LOMPOC, Calif. -- The Santa Barbara County District Attorney's office has charged a 32-year-old L ompoc prison employee with shooting and killing a Victorville Federal Correctional Complex guard.
Timothy McNally appeared in Lompoc Superior Court on Tuesday, but his arraignment was continued until April 3 so his defense attorney can review the discovery and investigate the case, Deputy District Attorney Brandon Jebens said.
McNally shot and killed Lt. Gary Bent of Apple Valley in Bent's hotel room at the Embassy Suites in Lompoc on Thursday night, according to Lompoc Police Department officials. Police officers found Bent dead in the room with a gunshot wound to his neck.
The victim was attending a joint training exercise at Lompoc Federal Correctional Complex and had been in the area for about a week, officials said. Thursday was the last night Bent was going to be in Lompoc, north of Santa Barbara.
McNally and Bent knew each other, but officials are still investigating the motive for the shooting, Lompoc Police Sgt. Chuck Strange said.
"I wish to express my sympathy to the family and the shock and sadness the staff here at FCC Victorville are dealing with," FCC Victorville Warden Francisco J. Quintana said in a written statement. "We are saddened by this tragedy for all involved and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of the deceased as they cope with their loss."
Bent had four children and was supposed to attend a Christian retreat in Crestline following the training, family members told the Lompoc Record.
He was well-liked by prison staff, said James Engleman, Spokesman for the Victorville federal complex.
"I personally haven't heard a bad thing gainst him," Engleman said. "Emotions are high here."
Copyright 2012 - Daily Press, Victorville, Calif.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
