Courts and Crime

    The final of five defendants convicted of stealing and destroying a church Nativity scene last December pleaded guilty in Bedford County Circuit Court Friday and will spend 60 days in jail for the crime.

     John Morgan Killgo, 20, of Forest, received a 12 month sentence on misdemeanor convictions of destruction of property and petit larceny. Judge James Updike suspended all but two months of that sentence.

    Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Wes Nance gives credit to Bedford Police Investigator Neil Baltzelle for making it possible to bring a robbery case to court. He attributes it to “good old fashioned investigative work.” According to Nance, Baltzelle never gave up on the case in spite of encountering multiple dead ends.
    “He’s the primary reason why we are at this point,” said Nance.

    Thankfully this time, Bob Terry didn’t get hurt.

    Having survived a 2011 attack after closing up Terry’s Country Store one October evening, Terry, who was 81 years old then, continues two years later to man his shop on Dickerson Mill Road.
    In the 2011 attack, Terry was badly beaten and robbed. On Friday, though he lost some merchandise, Terry escaped injury.

A former Bedford man has been charged with hiring someone to murder his wife.

Kevin Colgan, 61, who now lives in Roanoke was arrested Thursday after an investigation in which Colgan allegedly attempted to hire an undercover officer to murder Sara Colgan, who lives in the 5700 block of E. Lynchburg Salem Turnpike.