
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 15, 1994                   TAG: 9406200121
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-5   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: By Paul Dellinger staff writer
DATELINE: WYTHEVILLE                                LENGTH: Short

WOMAN GUILTY IN THEFT

A 35-year-old Wytheville woman originally accused of recruiting people into a burglary ring has been convicted of grand larceny stemming from the theft of a computer from Rural Retreat High School.

Sentencing for Elizabeth Lambert was set for Aug. 1. A Wythe County jury recommended a 15-year sentence Monday.

The computer was among items stolen in area burglaries and recovered in Illinois last year.

Two breaking and entering charges against Lambert were not prosectued in a previous trial because the key prosecution witness, Willie Lon Rive III, faked his own suicide by leaving his clothing by a river bank. He later was arrested in Jefferson National Forest, where he had armed himself with firearms and explosives.

Rice testified against Lambert on Monday and had testified at a preliminary hearing that she recruited him for break-ins that she masterminded.

by CNB