CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – The Palmyra Fire Company resumed operation over the weekend after being temporarily closed following last week’s discovery that a registered sex offender had been, “participating in company activities and spending time” at the firehouse for six months to a year.
In a March 27 letter to the community, Fluvanna County Fire Chief Andrew Pullen said that Sammie Gene Morris Jr., “responded to several calls in the Kent’s Store area in a personal vehicle… exhibited suspicious behavior, was not recognized by responding personnel, and was ultimately turned away, including by the County Fire Chief.”
Morris Jr. was observed again at the Palmyra Fire Company and has now been instructed not to return.
A subsequent background check revealed to the county he is a registered sex offender “who has been recently charged with violating the terms of his registration.”
Morris’s Virginia State Police registry said he was convicted in 2013 of a charge of proposing a sex act with an individual over 15 using a communication device.
He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with nine years of the sentence suspended. He registered as a sex offender in January 2014, and was convicted in Louisa County General District Court in 2016 of failure to renew his registry.
He was sentenced to one year in jail, a suspended sentence, and served one year of supervised probation.
His registry read he renewed in August 2025.
It’s unclear how frequently he was at the firehouse, “who he interacted with, or in what capacity he may have assisted,” according to Pullen’s letter.
“However, it is known that members of the public routinely visit the station, that he attempted to respond to emergency calls, and that family members of our personnel may have been in his presence,” Pullen wrote.
Fluvanna County leadership closed the Palmyra Fire Company on Friday and suspended members from responding to calls until they could conduct a full inquiry.
On Saturday, Pullen notified the community, “Following recent personnel and administrative changes, and with the support of our Medical Director and County Administrator, the Palmyra Volunteer Fire Company returned to normal operations at 0700 this (Saturday) morning.
“At this time, we are confident that no patients, community members, or any of our own personnel were harmed. However, it has been identified that established administrative policies—designed specifically to prevent this type of situation—were not followed. Additionally, a culture of complacency contributed to the issue going unrecognized.”
Pullen wrote, “we will also initiate a third-party, independent investigation into this matter,” and said the findings would be made public after completion.
Pullen wrote that the Virginia State Police and the Virginia Office of EMS were notified about the situation. He said they would conduct independent investigations.
Monday, Pullen told Cville Right Now that a third-party investigator has been hired to work on the case.
He also said he’s coordinating with Virgina Office of EMS on how to proceed.
Pullen said he has spoken directly with the Virginia State Police Sex Offender Registry.
When asked about the status of that investigation, VSP Division Sgt. Jessica Shehan told Cville Right Now, “We were all a little confused. We reviewed their Facebook page, and they state that they intend to cooperate and that an investigation is being conducted by the Virginia State Police. But, no one has seen anything about it.”
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misidentified Fluvanna County Fire Chief Andrew Pullen as the Kent Store Fire Chief.
