Virginia’s highest court has thrown out the remaining convictions against the owner of Myrtle Beach Safari, according to a report published Sunday, June 8, by WMBF.
The Virginia Supreme Court’s ruling wipes out what the station described as the last outstanding convictions in the case — though the court’s specific reasoning and the exact charges at issue weren’t detailed in the available report.
Background
The Myrtle Beach Safari is a wildlife attraction in South Carolina, but its owner faced criminal proceedings that ran through the Virginia court system. The phrase “remaining convictions” suggests earlier charges had already been dismissed or overturned before this ruling; how many counts were originally filed, and when those prior dismissals occurred, wasn’t immediately clear from the available information.
What the ruling does signal is that the Virginia Supreme Court found enough legal fault with the lower court proceedings to scrap what was left. That’s a significant step — state supreme courts don’t routinely grant that kind of relief.
WMBF, a South Carolina-based station, broke the story on June 8. The full text of the court’s opinion, including the grounds for the reversal, had not been published as of that report.
Originally reported by WMBF. Read the original report.
