Courts and Crime

    A 19-year-old Moneta man maintained his innocence throughout his trial last Tuesday, but was eventually found guilty of having sexual contact with a minor girl under the age of 13 years old.
    Howard Jamar Witcher entered not guilty pleas to the charges of taking indecent liberties with a minor and aggravated sexual battery, but following a bench trial was found guilty by Circuit Court Judge James Updike.

At 10:05 p.m. Monday night, Bedford County 911 dispatchers received a call from the Quik-E Food Mart in Forest reporting a robbery.

According to a report from the Bedford County Sheriff's Office, the caller stated that a black male with black framed glasses, carrying a gray sweater and wearing jeans and a black T-shirt entered the store. He threatened the clerk and demanded money. After getting the money, the suspect left on foot and ran towards Graves Mill Road behind the store, the BCSO report stated.

A shooting that occurred at a Huddleston residence Wednesday night has led to a number of charges being filed.

According to a report from the Bedford County Sheriff's Office, at 10 p.m. Wednesday night, Bedford County dispatchers received a call from Jody Roach of Roach Town Road Huddleston, stating that she had fired a gun through her door at two subjects standing outside of her residence.

    Over the past several days, the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office has received calls from several citizens reporting that they have received messages on their answering machines from a health alert company.
    According to the Sheriff's Office, the recording sounds like a real person claiming that either “someone has purchased a health alert system for you” or “you qualify for a free health alert.” The recorded message then advises to press #1 to talk to a sales person or press #5 to decline.