Public Safety

CHARLOTTESVILLE — An Independence man has been arrested on drug charges and more than $125,000 in cash and other items have been seized by law enforcement officers.
According to a news release from the Grayson County Sheriff’s Department, Virginia State Police narcotics agents contacted the sheriff’s office on Oct. 1 in reference to an Independence resident who was arrested by the Charlottesville Police Department for alleged possession of more than three pounds of marijuana with the intent to distribute.

WOODLAWN — An 80-year-old Woodlawn woman went through several hours of surgery for serious injuries stemming from a two-vehicle wreck that occurred last Wednesday.
A Virginia State Police report by Trooper C.M. Delp says that Ila Faye Payne, driving a 2000 Chevy Cavalier, attempted to pull out from Breezy Ridge Road and go west on U.S. 58. at 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 3.
The Cavalier was struck by a Buick driven by Patrick Joseph Kelly Sr. of Fancy Gap.

HILLSVILLE — A Winston-Salem, N.C., man who allegedly broke into a home in Cana on Dec. 16, 2011, and evaded capture for about nine months now faces charges through joint police work by the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office and the Winston-Salem, Police Department.
The Carroll Sheriff’s Office received a report from an Ollie McCreary on U.S. 52 near Flower Gap Road in Cana that she had returned home on that day and discovered an African-American man in her house, according to Investigator Kevin Kemp.

Thieves continue to use the Internet, mail and phone service to steal millions from unsuspecting victims across the Western Virginia region and the nation.
The Better Business Bureau Serving Western Virginia urges consumers to recognize the most common tactics used by crooks to scam money.
Most thieves masquerade as legitimate businesses and ask consumers to send money via such hard-to-trace methods as Western Union, MoneyGram or Green Dot MoneyPaks.