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Man accused of trying to run over Virginia Sen. Louise Lucas in Portsmouth appears in court

Posted at 10:12 AM, May 16, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-16 12:28:25-04

PORTSMOUTH, Va. – The man charged with allegedly trying to run over Virginia Senator Louise Lucas was in court Wednesday morning.

James C Taliaferro

James Taliaferro was arrested in March after a series of incidents that culminated with him allegedly attempting to run over the senator.

Taliaferro is reportedly an ex-employee of a business run by the Lucas family.

The 40-year-old is charged two felonies - attempted 1st degree murder and eluding police. He’s also charged with misdemeanor trespassing and destruction of property (x3).

In court, Taliaferro waived his right to a preliminary hearing. His case is going to the grand jury for indictment in circuit court.

One of the destruction charges was nolle prossed in court. The prosecution told News 3 they plan to bring it back as a felony because the damage is more than $1,000.

According to the Portsmouth Police Department, dispatchers were informed that a man had tried to run over a woman in the parking lot near the 1500 block of High Street in March.

After speaking to Lucas, police secured a warrant for the arrest of Taliaferro as a suspect for attempted murder.  He had fled the scene of the crime before police arrived.

Taliaferro was eventually taken into custody  after briefly leading law enforcement on a car chase into the City of Chesapeake.

The grand jury is expected to hear the evidence on June 7.

A trial date will be set sometime afterwards.

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Man charged for attempting to run over Virginia Sen. Louise Lucas in Portsmouth