The Franklin News-Post
P. O. Box 250
310 Main Street, SW
Rocky Mount, Virginia 24151
540-483-5113
Fax: 540-483-8013
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Barry Lavender |
Monday, September 17, 2012
By K.A. WAGONER - Staff Writer
A Roanoke man will serve six years and six months in prison after pleading guilty in August to burglarizing a residence on Edwardsville Road in Hardy on Feb. 3.
Barry Lynn Lavender, 39, was sentenced to 40 years in prison on one count of grand larceny and one count of breaking and entering Thursday in Franklin County Circuit Court. All the time except the 78 months was suspended.
Lavender was also sentenced to five years probation, according to Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Robert Deatherage. He was also ordered to be of good behavior for 25 years and to pay $400 restitution to the victim.
A second defendant in the case, Charles Wesley Redman, 40, of Roanoke pleaded guilty last month to one count of grand larceny. Two charges, breaking and entering and property destruction, were dismissed against Redman as part of a plea agreement, according to Deatherage.
Redman was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but all the time was suspended, Deatherage said. Redman was also sentenced to three years probation and ordered not to have any contact with Lavender or the victim.
The prosecution made the agreement with Redman in exchange for his truthful testimony against Lavender, Deatherage said.
"He (Redman) was fully cooperative with law enforcement from the beginning, and it was clear from the evidence that he just gave Lavender a ride (on the day of the burglary)."
On the day of the burglary, a neighbor called dispatch about 12:45 p.m. to report a suspicious person in a brown Honda parked at the victim's residence, said Lt. Todd Maxey with the Franklin County Sheriff's Office. The neighbor gave the dispatcher the vehicle description and license plate number.
In the meantime, the neighbor stopped to ask the man why he was parked in the driveway, Maxey said. While the neighbor walked toward the residence, the man in the Honda drove away.
The neighbor then observed another man leaving the residence with what appeared to be a pillowcase, Maxey said. As the neighbor followed, the second man returned to the house and apparently dumped the items inside the pillowcase. Then the man exited the residence again through a basement window.
When Deputies R.L. Davis and J.H. Watkins arrived, they took the second man, Lavender, into custody, Maxey said.
A short time later, Redman, the driver of the Honda, was arrested by Vinton police officers. |
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