Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, June 13, 1995                   TAG: 9506130084
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BEDFORD                                 LENGTH: Medium

ATTORNEY JOINS RACE IN BEDFORD

He had a full caseload, his secretary had the day off, and his answering machine had been hit by lightning and wasn't working. But at some point, the Bedford lawyer filed his papers and became a candidate for Bedford County commonwealth's attorney.

"It's just been nonstop. I haven't had time to think about" campaigning, Wentz said. Wentz, 51, has been an attorney in Bedford since July 1992 and specializes in bankruptcy and criminal defense cases.

He'll oppose Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Randy Krantz. Krantz will be appointed commonwealth's attorney at the end of this month, when longtime prosecutor Jim Updike steps down to become a judge.

"I enjoy criminal defense work very much, " Wentz said. "But my mindset, temperament and background suits me much better to prosecuting than it does defending."

If elected, Wentz said he would support a policy of no plea bargains for felons, and funding of a full-time victim-assistance coordinator.

A former Green Beret, Wentz served two tours of duty in Vietnam and was awarded a Silver Star for gallantry, two Bronze Stars for valor and two purple hearts. He holds a master's degree in business administration and gave up a job as a supervisor in the U.S. General Accounting Office, where he audited defense spending, to pursue a law degree at age 42.

In 1989, he served as a clerk to a state court of appeals judge. In 1990, he started his own practice in Lynchburg.

Several other last-minute candidates also beat today's 5 p.m. deadline to get on the fall ballot. The sheriff's race is now a six-way contest. Darryl Updike, a Bedford city police officer who teaches the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program in local schools, filed his papers to run.

He'll be joined by the five previously announced candidates: Mike Brown, a security specialist who's running as a Republican; Sgt. Dave Cooper, a road-deputy supervisor for the Sheriff's Office; Lt. Vernon Goode, who runs the county's jail annex in Moneta; Doug Maynard, an investigator with the Bedford and Roanoke public defender's offices; and deputy and former investigator Chuck Reid.

Keywords:
POLITICS