A Blacksburg man is serving three years in prison after pleading guilty Friday to a charge of attempted first-degree murder.

The case against Barry Allen Alderman, 42, was scheduled for a review Friday in Montgomery County Circuit Court. According to court records, he pleaded guilty that morning to charges of attempted murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. A third charge of brandishing a firearm was dropped.

Christiansburg police have said Alderman walked into Reed Lumber Co. the afternoon of May 16, 2007, and pointed a loaded .38-caliber pistol at an employee. The employee was able to wrestle it away, and it was never fired.

Alderman drove off and was arrested later that day as he exited the U.S. 460 Bypass in Blacksburg, police said. He was charged with and later convicted of driving under the influence and sentenced to five days in jail. His driver's license was suspended for a year.

Alderman had worked at Reed Lumber until January 2007, police said.

He failed to appear for a scheduled hearing in December after telling his attorney, Henry Whitehurst, that he didn't want to enter a plea, Whitehurst said at the time.

On Friday, Alderman was also convicted of failing to appear at that hearing and sentenced to serve 10 days in jail.

In addition, he was sentenced to serve three years in prison for using a firearm. He received a 10-year suspended sentence on the attempted murder conviction.

Whitehurst couldn't be reached for comment.

-- Shawna Morrison