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Updated: Felony Sex Charges Dropped Against Fuller
Unable to stand trial because of brain injury, case against former VCU police chief is dismissed.
by Scott Bass @scttbass
Felony sex charges against former Virginia Commonwealth University Police Chief Willie Fuller have been dropped after a Chesterfield County judge determined that the alleged child sex offender was mentally incapable of standing trial.
Fuller's attorney, Arnold Henderson, presented the court with a letter from Dr. Sultan A. Lakhani, associate professor and director of the geopsychiatry program in the Department of Psychiatry at VCU Medical Center, who concludes Fuller is still suffering from significant amnesia due to a brain injury and is incapable of standing trial.
As a result, Chesterfield Circuit Court Judge Ernest P. Gates Jr. concurred that Fuller is unable to stand trial, and withdrew the charges.
“He's not going to shake this off,” says J. David Rigler, a Chesterfield County assistant commonwealth's attorney handling the case, referring to Fuller's condition and long-term outlook for recovery.
Fuller, 50, was arrested Jan. 28 as part of an Internet solicitation sting by Chesterfield Police detectives. Fuller allegedly attempted to solicit sex online from an undercover Chesterfield investigator posing as a 14-year-old girl.
In June, less than a month before his scheduled July 8 trial, Fuller was found by a neighbor lying in the parking lot outside his apartment on Meadowfield Court in Henrico County. Fuller, who has diabetes, is believed to have suffered a diabetes-related stroke.
Though charges have now been dropped, they can be reinstated if Fuller's condition improves, according to Rigler. In the letter, Lakhani says the possiblity remains that Fuller could eventually overcome his current amnesia if he remains in good health.
The former chief remains at VCU Medical Center and is awaiting admittance into a 24-hour full-care facility, the letter states. His attorney, Henderson, expressed doubt that Fuller will be able to make a full recovery, however.
“Short term is not good,” Henderson says. “Long term, I don't know.”
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