Bond denied for man charged with threatening Falwell, reporter

Berkley Carter Mills

By: Carrie J. Sidener | Lynchburg News and Advance
Published: October 17, 2008

Bond was denied Friday for a man accused of threatening the life of Jerry Falwell Jr. and sending threatening e-mails to a reporter for The News & Advance.

Judge Thomas Firth refused to set a bond in Lynchburg General District Court for Berkley Carter Mills, 56, of the 600 block of Reusens Road, saying he believed the man was a threat to himself and others.

Mills was arrested last month on the charge of charge of making threats of death or bodily injury by letter against Falwell via The News & Advance’s online comments. He was out on a $10,000 bond when he was arrested again on charges of stalking and making threats of death or bodily injury by letter to The News & Advance reporter Chris Dumond.

Mills’ attorney James DeVita said that his client’s comments did not constitute making a direct threat against either man and can be taken as political commentary.

He said Mills is disabled from a back injury and that he has specific medical needs that can’t be addressed in the Blue Ridge Regional Jail.

Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Chuck Felmlee told the court that while Mills was out on bond and sending e-mails to Dumond, he also left an obscenity-filled message on the voicemail of Lynchburg Pulmonary Associates.

Felmlee said Mills has been convicted of crimes in Virginia, Florida and New York, including felony driving while intoxicated and disorderly conduct.

DeVita said he intends to ask for a change on venue in the case because “trying a case against Falwell in Lynchburg would be like trying a case against the pope in the Vatican.”

The stalking charge is a misdemeanor. The charge of making threats of death or bodily injury by letter is a Class 6 felony, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Mills appears in court again on Nov. 14 for a preliminary hearing on the two felony charges of communicating threats and will have a trial on the same date for the misdemeanor stalking charge.

For more details on Mills' bond hearing, check back with NewsAdvance.com or see tomorrow's edition of The News & Advance.