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

DATE: FRIDAY, September 15, 1995                   TAG: 9509150059
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

MAN WHO SHOT GIRLFRIEND GETS 19-YEAR TERM

Joseph N. Newcomer, 30, pleaded guilty in Bedford County Circuit Court in May to four felonies: malicious wounding, using a firearm in a felony, malicious discharge of a firearm in an inhabited structure and possession of a firearm as a convicted felon. He has a previous conviction for malicious wounding.

Commonwealth's Attorney Randy Krantz said the only reason Newcomer probably didn't have to serve more time is that his girlfriend, Cynthia Orange, took the stand and asked that he not be sent to jail.

"In this case, the commonwealth had to argue that, the victim's wishes not withstanding, it was a public safety issue and penitentiary time was called for," Krantz said.

Newcomer told police he shot Orange last year at his Bedford County house after an argument in which he accused her of cheating on him. Orange and Newcomer have a child. They separated after the shooting but reunited recently, Krantz said.

Doctors said Orange may have suffered permanent loss of mobility and sensation from the shooting, Krantz said, and she required bone replacement operations and skin and muscle grafts.