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UPDATE: Henrico man guilty of violating anti-solicitation law

By Staff Reports

Published: January 8, 2009

A Henrico man was found guilty a second time - this time by a Circuit Court jury - of violating the county's new anti-solicitation ordinance.

Robert S. Reynolds was convicted today of two counts of violating the law banning solicitation or panhandling in county roads.

But Reynolds argued that the county's ordinance is flawed because it prohibits "standing in the highway" to sell merchandise or solicit money. It says nothing about sitting.

Reynolds was charged with violating the ordinance twice, on Aug. 22 and 28. The violation is considered a traffic infraction, punishable by a fine of up to $250.

He pleaded guilty in lower court but appealed to Circuit Court. It took a jury about 30 minutes today to find him guilty and impose a $300 fine.

Reader Reactions

Posted by ( Larry Lanberg ) on January 08, 2009 at 6:51 pm

Agree with the last poster, Lloyd. This isn’t a case of a hungry person being harassed on the curb—its one of a swashbuckling clown making waves for his own amusement.

But the convicted person, Reynolds, has a point if he was “sitting” & not “standing”, which the statute specifies. You know, it would be a major achievement if they could write laws that are clear-cut & not susceptible to abuse. (E.g., Occupying a space; taking temporary residence; standing, sitting or laying….) THAT they can’t is also a waste of taxpayers’ money!

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Posted by ( Lloyd Schieldge ) on January 08, 2009 at 5:11 pm

This man is wasting valuable (and hard to get these dayS) tax money and court time. The intent of the law is clearly that Henrico County does not want people begging for money while either sitting on the curb or standing on their head.

The anti-begging law is not just because Henrico does not want beggers, but because it is dangerous. This man could be killed, or worse, create an accident where someone else is killed. I do not know if he belongs in jail, but give the dude a one-way ticket out of town. Why doesn’t he just get a job?

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Posted by ( 1twenty13 ) on January 08, 2009 at 4:12 pm

So how many tickets do we write this guy before the judge puts him in jail and then we, the taxpayers, get to provide him a warm place to sleep and 3 free meals a day?

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Posted by ( JLlo ) on January 08, 2009 at 2:37 pm

What about those guys with the boots and fire trucks? Why are they allowed to do the same thing?

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Posted by ( Woodrow ) on January 08, 2009 at 12:30 pm

Hey, this is a real Stand-Up guy.

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Posted by ( L. Johnson ) on January 08, 2009 at 11:27 am

Little Ceasars is about a block from where he operates. They actually pay people to stand there and hold a sign. He’s obviously well-qualified for this position. At least he’s not as obnoxious as the group with the buckets.

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Posted by ( ac ) on January 08, 2009 at 10:44 am

Why would I give money to this doofus, when there are plenty of other people out of work that are actually hardworking individuals, but are just experiencing hard times? This guy needs to be kicked off the street and get a real job or at least try to get one.

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Posted by ( docsmom ) on January 08, 2009 at 8:32 am

The man has guts and is “sitting” for what he believes in. He is simply protesting.

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Posted by ( Crimediver ) on January 08, 2009 at 8:17 am

Looks like he did not have a leg to stand on…

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