Felony Charges Against Blacksburg Surgeon in Connection with Car “Keying” Are Dropped
A Blacksburg surgeon charged with “keying” a colleague’s car, recently received some good news.
Nine months ago, well-known surgeon Dr. Marc Siegel, was charged with felony property damage after allegedly scratching Dr. Jim Lebolt’s vehicle with a key while the car was in the Montgomery Regional Hospital parking lot in October. Just last Monday, the felony charge was lowered to a misdemeanor in Montgomery County Circuit Court.
In January, Dr. Siegel pleaded no contest, as he agreed that there was enough evidence to find him guilty. However, there was some argument over whether the charge should have been a felony. For property damage to be considered a felony, the damage has to exceed $1,000. Even though it cost over $1,000 to repair the BMW, another shop gave an estimate that was less than $1,000.
Circuit Court Judge Ray Grubbs decided that Dr. Siegel has complied with the terms of a written agreement and had no new charges. The Judge therefore dismissed the felony charge against the surgeon.
So, what would cause a prominent surgeon to key another surgeon’s car? According to Dr. Siegel’s lawyer, it was the result of “peer rivalry.”
According to the Roanoke Times, Dr. Siegel apologized not only to his patients, but also to Virginia Tech athletes, with whom he served as a team surgeon. He said that he did not set a good example.