OUR VIEW: Keeping our community safe requires teamwork

» Crime happens everywhere, making vigilance and effective cooperation between area law enforcement a top priority.

In recent weeks, three high-profile criminal cases were handled professionally by local officials and law enforcement, and their hard work should be commended.

GUN AT SCHOOL: A ninth-grade boy at Eastern View High School was suspended after a loaded .22-caliber handgun was found in a book bag behind the building last week. The quick response by administrators and the Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office ended what could have been a deadly situation, before any threats were made or anyone was hurt.

CHURCH BURGLARIES: Cooperation between the Orange Police Department, Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office and Culpeper Police Department is credited with the arrests of two suspected church burglars.
Stephen Michael Blanton, 21, of Unionville and Justin Tyler Lair, 19, of Mitchells were charged with burglarizing the Orange Assembly of God Church in the town of Orange. The two are also suspected of being involved in two other church burglaries at Grace Tabernacle and Mitchells Presbyterian Church.
The pair was nabbed at a traffic stop, and police say stolen property was found in their possession.
Had the agencies not communicated, the cases might not have been tied together and solved.

DRUG BUST: Another example of cooperation between departments is the Blue Ridge Narcotics Task Force. Last week, that unit arrested three Culpeper residents on felony drug charges.
After a month-long investigation, Rebecca Virginia Roberts, 18, Aaron Michael Yates, 25, and Kevin Eugene Brooks, 23, were charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana and cocaine.
Drugs, a weapon and cash was taken off the street, simply because the unit worked leads patiently and then acted decisively at the perfect time.
Good, old-fashioned police work pays off, and we applaud those who left no stone unturned until these cases were solved.