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Courts and Crime

  • Smith sentenced on drug, neglect charges

        Michael Anthony Smith, whose wife is spending more than 50 years in prison for killing their child, will spend four years in prison on charges that came about as a result of that death investigation.
        Smith, 27, who cooperated with authorities in the prosecution of his wife, Shana Marie Witt, for killing their son two years ago, had previously pleaded guilty to a felony count of conspiracy to manufacture meth and two counts of child neglect.

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  • Welch trial set for October

        The capital murder trial against Lloyd Lee “Michael” Welch Jr., 59, is expected to take three to four weeks and is set to begin Oct. 18.

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  • Craigslist sex ad pleas

        Jennifer Anne Bandy-Mitchell, 23, of Roanoke, entered guilty pleas, Tuesday, to abduction and malicious wounding charges that stem from a response to an online personal ad she ran for sex that turned violent.
        According to Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Wes Nance, Matthew William Caruso responded to a personal ad Bandy-Mitchell ran on Craigslist for casual sex, arriving at a home in Bedford County near the town of Bedford on July 22, 2015.

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  • County man allegedly shoots at officer

        A Bedford County man faces a number of charges following a pursuit in Bedford County last Tuesday, Jan. 19.

        An investigation conducted by the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Salem Field Office has resulted in George L. Chasson being charged with one felony count of attempted capital murder of a police officer and one felony count of shooting from an occupied vehicle.
        Chasson, 34, continues to be held without bond at the Bedford County Adult Detention Center.

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  • County man allegedly shoots at officer

        A Bedford County man faces a number of charges following a pursuit in Bedford County last Tuesday, Jan. 19.
        An investigation conducted by the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Salem Field Office has resulted in George L. Chasson being charged with one felony count of attempted capital murder of a police officer and one felony count of shooting from an occupied vehicle.
        Chasson, 34, continues to be held without bond at the Bedford County Adult Detention Center.

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  • Police arrest man after chase, shooting

        Officers with several law enforcement agencies participated in a search for a vehicle with a man suspected of having a gun Tuesday morning.

        The search ended when the suspect was brought into custody early Tuesday afternoon after being apprehended  near the intersection of Va. 122 and Dickerson Mill Road in Bedford.
        The Virginia State Police, Bedford County Sheriff’s Office and Bedford Police Department participated in the pursuit.

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  • Jury: 12 years on forcible sodomy conviction

        After finding 50-year-old Arthur Franklin Monday guilty of one count of forcible sodomy on a girl under the age of 12 years old, a Bedford County jury recommended last Wednesday he receive 12 years on the conviction.
        The eight-woman, four-man jury found Monday guilty on one count of forcible sodomy involving one victim. The jury found him not guilty on two separate counts involving a second girl.

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  • Ware slow on restitution payments

        “I will never be in this court again,” Tony Ware promised Judge James Updike when he appeared in Bedford County Circuit Court when he was sentenced on April 10, 2013, on embezzlement charges. 

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  • Vinton man enters plea for embezzling funds

        A 72-year-old Vinton man, who has a long history of serving with rescue squads and similar organizations, pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony embezzlement of almost $950 from the Chamblissburg First Aid and Rescue Squad funds.
        Garry Hyatt Sutliffe used rescue squad funds in the amount of $946.47 for his own personal use, according to Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney John Wheelock.

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  • Father, son enter pleas to A&B

        Two Hardy men, a father and son, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and battery Tuesday morning in Bedford County Circuit Court.
        Johnny Dean Clark, 56, and Mitcheal DeHaven, 23, will each spend 12 months in jail on the conviction. They had originally faced a felony malicious wounding charge.
        According to Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney John Wheelock the two attacked the victim, beating him on his head, face and shoulders. He suffered broken ribs and lost a good deal of blood.

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