• Preliminary hearing set for end of February
By staff reports
Jan 23, 2012, 17:55
Mark D. Baggett, a former Hopewell Police Officer, who was originally scheduled to appear for on Jan. 23, at 3 p.m. for a bond hearing will have another day in court this February.
The bond hearing was canceled per the request of the defendant's public-appointed attorney, according to General District Court clerk assistant Lindsey Reed. Neither public-appointed attorney assigned to the case could be reached for comment.
Baggett, 34, of Colonial Heights was arrested on a warrant felony charge of forcible sodomy on Jan. 12. The charge stems from a criminal complaint filed with the Hopewell Police Department mid-October by a 38-year-old female victim. According to the police report, the woman was sexually assault in the 4000 block of Old Iron Court in Hopewell on Oct. 13.
City of Hopewell Police Chief John Keohane explained at the time of Baggett's arrest that the criminal investigation was turned over to the Virginia State Police when the initial complaint was filed because Baggett was an employee of the local police department at the time of the complaint.
Baggett, who resigned immediately after his arrest by VSP Special Agents, had been a uniformed officer with the city's police force since 2008.
The accused is currently being held without bail at Riverside Regional Jail. A preliminary hearing for Baggett is scheduled for Feb. 24 at 9 a.m.
