Witness to Amherst County teen’s murder revealed
Justin Baumgardner was found shot to death on Sunday in Amherst County.
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By Justin Faulconer
Published: May 8, 2008
AMHERST — Search warrants and affidavits filed this week in Amherst County Circuit Court reveal that an eyewitness linked Timothy Wayne Wright Jr., 21, to the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Justin Baumgardner.
Baumgardner, of Naola, was found shot to death May 4 in his pickup truck in a driveway off Virginia 130. Cartridge casings were found along the road and a black cap was found near the casings.
Police had enough probable cause to charge Wright, who lives at 284 Lipscomb Hollow Road in Amherst, with Baumgardner’s murder, according to an affidavit.
A search warrant states Justin Davis was with Wright when Baumgardner was shot and told police what he saw. He said the handgun that killed Baumgardner was stolen from him and that Wright was wearing a black cap and lost it during the incident.
Davis is the son of an Amherst sheriff’s deputy. Wright has been charged with abducting Davis, the sheriff’s office said Thursday.
Baumgardner was wounded multiple times, according to the Amherst County Sheriff’s Office. He had no connection to the residence at the driveway where his body was found, authorities said.
Wright was arrested Tuesday on charges of murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, shooting into an occupied vehicle, shooting from a vehicle, and grand larceny. He is being held at the Amherst County Jail.
Police have warrants for his home and Ford pickup truck for a Cobra .380 semiautomatic handgun. Investigators aim to further link Wright to the crime scene through DNA evidence from the cap and fingerprints on the shell casings.
Baumgardner graduated from Amherst County High School and Principal Ernie Guill described him as “a nice kid, just kind of blended in with everybody else.” He was employed at Quality Archery Design in Madison Heights as assistant supervisor for assembly.
Wright has no connection to the school that Guill knew of and his truck has a California license plate, according to a warrant.
Funeral arrangements for Baumgardner have been made. Public visitation will be from 2 p.m. to 6 on Saturday at Whitten Funeral Home in Madison Heights and a memorial service is scheduled for Monday at 10 a.m.
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Reader Reactions
Posted by ( hogtown gal ) on May 23, 2008 at 10:43 am
ummm looks like I stepped on your toes, Amherst Mom. Maybe Vance did not claim to own the auto shop but I have always heard that he financed it and Jimmy too when he ran for Sheriff. I see you did not comment on the way Vance and his Repug buddies had our county voting lines redrawn to favor Repugs.
Posted by ( amherstmom ) on May 22, 2008 at 12:03 am
If you’re going to post information, please make sure it’s accurate. Vance Wilkins has never owned an auto shop - he owned a pipe shop. Jimmy Ayers worked for Big A Auto Parts, owned by Johnny Carroll, from the time he was about 16 until his very early 20’s.
Posted by ( hogtown gal ) on May 20, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Truthseeker, You ARE so wise to connect Sheriff Ayers with Vance Wilkens. Jimmy Ayers worked at Vance’s auto shop before running for Sheriff (backed by Vance of course). Vance when he was a Delegate was instrumental in having all the polling precinct lines redrawn to favor the Republicans and this is why a Democrat cannot win in Amherst County. We now have Amherst County in the 6th District with Rockbridge County, Roanoke, when we should have continued to be in the 5th district with Nelson County which is closest to us. We all know who runs Amherst County and we best not cross them either.
Posted by ( Truthseeker ) on May 17, 2008 at 8:44 am
Saved by the bell....not the old TV series....this time Sheriff Ayers has much bigger fish to fry.....the notoriety of his undercover sting at ACHS takes much higher PR priority than a sheriff deputy’s son being an accomplice to murder. I’m just grateful that the two 18 year olds arrested at the high school didn’t play a part in killing someone. You know that old propaganda movie...."Reefer Madness”....good fodder for the press.
Is it an election year for the sheriff?
