Commonwealth of Virginia v. John Clinton Landers

Date: 12-04-2025

Case Number: 1395-24-1

Judge: Matthew A. Glassman

Court: Circuit Court, City of Suffolk, Virginia

Plaintiff's Attorney: City of Suffolk, Virginia, Commonwealth's Attorney's Office

Defendant's Attorney:

Description: Suffolk, Virginia, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with two counts of assault and battery of a law enforcement officer and obstruction of justice. At 7:40 p.m. on September 27, 2022, Suffolk Police Officers Charles Lauster and Brandon Pruitt responded to a noise complaint in northern Suffolk.[1] The officers approached Landers in uniform displaying their badges of authority and requested that Landers turn his music down. Landers refused the officers' order, used profanity, and demanded that the officers leave his property. Because of Landers's repeated refusals to comply with his orders, Officer Lauster returned to his vehicle to write a summons. Officer Pruitt, meanwhile, remained with Landers. Officer Pruitt explained that Landers needed to turn the music down, but Landers became irate and again demanded that the officers leave his property. When Officer Lauster returned, he gave Landers a copy of the summons. Landers put a large "X" on the summons, crumpled it up, and then threw it into the nearby fire. The officers informed Landers that if he did not comply with their orders to turn the music down, he would be arrested. Landers gestured to an unsheathed sword laying across a chair and asked, "you see this sword right here? You know what this means?" before walking toward the loudspeaker. The officers placed Landers under arrest and asked him to place his hands behind his back. Landers resisted. He swung a closed fist at Officer Pruitt, which Officer Pruitt caught. Landers grabbed and bent Officer Pruitt's fingers as the officer secured his right hand. When Officer Lauster secured Landers's left hand, Landers wrapped his left leg around the officer's leg "trying to take [the officer] down." The officers took Landers to the ground and handcuffed him, and Officer Pruitt freed Lauster's leg. Once handcuffed, Landers was medically evaluated before being transported to the magistrate's office.

Outcome: The Defendant was found guilty. The trial court sentenced him to three years, six months' incarceration, with two years suspended. Affirmed

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

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