Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi ordered to appear before judge for possible contempt of court charge
NORFOLK — A Circuit Court judge on Tuesday ordered Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi to explain why he should not be held in criminal contempt of court for his “insulting” behavior during a hearing in her courtroom that day.
Judge Mary Jane Hall issued the show cause order hours after presiding over a malicious wounding case in which Fatehi took part.
If the judge finds Fatehi in contempt at a March 15 hearing, she could choose to fine or jail him.
The order says Fatehi “openly insulted and resisted the powers of the court” and engaged in acts “calculated to embarrass, hinder or obstruct the court in the administration of justice.” The document also claims Fatehi “taunted” the judge when he said, “That’s the second error of law that you have committed.” Hall called the statement “grossly insolent.”
Fatehi declined to comment Wednesday.
The malicious wounding case stems from a June 2022 incident in Ocean View between Riley E. Ingram Jr. and James Wicker Traylor — two lifelong friends who grew up outside of Richmond, according to Ingram’s attorney, James Broccoletti.
Traylor is an attorney in Hopewell, and Ingram, 50, owns a real estate brokerage firm in nearby Chester. Ingram also is the son of former state Del. Riley E. Ingram Sr., who served in the General Assembly for nearly 30 years. The elder Ingram and Traylor’s father also are longtime friends, Broccoletti said, and the families own condominiums in Ocean View.
On the day of the incident, Traylor and Ingram had been drinking and got into an argument in which “blows were thrown,” Broccoletti said. A couple months later, Traylor filed a complaint with police in which he alleged he’d suffered a chipped tooth. Ingram was charged with felony malicious wounding.
The case was scheduled to go to trial this week. Traylor filed a letter with the court last Friday in which he claimed a member of the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office told him that an “outside individual” had reached out to the prosecutor’s office “on behalf of the defendant in order to affect the outcome of this case.”
Traylor asked that a special prosecutor be appointed, and that the court not consider any motions to amend the felony charge until then.
But when the case was called Tuesday, Traylor consented to a deal in which Ingram would be allowed to plead guilty to the lesser offense of misdemeanor assault and battery, Broccoletti said. Under the agreement, the judge would take the case under advisement, and the charge would be dismissed if Ingram remained on good behavior for a year, the defense lawyer said.
The prosecutor assigned to the case is Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Alexander Rosenberg, according to court records. Fatehi was in the courtroom when the case was called and became involved, but Broccoletti said he didn’t know why Fatehi stepped in. The defense lawyer declined to comment on what happened after that.
Fatehi was elected commonwealth’s attorney in November 2021 and has had a sometimes contentious relationship with some Norfolk’s judges, including Hall, who has rejected several plea deals his office has brought before her, and resisted his past efforts to not prosecute minor marijuana cases.
Jane Harper, jane.harper@pilotonline.com
