Amherst resident arrested in killing of man found in truck
Timothy Wayne Wright Jr.
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By Dave Thompson
Published: May 6, 2008
An Amherst man was arrested and charged with murder Tuesday afternoon in the death of an Amherst County teenager found shot to death in his pickup truck Sunday morning.
Timothy Wayne Wright Jr., 21, of Lipscomb Hollow Road, was arrested shortly before 5 p.m. at the Mountain View Shopping Center in the Town of Amherst.
Wright is charged with the murder of 19-year-old Justin Baumgardner, of Monroe, who was found dead in his Chevrolet pickup truck in a driveway on Elon Road in Amherst County.
Baumgardner graduated from Amherst High School last year, and Ernest Guill, the school’s principal, said the shooting came as a shock.
“Very sad thing, very sad,” Guill said. “He was just a regular kid, just a nice young man, came to school, did what he was supposed to,” Guill said.
He said nothing about Baumgardner suggesting that he had any enemies.
“He was just a nice kid, just kind of blended in with everybody else.”
Guill added that he didn’t know of any connection Wright had with the school.
Baumgardner’s body was discovered at about 8:30 a.m. Sunday morning, when a resident of the house tried to leave.
Authorities said Baumgardner had no connection with that residence. He was shot about 8 to 10 miles from his home.
According to the Amherst County Sheriff’s Office, Baumgardner was found with multiple bullet wounds, fired from a handgun.
Amherst County Sheriff Jimmy Ayers estimated the shots were fired between 9 and 10 p.m. Saturday.
Wright is charged with murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, shooting into an occupied vehicle, shooting from a vehicle and grand larceny.
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Reader Reactions
Posted by ( hogtown gal ) on May 12, 2008 at 11:09 pm
Truthseeker, The last time Sheriff Ayers ran, nobody opposed him. The first time he ran, several Deputies also ran but they had to quit their deputy jobs to run. I agree with you about the witness and there are a lot of unanswered questions about this witness.
Posted by ( Truthseeker ) on May 11, 2008 at 8:30 pm
I think Sheriff Ayers time as the head honcho of the Amherst county sheriff’s dept. should come to an end. What a disgrace he is. Ditto for his minion, Lt. Det. Doss. This is not the first time that the sheriff’s department has stood by and done nothing when gun issues have arisen. He, and several members of his dept. past and present, are a disgrace to the code of ethics they purportedly uphold. It is just incredulous that Det. Doss would come on TV and state that they’ve added kidnapping charges to Mr. Wright’s bevy of charges, and the newspaper would be so complicite to title the article written as a WITNESS comes forward.....after Justin Davis waited more than 48 hours to come forward! I guess there weren’t any attorneys available for him to consult and hire prior to Tuesday afternoon! Jimmy Ayers, do the right thing, RESIGN.
Posted by ( cutnstyle4u ) on May 10, 2008 at 11:18 pm
Why was a deputys son riding around with a loaded handgun in the first place? How was he abducted against his will...when he was the one WITH THE LOADED HANDGUN ? Why, if he was taken against his will did he not immediatly contact the authorities to maybe try to save Justin Baumgardners life? Why did they still have “No suspects in Amherst County Killing” (NewsAdvance) on May 5th two full days after Justin Baumgardner was killed.I mean come on...if any one of us was taken against our will, and especially if our father was a cop, wouldn’t we all go straight to him to let him know what had happened? Wouldn’t that be the first place to go especially if another person had been shot and you witnessed it, wouldn’t you immediatly want someone of authority to know so that you wouldn’t be considered at the least an “accesory to murder”? And WHY did all of the media attention that this had been given, suddenly stop as soon as it was found out that an Amherst Deputys son was the only witness, and that it was his gun that was used in the killing?? Why, Why Why ???? Jimmy...tell us all why !!! What are you and your “boys” hiding? Come on now, something just doesn’t smell right
Posted by ( cutnstyle4u ) on May 10, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Is it just me or has everything just shut down about this cold blooded homicide once it was found out that an Amherst County Deputy’s son was involved? Yes...I said involved. They say that they have filed additional charges against Timothy Wright for taking Justin Davis against his will. My first question is, WHY WAS JUSTIN DAVIS RIDING AROUND WITH A LOADED HANDGUN IN THE FIRST PLACE???? Second, if he was REALLY taken against his will why did that not come out sooner and why did it take the police until Tuesday to arrest Timothy Wright ... looks like Justin Davis would have gone straight home and told his father what had happened and maybe they could have gotten to Justin Baumgardner on Sat. night and possibly saved his life instead of strangers having to find him in their driveway dead the next day.It also seems a little funny that Justin Davis was the one with the loaded handgun, yet an unarmed individual took him against his will??? Also it was all over the news and the newspapers when it first happened. No one seemed to have a problem trying and convicting Timothy Wright before any details ever came out, yet as soon as it was found out that an Amherst Deputys son was the ONLY witness everything shut up REAL FAST. Something just doesn’t smell right !! What’s going on here Jimmy Ayers...we want ALL the details. Tell us why your deputys son was riding around with a loaded handgun in the first place and then explain to us why he didn’t let someone know immediatly so that maybe a young mans life could have possibly been saved. What are you hiding, tell us Jimmy what’s going on ?? We all want to know !!!!
