(Halifax, Va.) – A Halifax man has been sentenced to 63 years in prison following his conviction on nine child pornography charges.
But Jessie Randall Coates had to be found before the sentence could be meted out.
The 42-year-old disappeared during a lunch break at his trial in Halifax County Circuit Court Tuesday afternoon. Sheriff’s investigators learned that Coates had fled to Indiana, where he was staying with family members.
The trial continued in his absence, and the jury convicted Coates on nine felony counts and recommended a 63-year sentence.
When he failed to return to the courtroom Tuesday, the judge issued a capias order for his arrest. Yorktown Police and the U.S. Marshal Service found him in Indiana, where Coates was arrested without incident.
Coates is being held without bond pending extradition to Halifax County.
(Richmond, Va.) (AP) — Facebook plans to build a massive new data center in Virginia.
The social media giant announced Thursday that it selected a spot in Henrico County, just outside Richmond, to build a new $750 million foot data center.
Company officials said it would be one of the most advanced and energy-efficient data centers in the world.
Facebook is partnering with electric utility Dominion Energy to offset the energy used by the data center with power produced by new solar installations around the state. Dominion said it will file a new energy rate with state regulators later this month.
Facebook will be eligible for millions of dollars in state and local tax breaks for the new project, which officials said will create thousands of construction jobs and 100 full-time employees when complete.