Jury Seeks 40 Year Prison Term for Bondsman's Murder

Bad timing cost James E. Carr seven years of freedom.

A Richmond jury recommended yesterday that Carr serve 40 years in prison for first-degree murder and felonious use of a firearm in the death of bail bondsman James W. Woolfolk III.

Minutes before the jury signaled that it had reached a decision on the sentence in its second day of deliberations, Carr's defense attorney and Richmond prosecutors had reached a plea agreement that would have given him 33 years in prison.

"I really have no reason to accept the plea agreement," Circuit Judge Beverly W. Snukals told the attorneys before calling in the jury to render its verdict.

Snukals will sentence Carr on Nov. 7, but members of Woolfolk's family left court yesterday satisfied with the jury's decision. The jury convicted Carr of first-degree murder on Tuesday.

"Though nothing will bring him back, this sure helps," said Theresa Godbold, niece of the 39-year-old bail bondsman, who was killed March 6 in South Richmond while trying to arrest Carr, 20, for skipping court on a felony drug charge.

James Woolfolk was the first bail bondsman killed in Virginia while on duty in recent memory. He was unarmed when he was shot three times from behind after finding Carr hiding in a bedroom closet at 2313 Joplin Ave.

"I shot him three times in the back. . . . I did a cowardly act," Carr confessed Tuesday evening during testimony on the sentencing.

Prosecutors said Carr had a simple reason for shooting Woolfolk: "He just did not want to go back to jail," said Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill, who called the shooting "a cold-blooded execution."

Carr's stepfather, Michael Morris, testified that Woolfolk had turned his back and started toward the living room when he was shot. "He said, 'All right, Jimmy, you know what this is. Let's go.'" Woolfolk's mother, Theresa Woolfolk, said the family was satisfied with the recommended sentence. "We hope the best for James Carr and his family," she said.

Defense attorney Dean C. Marcus said Carr had shown remorse from the beginning for killing Woolfolk. "It's been eating him up," Marcus said after the jury rendered its recommendation.

But Chief Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Matthew P. Geary responded, "If Mr. Carr was truly remorseful for what he did, he would have spared his family and the victim's family the agony of trying this case."

Carr still faces charges in Richmond of illegal possession of a firearm by a felon, felony drug possession, and failure to appear in court -- the charge that brought Woolfolk to the house where he died. He also faces a charge that he violated his probation on a robbery charge in Henrico County, where he had a suspended sentence of 10 years.

Geary said his office is working with Henrico to revoke the suspension and reinstate the full sentence.

Bondsman’s Killer to be Evaluated

A psychiatrist will evaluate the mental state of the man accused in the March slaying of bail bondsman James W. Woolfolk III, who was shot three times from behind.

A Richmond Circuit Court judge ordered a psychiatrist to report on James E. Carr's ability to stand trial as well as his mental state at the time of the shooting, prosecutors and Carr's defense lawyer said yesterday.

Carr has complained he is hearing voices urging him to do away with himself, said his lawyer, Dean Marcus.

If true, that raises questions about whether Carr can effectively help defend himself in court, the key issue in determining whether someone is competent to stand trial in Virginia, Marcus said.

In addition to a competency evaluation, Judge Beverly W. Snukals also ordered a psychiatric review of Carr's state of mind at the time of the shooting, although Marcus had not asked for that.

In Virginia, people may be found not guilty of a crime by reason of insanity if they could not tell right from wrong at the time of the alleged crime or if they did not understand the nature of their acts.

Woolfolk, the bondsman, had been trying to arrest Carr for failing to appear in court to face charges when he was shot March 6 in a house on the 2300 block of Joplin Avenue in South Richmond.

Police tracked Carr to a house a few blocks away about four hours after discovering the bondsman's body. Carr held four children and three adults hostage in that house for less than two hours before surrendering.

Woolfolk was the first bail bondsman in Virginia to be killed while trying to bring in a fugitive.

Bail Bondsman Shot From Behind; Man Admits to Shooting

A Richmond bail bondsman was shot three times from behind as he attempted to arrest a fugitive in South Richmond, a city prosecutor said today.

Chief Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Matthew P. Geary said that James E. Carr, 20, has admitted to shooting James W. Woolfolk III early yesterday in a house on Joplin Avenue near Jefferson Davis Highway.

Carr was arraigned for Woolfolk's murder today by video conference with Richmond General District Court in Manchester. The hearing was conducted by video because of threats against Carr's safety by other inmates, Geary said. A preliminary hearing was set for March 26 in Richmond Circuit Court in Manchester.

Woolfolk, a 39-year-old Church Hill resident and father of a teenage daughter, was the first bail bondsman killed in the line of duty in the memory of people in the business. Jail inmates rely on bondsmen to bail them out of custody while they await trial.

Geary said Woolfolk died from shots to the back of the head, back of the neck and back. Woolfolk was attempting to arrest Carr for failure to appear in court last month on a charge of felony drug possession and three misdemeanor offenses.

Carr was arraigned today on those offenses, as well as a felony charge for failing to appear in court. General District Judge David E. Cheek Sr. set a trial date of April 2 on those charges.

In both cases, Carr was given a court-appointed lawyer, Dean Marcus, for his defense.