Records talk of eyewitness to county homicide

By Justin Faulconer

Published: May 14, 2008

Search warrants and affidavits filed last 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 last week.

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 May 6 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.

Faulconer is a staff writer for The News & Advance in Lynchburg.