Prison time added for vehicle thief

STAUNTON — An Augusta County judge Thursday extended a Broadway car thief’s prison sentence by six years, the last chapter in a spree that stretched across four counties.

Royce Lee Miller, 25, pleaded guilty to 41 felonies and eight misdemeanors for his participation in a car theft and burglary partnership that investigators brought down last year after an 11-month probe.

Miller and Travis Lee Lam, 28, also of Broadway, were charged with more than 100 felonies in Augusta County and dozens more in Page, Shenandoah, Greene and Rockingham counties.

Miller has been sentenced to serve 16 years in prison. Lam has pleaded guilty in two counties, awaits further hearings and so far has received a five-year sentence, according to court records.

The string of thefts began in Augusta County in September 2007 and ended in May 2008, netting the men $182,850 in stolen property, including 16 stolen vehicles, according to authorities. The Augusta County Sheriff’s Office attributed Lam and Miller to two large catalytic converter thefts – valued at $36,700 – at the Staunton Hyundai on Sept. 10, 2007, and Feb. 14, 2008.

The two men were connected to seven commercial burglaries in Augusta County, authorities said.

In May 2008, authorities arrested the pair and found Miller’s ID along with stolen items and cut-out masks that led to DNA matches to the men, according to previous testimony.

Virginia, West Virginia, Staunton and Harrisonburg police along with sheriff’s offices in Rockingham and Augusta counties took part in the investigation.

Augusta Judge Victor V. Ludwig also ordered Miller to pay $114,000 in restitution and spend 14 years on probation.

Lam is due in Augusta County court Monday. He faces 52 charges.