note: This information is taken from open court records and is a matter of public record.  The listings are complete. The newspaper, as a matter of fairness, will not honor requests to omit any listing.  
For information on this column or questions, call 236-5178, ext. 213.

Land Transfers

These land transfers were recorded Sept. 29-Oct. 13 in the office of Carolyn H. Honeycutt, clerk of the Carroll County Circuit Court, Hillsville:

INDEPENDENCE — Grayson County leaders have decided to not revisit one of the most heated special use permit applications the county has seen in recent years.
In a reversal of its previous action, the Grayson Board of Supervisors voted last Thursday not to re-hear the Oracle Institute’s application in July 2011.
A couple of days after the board voted to give the non-profit, non-denominational group a second chance, Oracle Institute’s leader filed a religious discrimination lawsuit against the county.