Kiwi case goes to Feds

On Monday, October 29, Troy George Skinner, the New Zealand man who was wounded while breaking into a Goochland home in June, appeared before Goochland General District Court Chief the Hon. Judge Claiborne H. Stokes, Jr. 

State felony charges filed in Goochland, were Nolle Prosequi—essentailly dropped—to be replaced by federal charges relating to his actions in Goochland on June 22. He will be processed out at the Henrico Jail at which time the FBI will take him into custody.

Troy Skinner, head down, is escorted to transport pending his turnover to FBI custody

Goochland Sheriff James L. Agnew said that he contacted the FBI the day after the incident and they responded immediately. Given the complexity of prosecuting a criminal case with possible international implications, the FBI has the necessary resources to handle the case.

Skinner, who was hospitalized after arrest for the gunshot wound to the neck he sustained during the incident, has been held in the Henrico Jail West—Goochland does not have its own jail—for several months.

Heavily manacled at the hands and feet, Skinner kept his head down as he was escorted to a van by Goochland law enforcement officers.

He was arrested after a Goochland woman called 911 to report she shot a man who broke into her home. The subsequent investigation found that Skinner made the acquaintance of a daughter of the homeowner during online gaming sessions. The daughter tried to sever the gaming connection, but Skinner persisted, according to information distributed by Agnew in late June.

Skinner traveled to the United States from New Zealand via Australia arriving on the west coast, then making his way east by bus. He then somehow made his way from Short Pump, where he purchased a knife and duct tape, to Goochland without having a vehicle.

This is a cautionary tale for parents to make sure they know who their children interact with online. There are real people behind those anonymous identities who may not be harmless.

(Media coverage of the court appearance was interesting. Only WTVR Chanel 6 sent a reporter and camera man. The reporter from the Richmond paper missed Skinner’s perp walk from the courthouse to his jail transport. )