Indictments handed down in Northampton

By Linda Cicoira

Two Northampton inmates were indicted Monday by a Northampton Grand Jury in separate incidents for damaging sprinklers at the Eastern Shore Regional Jail.

Forty-year-old Michael Lee Gingell, of Lankford Highway in Cape Charles, was indicted on Dec. 14, 2024, counts of destroying the fire protection/suppression system within a correctional facility and the destruction of more than $1,000 worth of property that belonged to the jail.

According to court records, Gingell climbed up on a toilet seat and set off the sprinkler, causing water to flood both upstairs and downstairs cells. The incident was captured on video. Gingell was the only person assigned to the cell at that time.

He was also indicted for alleged crimes that landed him in jail in the first place. Gingell was indicted on three counts of possession of stolen property belonging to Peacock Motor Inn between Nov. 1 and 14, 2024, with intent to sell. Three more indictments for grand theft did not name a victim.

Gingell told authorities that he and another man took six or seven air conditioners from a storage building at the inn. He said they took two units at a time in three trips. Both men had rooms there.

An inn worker said the units were valued at about $1,200 each. A total of ten air conditioners were taken, he said.

Twenty-four-year-old Jaquan Rkese Jones, of Jefferson Street in Exmore, was indicted on a count of felony destruction of the fire protection/suppression system at the jail in connection with a Sept. 16, 2024, incident in which he allegedly pulled on a sprinkler head. Jones was also indicted on a count of assaulting Deputy J. Tankard on Sept. 4, 2024.

Twenty-two-year-old Michelle Avery Thomas, of Chatlake Lane in Silver Springs, Md., was indicted on a Sept. 5, 2024, count of assault and battery of Cpl. S. Beasley of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel Police Department. Thomas was stopped by another officer going south in a northbound lane, a court file stated.

“She seemed confused on following instructions to turn around,” the record continued. “Once it was determined that she was not under the influence, she was given a summons for reckless driving.” Thomas refused to leave the property, so she was taken into custody. At some point later, she allegedly kicked Cpl. Beasley in the ribs.

Sixty-two-year-old Michael Douglas Sample, of Seaside Road in Eastville, was indicted on a third or subsequent count of DWI within 10 years in connection with an Oct. 3, 2024, incident. He was arrested the same day.

A breathalyzer showed that Sample tested 0.21 grams per 210 liters of breath. The legal limit is .08. In court records, an officer noted he was driving down Main Street and approached a vehicle stopped in the middle of the road with its bumper torn off. Sample was in the driver’s seat. He was slurring his words and admitted to drinking gin earlier in the evening, the record stated. A bottle was on the floor by his feet. Nearby camera footage showed he ran off the road, hit a VDOT sign, and kept going.

     Fifty-three-year-old Darryl Bernard Taylor Jr., of Cobb Station Road in Cape Charles, was indicted on a Nov. 30, 2024, count of hit and run with $1,000 worth of property damage.  He was arrested on Dec. 5.