Posted by ( Cosmo Wafflefoot ) on May 09, 2008 at 4:47 pm
( Hokie Pride )… I have NOTHING to do with UVA. I just really, really hated VT when I visited there. It has a very bad “vibe” for me. Cold stone barns with no warmth at all.
Posted by ( hogtown gal ) on May 09, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Hokie Pride, I have an official map of all the shooting zones in the county. Shooting zones in the forest far away from me are not my concern. This map has not been updated since 1992 and needs to remove densely populated shooting zone areas. What you being a hunter has to do with it? EVERYTHING. Who would be so against removing areas from shooting zones for safety reasons other than a hunter?
Posted by ( Hokie Pride ) on May 09, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Cosmo, how on earth did this turn in to VA Tech bashing? After the shootings at VA Tech last year, I gained a lot more respect for UVA through thier actions and support. You, however, have just helped that level of respect to go down.
Hogtown Gal, I never said that people should be able to shoot their guns anywhere they please in Amherst County. My statement was referring to yours where you said “Now please stop all the other random shooters in the “shooting zone” before somebody else gets shot and killed.” As I read it, your statement implied that no one should not be allowed to shoot in Amherst County, which I said was unrealistic. If you are thinking that the RT-130 corridor is the only shooting zone in Amherst County, then you are mistaken. As for me not living in a shooting zone, you are mistaken on that as well. You are right about one though, I am a hunter. Not that I see where that has a bearing on anything here.
Posted by ( hogtown gal ) on May 08, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Cosmoo, yes my agenda is most certainly to get my neighborhood removed from the SHOOTING ZONE. However I was already working on another method of doing this prior to this killing in our neighborhood. I just want everyone to be aware of these shooting zones and where they are is my purpose in posting. Most residents here had never heard of a SHOOTING ZONE as I had not and are unaware that we live in a SHOOTING ZONE. As for Tech, you will have to take that up with Hokie Pride. I do know many people who graduated from Tech and they seem to think it is a great school. It is sad about the shootings there too. I see no need for target practice in neighborhoods out of hunting season. If someone wants to target practice then they should go to the target practice business over on Wright’s shop road. Or are they too cheap for this?
Posted by ( Cosmo Wafflefoot ) on May 08, 2008 at 2:19 pm
(Hogtown person)...you posted.."Now please stop all the other random shooters in the “shooting zone” before somebody else gets shot and killed.” Clearly you want NO shooting in your neighborhood. Is that not your agenda? With regards to (Hokie Pride). Pride indeed! More innocent people have been shot and killed at VT than ALL the other “cow colleges” combined! On my one and only visit to your campus I was struck with the overwhelming impression that it surely must have been intended as a minimum security prison or mental institution. Stone barns, with none of the architectural refinement one expects in a prestigious learning institution. More fit for herd animals than young ladies and gentlemen of academic refinement and sensitivity. Cold, bleak and utterly devoid of social attractiveness. If one is quiet and listens at UVA or William & Mary one can hear poetry. At VT all one hears is “MOOO”.
Posted by ( hogtown gal ) on May 08, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Cosmo waflefoot apparently did read the earlier postings where someone inquired about what is a shooting zone. My posting was an explanation to this reader, not an attempt to further my own agenda as Cosmo accused. Also Cosmo apparently did not read the first article where the Sheriff said the killing may be random. COSMO does not have to be so ugly about others’ opinions which may differ from his own. This is an opinion page not an anger vent page.