FRANKLIN COUNTY

A Staunton woman suffered minor injuries Wednesday morning when the personal watercraft she was operating exploded on Smith Mountain Lake.

Lt. Karl Martin of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries said the accident occurred about 10:30 a.m. at a campground on Gills Creek in Franklin County.

Toni Plummer, 38, was seated and attempting to start a 1995 SeaDoo watercraft when there was an explosion at the front end, Martin said. She was thrown into the water and against a nearby dock. Several people were standing nearby but were not injured by the blast, but the watercraft was destroyed.

"We're still investigating it but ... at this point it appears that the explosion was caused by gasoline accumulated under the cowl," Martin said.

Martin said Plummer was driven by a friend to Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital, where she was treated and released Wednesday afternoon.

Explosions of that type are not uncommon, Martin said, adding, "It's very fortunate that she wasn't burned or seriously injured."

-- Neil Harvey

RICHMOND

State gets high marks for helping residents get jobs

RICHMOND -- Virginia helps more welfare recipients get jobs than any other state in the nation.

Gov. Tim Kaine announced Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has once again ranked Virginia No. 1 for job entry rates for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families recipients for federal fiscal years 2005 and 2006.

Virginia had the second-highest rate when it came to job retention for each of those years.

It is the third consecutive year that Virginia has received such a ranking.

TANF recipients receive job training and education through the Virginia Initiative for Employment not Welfare program.

One program that started in 2007 trains welfare recipients to become certified nursing assistants.

NORFOLK

Business owner gets prison for identity theft

NORFOLK -- The owner of three auto repair businesses in Virginia will spend 10 years in federal prison for stealing his customers' identities and fraudulently obtaining more than $600,000.

Charles E. Perry Jr. also must make $609,000 in restitution and forfeit his home, several motorcycles and a Mercedes-Benz roadster. He was sentenced Tuesday by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Henry Morgan on charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

According to court records, Perry, 46, used his customers' names to apply for credit cards and business cash advances. He also charged customers' credit-card accounts for repairs that were improperly or never performed, and failed to pay for orders placed with vendors.

Perry operates auto-repair businesses in Hampton, Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

NORFOLK

Navy SEAL with horde of weapons headed to prison

NORFOLK -- A former Navy SEAL will spend more than seven years in federal prison for having a stockpile of weapons and steroids in his Suffolk home.

Elbert Tillman Junior pleaded guilty in March in Norfolk to possession of firearms and ammunition while using illegal drugs, and possessing firearms not registered to him.

The 35-year-old was arrested in December after a cache of weapons and C-4 explosives were discovered at his home. Court records say Tillman took the explosives and guns with him when he left the Navy in 2001 after serving for 10 years.

Tillman pleaded for leniency, citing his military service. But prosecutors noted his volatile behavior and substance-abuse problems.

They also noted a 2001 incident in which Tillman crashed while driving drunk on a classified mission in Bosnia, injuring himself and two civilian women.