Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 2, 1995 TAG: 9503020046
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ROCKY MOUNT LENGTH: Medium
Roger Allen Barr, 20, was sentenced to 36 months in jail, according to Mary Harkins, his court-appointed attorney.
"I think he just decided that he wanted to get it over with as soon as possible," Harkins said. "He was convinced that the witnesses would be able to identify him and the car he was driving."
General District Judge George Jones sentenced Barr to three months in jail for each of eight counts committed on Feb. 16, and to 12 months for one count on Feb. 20, Harkins said. He faced a maximum sentence of nine years.
Barr, who was taken to the Franklin County Jail after the sentencing, is to have a preliminary hearing on a rape charge in Roanoke today.
He was free on bond when the police impersonations occurred.
He was caught after a multijurisdictional investigation that started two weeks ago. Complaints were filed in Franklin and Roanoke counties about a man who was using a blue, flashing light on the dashboard of his car to stop other vehicles.
The man would approach the cars, flash a badge and ask the motorists for their drivers' licenses.
The morning of Feb. 23 in the Smith Mountain Lake area of Franklin County, the man stopped one of his former schoolteachers, who immediately recognized him, according to Investigator Jim Crooke. She called the Sheriff's Office, and Barr, 20, was arrested that afternoon in Roanoke, Crooke said.
The schoolteacher has not filed charges.
Barr did not threaten any of the people he stopped in Franklin County, Sheriff W.Q. "Quint" Overton said.
by CNB