Joan Ziglar: Commonwealth's Attorney for the City of Martinsville

Protecting the Citizens of Martinsville since 1998
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In the News

Joan Ziglar Interviewed by Bill Wyatt

“Joan really has her ducks in a row and is about one of the most genuine people I have ever pointed a camera at. If you listen to this interview I think you will agree that she is about as real as it gets and her common sense approach to a very difficult office is so refreshing in this day and time.” —Jamie Walker, Cameraman for Bill Wyatt

Chief Mike Rogers on Joan Ziglar’s Performance

“If I had committed a serious crime, and I was looking at the potential for a lot of time to go prison, I would not want Joan Ziglar prosecuting me. That’s the bottom line.” —Chief Mike Rogers (ret.)

Joan Ziglar Interviewed on BTW 21

Crime Rates

Crime rates in the City of Martinsville have been trending downward, and are in fact “among the lowest … in the last 29 years.” Martinsville Police Chief Mike Rogers said that

In light of us having the highest unemployment in the state, one would expect our crime rates to be going through the roof, but they are not.
In the last 29 years, the City has had only five years with no murder; four of those five were during Commonwealth’s Attorney Joan Ziglar’s term of office. Elected in 1998, the years with no murders were 1983, 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2009. There was only one murder in 2001, 2004, 2008, and 2012.

Rape and murder rates peaked in 2001 and 2000, respectively. This was before Joan Ziglar’s policy of refusing plea agreements had had its effect.

The City’s rates of other crimes have also dropped precipitously during Ms. Ziglar’s term in office. As an example, the year 2012 saw:

Chief Rogers credited the efforts of his department as well as those of the Commonwealth’s Attorney for these law crime rates, saying
I’m very proud of the aggressive enforcement efforts of our officers, coupled with the prosecutorial efforts of our [C]ommonwealth’s [A]ttorney, Joan Ziglar, and her staff. Joan … has taken a very strong position on not plea bargaining our drug distribution cases and a lot of our violent crime cases. That has sent a real strong message out to people who may think about violating the law.
For many years in the 1980s and 1990s, Martinsville had the highest crime rate in Virginia. Now it is not even close.

Source: Crime rates trend down in city

See also: Martinsville crime drops, hits lowest point in nearly 30 years

Example Cases

All photos from the linked stories in the Martinsville Bulletin.

Tremayne Perkins, Murderer of Tyre Joyce, 33 years

On July 6, 2010, Tremayne Perkins, a member of a local branch of the Blood gang, shot and killed 21-year-old Tyre Joyce, a local man and father of four who had joined the army and was scheduled to leave less than thirty days after his murder. Perkins killed Joyce because he felt that Joyce had “disrespected” him, then attempted to blame Joyce himself for the murder. A concerned citizen spoke up about what she had seen despite her fear of retribution from the Bloods; Commonwealth’s Attorney Joan Ziglar called her “a hero” for telling the truth in spite of her fear.

After a three-day trial, a jury of Martinsville citizens found Perkins guilty and sentenced him to a total of thirty-three years in prison for his crimes. Said one of Joyce’s family members, “Now … we have closure… . Justice was served.”

Michael Alvin Young, Murderer of Billy Ray Carter, 16 years

On March 31, 2011, Michael Alvin Young shot Billy Ray Carter once in the head, killing him instantly. After getting into an altercation the night before with Mr. Carter, in which Mr. Carter cut Young’s troat, Young denied the assistance of law enforcement in taking charges out against Mr. Carter, instead deciding to take the law into his own hands. He returned to the residence Mr. Carter was staying at and shot him in the head. Young made comments such as “don’t need much more provocation” and “[a]in’t much sorry ‘bout it though.”

After a three-day trial by jury, Young was sentenced to sixteen years in the penitentiary.

Brandon Clarence Page, Murderer of Corey Brandon, 40 years

On February 17, 2008, Brandon Clarence Page murdered Corey Brandon, a 31-year-old, on the streets of the City of Martinsville over an accidental brush-up that occurred while the two were leaving a local club. Initially, Page denied knowing anything about the shooting; however, when police officers suggested self-defense, Page suddenly claimed to remember and admitted to having killed Mr. Brandon. After attempting to blame the victim for his crime, Page was convicted of second-degree murder by a jury of his peers.

The jury sentenced Page to a total of forty years in prison; two other charges which were heard by the judge increased his penalty time to fifty years. Charlene Brandon, Mr. Brandon’s wife, said she had “some closure,” but admitted that “[i]t still doesn’t bring him back.”

Travis Lane Castle, Child Pornography, 15 Years

On October 6, 2011, the Martinsville Police Department executed a search warrant on the home of Travis Lane Castle, here in the City, based on information provided by the Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. In a search of two computers found in the home, the Task Force located large quantities of some of the vilest child pornography imaginable. The Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office sought and received 291 indictments for this disgusting material; Castle plead guilty and received an active sentence of fifteen years, with over one thousand years suspended hanging over his head.

James Benjamin Hairston, Drunk Driver and Killer, 20 Years

On March 24, 2012, James Benjamin Hairston, after drinking heavily and smoking marijuana, decided to drive with his girlfriend, Melissa Renee Jackson, in the passenger’s seat. Unable to control the vehicle, and driving in a truly reckless manner in addition to being extremely intoxicated, Hairston wrapped the vehicle around a City of Martinsville utility pole, injuring himself and killing Ms. Jackson. When bystanders and police arrived, Hairston refused to identify himself, denied being the driver even though he was trapped behind the wheel, and even urged the first arrivers not to call the police, despite the fact that Ms. Jackson was dead right beside him.