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A Michigan man was charged with multiple counts of assaulting law enforcement following two attempts to escape custody last Wednesday.
Just before 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 11, deputies with the Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a man sleeping in a vehicle in a yard of a Viewpoint Heights residence. Upon arriving, they discovered Blake Jeffry Baumgart, 29, of New Baltimore, Mich., asleep behind the wheel of his vehicle.
Further investigation resulted in probable cause to investigate Baumgart for driving under the influence, and he was taken into custody and brought to Carilion Rockbridge Community Hospital for a blood draw. While at the hospital, Baumgart attempted to escape custody, assaulting a Lexington police officer who was on the scene to assist county law enforcement.
After a blood sample was taken, Baumgart was charged with one felony count of assault on law enforcement as well as three misdemeanors: driving under the influence of drugs, attempted escape and obstruction. He was transported to the Rockbridge Regional Jail where he assaulted three guards during another escape attempt, resulting in four additional felony charges being filed: three counts of assault on law enforcement and one count of attempted escape from jail.
Grandson Charged
With Assault
On the morning of Jan. 8, deputies responded to a call on Blacks Creek Road in Collierstown where a woman reported that her grandson had assaulted her the night before. Later that afternoon, Charles Blinger II, 40, of Lexington was arrested and charged with four felonies in relation to the crime: two counts of abduction, one count of strangulation and one count of domestic assault. He was also charged with two misdemeanor counts of preventing or obstructing communication. - The Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office also made the following felony arrests over the past month: Charles Louis Fitzgerald, 40, of Natural Bridge Station, for one count of grand larceny of a motor vehicle on Dec.19.
Mark Anthony Lynn Jr., 24, of Lexington, for one count of possession of a schedule I or II drug on Dec. 19.
Summer Leigh Vance, 42, of Lexington, for one count of grand larceny on Dec. 20.
Hollis Grimm Jr., 23, of Buena Vista, for one count of obtaining goods by false pretense and one count of shoplifting on Dec. 22.
Richard Leon Chittum, 55, of Rockbridge Baths, for one count of felony eluding and one misdemeanor count of driving with a revoked license on Dec. 23.
Joelle Christina Woodie, 43, of Waynesboro, for one felony count of breaking and entering during the day, two misdemeanor counts of petit larceny and one misdemeanor count of trespassing on Dec. 26.
Taylor Moseley, 26, of Natural Bridge Station, for one count of grand larceny, one count of conspiracy to commit grand larceny and one count of obtaining money by false pretense on Dec. 28.
Darrell S. Sawyer, 44, of Madrid, NY, for one count of unauthorized use of a vehicle on Dec. 31.
Victoria Lynn Sawyer, 38, of Madrid, NY, for one count of unauthorized use of a vehicle on Dec. 31.
David Lee Coleman Jr., 41, of Natural Bridge, for one felony count of breaking and entering, one felony count of grand larceny and one misdemeanor count of property damage on Jan. 3.
Torrie Lurae Austin, 42, of Lexington, for three felony counts of credit card larceny, one misdemeanor count of petit larceny, one misdemeanor count of entering a vehicle with the intent to commit a crime and two misdemeanor counts of littering on Jan. 4.
Eldridge F. Mays, 52, of Lexington, for three felony counts of conspiracy to commit credit card larceny, one misdemeanor count of entering a vehicle with the intent to commit a crime and one misdemeanor count of petit larceny on Jan. 4.
Nancy Marie Cook, 67, of Raphine, for one count of issuing bad checks on Jan. 6.
Natasha Camden Conner, 40, of Lexington, for one felony count of possession of a schedule I or II drug and one misdemeanor count of obstruction on Jan. 6.
Shyanne Bryant, 20, of Natural Bridge Station, for two counts of possession of a schedule I or II drug on Jan. 7.
Bruce S. Worth, 47, of Buena Vista, for one count of possession of a schedule I or II drug and one count of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon on Jan. 9.
Steffany Marie Galdful, 34, of Buchanan, for one count of possession of meth and on a capias warrant for failure to appear on Jan. 10.
Thomas Allman, 44, of Lexington, for one felony count of domestic assault (third offense) and one misdemeanor count of trespassing on Jan. 14.
