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Justin Baumgardner was found shot to death on Sunday in Amherst County.
AMHERST — Search warrants and affidavits filed this week in Amherst County Circuit Court reveal that an eyewitness linked Timothy Wayne Wright Jr., 21, to the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Justin Baumgardner.
Baumgardner, of Naola, was found shot to death May 4 in his pickup truck in a driveway off Virginia 130. Cartridge casings were found along the road and a black cap was found near the casings.
Police had enough probable cause to charge Wright, who lives at 284 Lipscomb Hollow Road in Amherst, with Baumgardner’s murder, according to an affidavit.
A search warrant states Justin Davis was with Wright when Baumgardner was shot and told police what he saw. He said the handgun that killed Baumgardner was stolen from him and that Wright was wearing a black cap and lost it during the incident.
Davis is the son of an Amherst sheriff’s deputy. Wright has been charged with abducting Davis, the sheriff’s office said Thursday.
Baumgardner was wounded multiple times, according to the Amherst County Sheriff’s Office. He had no connection to the residence at the driveway where his body was found, authorities said.
Wright was arrested Tuesday on charges of murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, shooting into an occupied vehicle, shooting from a vehicle, and grand larceny. He is being held at the Amherst County Jail.
Police have warrants for his home and Ford pickup truck for a Cobra .380 semiautomatic handgun. Investigators aim to further link Wright to the crime scene through DNA evidence from the cap and fingerprints on the shell casings.
Baumgardner graduated from Amherst County High School and Principal Ernie Guill described him as “a nice kid, just kind of blended in with everybody else.” He was employed at Quality Archery Design in Madison Heights as assistant supervisor for assembly.
Wright has no connection to the school that Guill knew of and his truck has a California license plate, according to a warrant.
Funeral arrangements for Baumgardner have been made. Public visitation will be from 2 p.m. to 6 on Saturday at Whitten Funeral Home in Madison Heights and a memorial service is scheduled for Monday at 10 a.m.
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ummm looks like I stepped on your toes, Amherst Mom. Maybe Vance did not claim to own the auto shop but I have always heard that he financed it and Jimmy too when he ran for Sheriff. I see you did not comment on the way Vance and his Repug buddies had our county voting lines redrawn to favor Repugs.
If you’re going to post information, please make sure it’s accurate. Vance Wilkins has never owned an auto shop - he owned a pipe shop. Jimmy Ayers worked for Big A Auto Parts, owned by Johnny Carroll, from the time he was about 16 until his very early 20’s.
Truthseeker, You ARE so wise to connect Sheriff Ayers with Vance Wilkens. Jimmy Ayers worked at Vance’s auto shop before running for Sheriff (backed by Vance of course). Vance when he was a Delegate was instrumental in having all the polling precinct lines redrawn to favor the Republicans and this is why a Democrat cannot win in Amherst County. We now have Amherst County in the 6th District with Rockbridge County, Roanoke, when we should have continued to be in the 5th district with Nelson County which is closest to us. We all know who runs Amherst County and we best not cross them either.
Truthseeker,
1. I am not her mother.
2. She was not present at the time of the shooting.
3. Yes, she did contact the sherriff’s office. She has told everything she knows to the them, and will do so to the state police as well.
Just so you know, she is NOT a minor, and the last I checked, an adult can date an adult.
Those are the only facts I am going to state on this board - I will let the truth come out during the trial.
I am amazed at the quick-to-judge and know-it-all attitudes of people on this board. Perhaps all of you, with your psychic abilities, could offer your services to the police?
Hogtown Gal, I’m glad you, in all your infinite wisdom, seem to know how this girl feels, thinks and acts. Having known this girl SINCE BIRTH, I can assure you that she is NOT strutting around school thinking she is a “sex queen” as you like to call it, and she is heartbroken over this whole incident.
What makes you think she was playing one boy against the other? How many young people date a person, and then decide they like someone else? This happens every day - it’s part of being a teenager. We tell our kids to enjoy being a teenager, and don’t settle down with one person - enjoy dating now, because there’s time for settling down later. How many girls break up with one boy for another thinking that the first boy is going to go gunning for the new boyfriend? This was an unforeseen event, and not one this girl could have prevented. She didn’t pull the trigger - Tim Wright did, and he is responsible for his actions, as is Justin Davis.
Do you know ALL the details of this incident? Do you know what happened that night before Justin was shot? Do you know what happened in the weeks before this incident? NO YOU DON’T, and that means you have no right to make harsh judgements like you just did. It must be nice to feel like you can be judge of someone’s character without knowing THE FACTS….I certainly hope no family member/close friend/child of yours ever gets involved in something like this and people start making spiteful, hurtful comments about them like you just did.
Hammer, not only is this case fishy but also the case where 5 deputies jumped and killed a black man who was only seeking help for his broken down car on Rt. 29. Had this witness been any other than a deputy’s son, he would not be a witness, but an accessory. Did he also collect the crime stoppers reward money ?
Amherstmom, This gal no matter how old she is should feel guilty for having these boys fighting over her. I bet she is strutting around the high school thinking she is the sex queen. If not for her, none of this would probably ever have happened. I hope she has learned a lesson about playing guys against each other from this.
I know that everyone is looking for some type of scandal and someone to blame these days. There certainly are Sheriff’s Departments and Police Departments across the country that have suffered their fair share of corruption and cover-ups over time. I am proud to say that Amherst Co. is not in that group. We should all be proud that the right thing has been done and the State Police were asked to take a look see to make sure everything is on the up and up. I am positive that our local law enforcement agencies work very hard to maintain the public trust. Before we go making comments without having all of the facts, I think we should wait and see what shakes out eventually, from the investigations and in the courts rather than speculate and listen to rumors that abound when anything happens around here. By the way,I do not work for the Sheriff’s Office and am not related to any one there.
Everybody’s heard a lot, but how much of what you heard is accurate? Truthseeker, remember that not all you hear is *the truth*. Whoever told you the girl was 15 was mistaken, and as far as calling her an accessory, that’s way off base. Since you don’t know the whole truth about what happened, how do you think she would feel if she were to read your comments and see people calling her an accessory? I’ve heard the crap going around at the high school about this girl, and it makes me sick to think that kids could make up crap like that and that she has to deal with this vicious, untrue gossip. I am glad the state police have been called into the investigation, and hope the truth comes to light soon.
Truthseeker you were correct. Justin Davis (deputys son) was the driver of the truck (“Investigators say Davis was forced at gunpoint to drive while Wright allegedly killed Baumgardner” WSET 5/12/08)He was “forced at gunpoint” with his own loaded handgun. As I said before “why was Justin Davis riding around with a loaded handgun in the first place?“ and “how was he abducted against his will when he was the one with the loaded handgun?“ Apparently Timothy Wright was unarmed, so the fact of the story is…had it not been for Justin Davis an AMHERST COUNTY DEPUTYS SON riding around with a LOADED HANDGUN…Justin Baumgardner would still be alive today. So you tell me, which one is more guilty? I say they are both equally at fault. Glad to see Jimmy doing the right thing and turning it over to the Va State Police.
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