ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, March 1, 1997 TAG: 9703030026
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA
A Montgomery County man pleaded guilty Friday to five counts of grand larceny after agreeing to testify against two suspected accomplices charged in a string of burglaries of homes and construction sites dating back nearly four years.
The prosecutor agreed to drop six breaking and entering charges against Schemil D. Means, 27, of the 2800 block of Peppers Ferry Road, as part of a plea agreement.
Montgomery County Commonwealth's Attorney Phil Keith told the court he would not pursue the charges, in exchange for Means' testimony against the other defendants.
Circuit Judge Willis A. Woods accepted the plea agreement and sentenced Means to serve one year and six months in prison. The maximum sentence on each charge is 20 years. The plea agreement called for a 10-year prison sentence, the bulk of which will be suspended after Means serves the year and six months. He will then be on probation for five years.
Means was arrested along with two Christiansburg men, James B. Stump, 30; and Wayne E. Stump, 27; in connection with break-ins in Riner, Christiansburg and rural parts of the county.
The charges involved thefts beginning in August 1992 and ending in March 1996. Montgomery County Sheriff Doug Marrs said one of the thefts included a safe taken from a church treasurer's home that contained more than $2,000. Other property taken included coin collections, videotape players, guns, a 35 mm camera and even a kitchen sink.
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