"Both of them know they messed up"

An insider's account of the incident leading to OC Supervisor Keith Marshall's arrest and its aftermath

Aug 26, 2024

Orange County Supervisor Keith Marshall (District 3) is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday morning on charges of assault and battery and public intoxication. The trouble for the 65-year-old dairy farmer and vice chair of the board began on the evening of Monday, Aug. 19, when he got into a fight with one of his employees—what the Virginia State Police characterized as a “neighbor dispute on the 22000 block of Village Road” in Unionville.

The VSP press release states, “When troopers arrived, they located a 42-year-old male suffering from minor injuries. Through the course of the investigation, state police learned the incident began as a verbal dispute but became physical when the suspect, Marshall, assaulted the male.

“State police took Marshall into custody without incident and transported him to the Central Virginia Regional Jail, where he was held on an unsecured bond and until sober. The assault victim refused medical treatment at the scene.”

When I spoke to Marshall Sunday afternoon to get his side of the story, our conversation got off to a rocky start. The supervisor told me that if he’d realized I was the one who had just called his cellphone, he would not have called me back. However, as our brief exchange neared its end, he softened and said, “Maybe we can sit down and talk under better conditions. I would welcome that, but unfortunately, I guess, maybe, things got a little bit upside-down, and so let’s just leave it that.”

I also talked to one of Marshall’s dairy farm employees, a man very close to the situation who did not want to be identified. My source told me that on the day of the incident, Marshall and the employee he later was charged with assaulting were not getting along. The other man’s back was hurting, and he was irritable.

“That day, there was a lot of tension,” my source said. “Both of them are hotheaded sometimes.”

It wasn’t long before the two came to blows at the younger man’s residence on the Marshall farm. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office received a call and reported to the scene. According to Sheriff Jason Smith, once Marshall’s involvement was discovered, the sheriff’s office turned the case over to the state police, to avoid a conflict of interest. State troopers arrived at the site in Unionville at about 7:19 p.m., according to the VSP press release.

Although online court records show that Marshall was released on his own recognizance for the assault and battery charge, the public drunkenness charge required him to stay in jail until he was determined to be sober. The unsecured bond for that charge refers to a signed, good-faith agreement that a defendant will show up in court as required.

“We are working things out”

My confidential source said that the day after Marshall’s arrest, both Marshall and the other man were back at work. He said he attended a meeting at the dairy farm that morning with three other people, including Marshall and the 42-year-old man, whose identity has not been publicly released. “Both of them were very apologetic. They shook hands. Both of them know they messed up.”

The source made it clear that he cares deeply about both men involved in the dispute. He spoke highly of Marshall, who “loves the county” and “would give you the shirt off his back.”

“It was just a bad day,” he said of August 19. “We have learned a lot. We need to talk more. We are human. We make mistakes. Both are goodhearted, hardworking men. We are working things out.”

Complicating public perception of the case, a member of Marshall’s family posted publicly on Facebook on Friday, Aug. 23, that Marshall “got a concussion from an aluminum pipe from a blow struck across the side and back of his head from a disgruntled employee. Knocked unconscious for approximately 20 minutes. Guess who gets arrested?”

I asked Public Information Officer Sgt. Brent W. Coffey of the Virginia State Police whether the police found evidence that the other man hit Marshall with an aluminum pipe and knocked him unconscious. Coffey replied: “After being assaulted, the male struck Marshall with a walking cane. Marshall was arrested because he was the primary aggressor.” I also asked whether an ambulance was called to the scene to treat Marshall. Coffey responded, “Marshall didn't complain of any injuries.”

Marshall’s court appearance is set for 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in Orange General District Court. Virginia court records show that it’s not Marshall’s first encounter with the law. In addition to receiving several speeding tickets, he was arrested in August 2011 for assault and battery of a family member, a Class 1 criminal misdemeanor. The charge, a first offense, was dismissed in February 2012 upon Marshall’s compliance with the terms of the court.

As of 4:45 p.m. today, board chair Mark Johnson (District 1) had not responded to the voicemail I left him yesterday afternoon requesting comment on Marshall’s case.

**Keith Marshall** (left) during a candidates’ forum in 2021, with opponents Ellen Pitera and **Donald Brooks**. Initially appointed interim supervisor for District 3 after the death of Teel Goodwin, Marshall won a special election against Pitera and Brooks in November 2021 to finish out Goodwin’s term. He prevailed against Pitera again in 2023 in a race decided by 14 votes. File photo by Hilary Holladay

Where’s Beth?

When the Wilbanks family moved from San Antonio, Texas, to Orange County in 2007, Bob Wilbanks told his wife, Beth, that he’d always have flowers for her at their new cattle farm on Rapidan Road between Orange and Rapidan. He’s kept his word, and for the past decade, the couple’s super (flower)power has been sunflowers. Beth orders seeds from Harris Seeds and plants a wide variety—including American Giant, Goldy Double, Helios Flame, Starburst Panache and the Sunrich series—in a large garden that Bob preps for her. His irrigation system, with irrigation tape running down every row, has made a big difference during this summer’s drought.

When I stopped by Saturday morning, Beth gave me a tour of the fabulous flowers, which she loves sharing with friends. She told me that as the sun arcs across the sky, the sunflowers turn their heads to bask in the rays. With their towering stalks and nodding heads, they seem almost sentient. I think I heard several of them chuckling as Beth burrowed among them in search of a good place to stand.

Beth Wilbanks among her beautiful and extremely tall sunflowers. She said that their bright heads turn in the direction of the sun. Photo by Hilary Holladay.

(1) The sunflower garden, fronted with zinnias, has had a very good year, thanks in part to Bob Wilbanks's irrigation system. (2) Beth Wilbanks with an American Giant sunflower. Photos by Hilary Holladay.

The weather

Byrd Street weather correspondent Greg Lillard of the Northern Piedmont Center in Orange reports that we’ve had 2.43 inches of rain so far this month. The county’s historic average for the whole month of August is 4.02 inches. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, we are still in a moderate drought.