The Republican Goochland County commonwealth’s attorney running for another four-year term told The Virginia Star his feud with Sheriff Steven N. Creasey has political significance but has not hindered his ability to prosecute crimes in the county.
The trouble started in the 2019 election, said D. Michael Caudill (pictured above), who faces Creasey’s endorsed candidate, attorney John Lumpkins, in the general election.
Caudill said he does not take the sheriff’s choice of Lumpkins seriously. “Gawd, are you kidding? He found a guy who had never prosecuted, hadn’t done a criminal case in 25 years, and does wills and trusts, and he decided that he’d like to give it a try.”
Yet despite the sheriff’s problems with him, the former state trooper said he maintains a professional relationship with the sheriff.
“We’ve been working since 2019, but the job gets done,” he said.
“It’s not the thing on our part; it’s the fact that I don’t kiss the ring or bow to the king, which apparently you’re supposed to do to get along,” the University of Richmond Law School graduate said. “He’s a guy that’s had really no law enforcement experience except for being a road deputy in a small community, but we’re going to make it work.”
Caudill said there were three candidates for sheriff in 2019, and he told each of them he would not make an endorsement because he did not want to contaminate what would be his crucial working relationship once the election was over.
“That didn’t sit well,” he said. “The guy who won this wanted payback.”
Caudill said Creasey tried to block his getting the party’s nomination by showing up at the party meeting. “The sheriff brought in as many deputies as they could and tried to take me out from the nomination, but it didn’t work,” so now there’s just trying to do it again.”
After that failed attempt to kneecap him, the commonwealth attorney came into work one day and saw dozens of yellow sticky notes posted around the county building—all with the numbers 157 and 119.
“We don’t have a bathroom in our office,” he said. “We have to go down the hallway, the court’s building where to use the bathroom, so about two weeks after the mass meeting, I’m walking down the hallway, and I’m like, huh, a Post-it Note on the wall—whatever—so, I go into the bathroom, and there’s more Post-it Notes on the wall.”
Caudill said he then realized these Post-its were all over the place.
“There’s one in between the mirror, there’s one over top of the urinal, so I look at them, and it’s got 1 5 7, 1 1 9, and those were the numbers that he tried to take me out at the mass meeting,” he said. At the party meeting, Caudill received the nomination by a vote of 157 to 119.
“I mean, I roll in there, the Republican nominee unopposed, and next thing you know, I’m squeaking by with 1 5 7 and 119 against,” he said. “The sheriff put Post-it Notes in the court’s building and in the bathroom just taunting me of his almost successful coup.”
The commonwealth attorney took photos of the notes and took them down—and then, he requested a copy of the surveillance videos.
“Sure enough, there he is, badge and gun, walking into the court’s hallway and a handful of Post-it Notes, puts them on the wall, puts them in the bathroom,” he said.
Caudill praises Youngkin’s positive effect on Republican candidates
The commonwealth attorney said Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin has changed the political atmosphere in favor of the GOP.
“I think he’s doing a good job,” Caudill said.
“We certainly support him and his Parents Matter platform,” he said.
“I think if he keeps going the way he is, things will be really good,” he said. “We go to a lot of his events– I do think Youngkin kind of a little bit of pizazz in it—the first lady is absolutely delightful, and he’s got a great personality.”
He said he is pleased with the job done by Virginia’s Republicans, Attorney General Jason Miyares and Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears.
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Neil W. McCabe is a staff reporter for The Virginia Star.
Photo “Michael Caudill” by Michael Caudill.