Posted by ( amherstmom ) on May 15, 2008 at 9:09 am
Truthseeker,
1. I am not her mother.
2. She was not present at the time of the shooting.
3. Yes, she did contact the sherriff’s office. She has told everything she knows to the them, and will do so to the state police as well.
Just so you know, she is NOT a minor, and the last I checked, an adult can date an adult.
Those are the only facts I am going to state on this board - I will let the truth come out during the trial.
I am amazed at the quick-to-judge and know-it-all attitudes of people on this board. Perhaps all of you, with your psychic abilities, could offer your services to the police?
Posted by ( Truthseeker ) on May 15, 2008 at 8:48 am
Dear AmherstMom,
Did this young lady alert the authorities IMMEDIATELY upon learning about her then boyfriend’s demise? I’m sure she was contacted regarding the matter on Sunday, based on her closeness to him. Or did she sit around and do nothing, or worse, conspire to cover her/their butts with alibis. Like I’ve said before, all three should be arrested, charged, and then the due process can begin. Three people that are alive today knew varying amounts of details regarding the shooting.....Justin Davis being the most culpable (with exception being Timothy Wright Jr, if he indeed was the shooter)as timeliness is next to godliness, in this instance. Also, where were her parents, allowing a minor child to be dating adult men? Do they not care about the ramifications for all parties involved in such a scenario? Or, maybe you are her mother!
Posted by ( amherstmom ) on May 15, 2008 at 8:00 am
Hogtown Gal, I’m glad you, in all your infinite wisdom, seem to know how this girl feels, thinks and acts. Having known this girl SINCE BIRTH, I can assure you that she is NOT strutting around school thinking she is a “sex queen” as you like to call it, and she is heartbroken over this whole incident.
What makes you think she was playing one boy against the other? How many young people date a person, and then decide they like someone else? This happens every day - it’s part of being a teenager. We tell our kids to enjoy being a teenager, and don’t settle down with one person - enjoy dating now, because there’s time for settling down later. How many girls break up with one boy for another thinking that the first boy is going to go gunning for the new boyfriend? This was an unforeseen event, and not one this girl could have prevented. She didn’t pull the trigger - Tim Wright did, and he is responsible for his actions, as is Justin Davis.
Do you know ALL the details of this incident? Do you know what happened that night before Justin was shot? Do you know what happened in the weeks before this incident? NO YOU DON’T, and that means you have no right to make harsh judgements like you just did. It must be nice to feel like you can be judge of someone’s character without knowing THE FACTS....I certainly hope no family member/close friend/child of yours ever gets involved in something like this and people start making spiteful, hurtful comments about them like you just did.
Posted by ( Truthseeker ) on May 15, 2008 at 6:27 am
I contend that:
Three individuals should be arrested in the murder case of Justin Baumgardner; the young lady who was engaged as a minor with adult men, Mr. Wright, Jr, and Mr. Davis. Both of the men should be charged equally. Then, let the evidence be presented to the court system, not the sheriff’s dept. court system!
Furthermore, I feel strongly that Sheriff Ayers, Capt. Doss, Deputy Davis and the other deputies that are responsible for the death of the young man along Rte. 29 should be indicted on conspiracy and RICO charges! Looks like a gang activity mentality permeates the dept.
I’ve had first hand experiences dealing with Jimmy Ayers sheriff department’s ineptitude, arrogance, harrassment. He’s nothing more than a politician cut out of the same mold as Vance Wilkins. Maybe the feds need to look into this department, not just the state police.
Posted by ( hogtown gal ) on May 14, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Hammer, not only is this case fishy but also the case where 5 deputies jumped and killed a black man who was only seeking help for his broken down car on Rt. 29. Had this witness been any other than a deputy’s son, he would not be a witness, but an accessory. Did he also collect the crime stoppers reward money ?
Posted by ( hogtown gal ) on May 14, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Amherstmom, This gal no matter how old she is should feel guilty for having these boys fighting over her. I bet she is strutting around the high school thinking she is the sex queen. If not for her, none of this would probably ever have happened. I hope she has learned a lesson about playing guys against each other from this.