On April 24, 2023, in the Alleghany County Circuit Court, Roland Augustine Jeter, Jr., 31, was sentenced to life in prison suspended after serving a 40-year active sentence for first-degree murder in the shooting death of his father, Roland Augustine Jeter, Sr.
In an earlier hearing, Jeter pled guilty to first-degree murder for the shooting that took place on March 18, 2022, at the victim’s home on Chestnut Street in Covington. A summary of the evidence against Jeter was presented to the Court by Alleghany County Commonwealth’s Attorney, Ann Gardner.
Police were alerted when Jeter placed a 911 call on March 19, 2022, claiming that, after trying unsuccessfully to reach his father by phone, he drove to the victim’s house to check on him at which time he found the victim deceased. Police located the victim inside the home with two gunshot wounds to the back of his head.
After further questioning by the Virginia State Police, Jeter later confessed that he shot the victim the previous night, drove off in the victim’s car and threw the gun somewhere on Valley Ridge Road. A VDOT worker found the gun by the roadside several weeks later. A forensic examination confirmed that the .25 caliber handgun was used to kill the victim. An autopsy report determined that the victim died from two gunshot wounds to the back of his head.
Jeter was also sentenced to jail time for driving under the influence second offense which occurred on January 1, 2022. On that date, police encountered Jeter driving at speeds in excess of 80 miles per hour traveling in the wrong direction on Interstate 64 while under the influence of methamphetamine.
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