Councilor-elect sees assault-and-battery charge dismissed in Hopewell

HOPEWELL — An assault-and-battery charge against Ward 7 Councilor-elect Dominic Holloway was dismissed Monday in General District Court.

Holloway, who was elected Nov. 8, was arrested in September on the misdemeanor charge stemming from an altercation with a south Chesterfield resident at the place where Holloway was residing. He maintained his innocence and told supporters that he expected the charge to be dropped.

The victim in the assault case, 48-year-old Harold Deane, was facing a trespassing charge from the encounter. That, too, was dismissed Monday morning.

Even if he had been found guilty of the charge, it would not have meant Holloway would have been disqualified to serve on council because it was not classified as a felony.

A former member of the Hopewell Electoral Board, Holloway resigned to run for council. His name was the only one printed on the ballot, but that did not stop Mayor Patience Bennett, who currently represents Ward 7, or longtime Hopewell resident Dewey Bentley from waging unsuccessful last-minute write-in campaigns against him.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Hopewell councilor-elect has assault charge against him dismissed