BEDFORD — A Bedford man was sentenced to eight months in jail Tuesday after being convicted of assault and battery of a city police officer.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Randy Krantz told the court that on April 17, Officer Tim Stanley spotted Brian Aubrey Burnette riding in a vehicle.
Knowing he was wanted, Krantz said, Stanley stopped the vehicle and tried to arrest Burnette. The two got into a scuffle, the prosecutor said, and Burnette drove away with Stanley hanging onto the van.
“The officer jumps on the side of the van, falls off and takes a pretty good spill,” Krantz said in a July interview.
Burnette, 32, entered an Alford plea to the assault and battery charge. The plea allows a defendant to avoid admitting guilt while acknowledging the prosecutor has enough evidence to convict him.
John Bradley, Burnette’s lawyer, told Judge James Updike there is a pending civil suit filed by Stanley, and that “we are disputing at least some of the commonwealth’s version” of events.
This is not the first time Stanley has been injured by an automobile in the line of duty. He was struck by a pickup truck on U.S. 460 in January 2006 while he was writing a ticket. He could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Burnette also pleaded guilty Tuesday to four counts of larceny by check. He was sentenced to 60 days on each count, to run simultaneously with each other as well as his active sentence for assault and battery.
Updike suspended four years and four months in prison for the assault and battery charge. Burnette, who has been jailed in Virginia since mid-May after a manhunt tracked him down at a hotel in Fayetteville, N.C., will be given credit for time served.
He was initially charged with attempted capital murder, which carries a penalty of 20 years to life in prison. Krantz said the charge was reduced because it would have been difficult to prove Burnette meant to kill Stanley.
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