Suspect in hit-and-run of officer faces attempted capital murder charge

Updated 12:13 p.m. Sunday, April 19, 2009

Authorities have issued a warrant for Brian Aubrey Burnette for attempted capital murder of a police officer, Bedford Police Chief Jim Day said in an e-mail this morning.

The warrant was issued Friday afternoon. Police say Burnette used his vehicle to strike Bedford Police Officer Tim Stanley after Stanley pulled him over on Dickerson Mill Road that afternoon.

No further information was immediately available.

The News & Advance interviewed Bedford Police Officer Tim Stanley in 2007. Besides being struck by a vehicle Friday afternoon, he was also hit by a truck in 2006. Click here for the video.

Earlier:

A Bedford City Police officer who was struck by pickup truck in 2006 while in the line of duty was hit again Friday, this time by a van.

Investigator Tim Stanley was attempting to pull over the van on Dickerson Mill Road  at about 2 p.m. Friday, said Bedford City Police Chief Jim Day.

The van’s driver, Brian Aubrey Burnette, 31, was wanted on a number of outstanding warrants, Day said. After stopping the van, Stanley got out of his car and approached the van, attempting to serve those warrants. The van sped away, knocking Stanley to the ground, Day said.

Stanley was taken to Bedford Memorial Hospital for treatment as a precaution, Day said Friday afternoon.

Hospital supervisors did not release Stanley’s condition early Friday evening, but a supervisor said at 9 p.m. that Stanley was not listed as a current patient.

According to Virginia’s courts Web site, Burnette faced 10 counts of probation violation in 2007.

He pleaded guilty in November 2005 to grand larceny, unauthorized use of a vehicle, three counts of forgery, two counts of credit card forgery, three counts of uttering and one count of credit card theft.

The police department, the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office and Virginia State Police were coordinating their efforts to locate Burnette on Friday afternoon, Day said.

Authorities located the van they believe was involved, but had not located Burnette early Friday night.

Bedford County dispatchers said at 9 p.m. that no units were actively searching the site of the incident for Burnette.In January 2006, Stanley was writing two tickets to a driver on U.S. 460 when he was hit by a passing pickup truck.

Video from Stanley’s patrol car camera showed that the pickup’s driver did not slow down or attempt to change lanes.

Stanley was treated for his injuries and returned to work three days after that incident.

Stanley was featured in a Nov. 11, 2007 article in the News & Advance, in which he recalled the 2006 accident.

“That’s one of the bullets our vest won’t stop,” Stanley said then. “A 4,000-pound pickup truck — it won’t stop that.”

Anyone with information regarding Burnette’s location is asked to call the Bedford Communications Center at (540) 586-7827 or Central Virginia Crime Stoppers at (888) 798-5900.