By Olivia Hampton
Butch Lawhorn, the former Buena Vista fire chief, is expected to plead guilty to some of the 77 counts of forging certificates for swift water rescue classes, according to the Buena Vista Circuit Court clerk’s office.
Plea negotiations between prosecutors and Lawhorn’s lawyers are likely to result in a guilty plea April 7.
Lawhorn went to court on March 7 to set a trial date for the fraud charges. Lawhorn has been accused of forging certificates for first responders for a class that he was not certified to teach.
A State Police investigation found that Lawhorn had been faking the certificates in late January. Many first responders in the Rockbridge area were affected.