Timberlake sentenced to 14 years for Magruder slaying

A Charlottesville man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for shooting and killing a 19-year-old city resident who was trying to get away from a shootout.

Circuit Judge Paul M. Peatross Jr. sentenced Theodore Calvin Timberlake this morning to 14 years in prison, which is the sentence a city jury recommended in July after convicting him of second-degree murder and other charges.

Timberlake, 21, and co-defendants Trenton Brock and Bobby Wayne Gardner Jr. initially were charged with first-degree murder and other charges in connection with the shooting incident that led to 19-year-old Joshua Magruder’s death. 

Witnesses have said Magruder was shot July 19, 2008, at the corner of Sixth Street Southeast and Monticello Avenue as he and his twin were trying to escape a shootout over a beef Gardner had with another man.

Timberlake didn’t say anything to the judge before he was sentenced. Magruder’s mother, Ethel Magruder, said in court that the death of her son “hurts so bad” and that she still can’t believe he was killed.

Brock and Gardner testified against Timberlake during the trial. Gardner, who pleaded guilty to attempted malicious wounding and firearms charges, will face between eight and 18 years in prison when he is sentenced in December. Brock pleaded to similar charges under a plea agreement, under which the prosecutor will recommend a sentence between eight and 10 years when Brock is sentenced in February.

For more on this story, read Friday’s edition of The Daily Progress.