Lynchburg woman sentenced to community control in receiving stolen property case

A Lynchburg woman was sentenced to community control this week after pleading guilty to receiving stolen property charges.

Avalon Rich, 21, of Lynchburg was indicted by a Highland County grand jury in February, as she was charged with two counts of receiving stolen property, both fourth-degree felonies.

According to the indictment, it was alleged that on or about Oct. 21 through Nov. 1, 2022, Rich “did receive, retain or dispose” of an Audi vehicle while “knowing or having reasonable cause to believe” the car “had been obtained through the commission of a theft offense.” Rich was also accused of receiving, retaining or disposing of a BMW vehicle belonging to a separate victim in December 2022.
 
A bill of particulars filed with the case says that in October, the first victim reported that the Audi had been stolen from his home. A Highland County sheriff’s deputy found the vehicle parked up against a mobile home a little over a week later and obtained a search warrant, at which time Rich was arrested.

In December, deputies responded to a different Highland County address, where they found a BMW that had recently been spray painted white. Officers determined that the car had been stolen from a Cincinnati dealership earlier in the month. Rich was again arrested at that residence.

Rich pleaded guilty to both charges June 27. During a hearing Aug. 2, she was sentenced by Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss to three years of community control and ordered to complete a recommended treatment program.