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

DATE: TUESDAY, March 3, 1992                   TAG: 9203030224
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

PANEL DECLINES TO INDICT DEPUTY

For the second time since Botetourt County Sheriff's Deputy O.E. "Bud" Shires shot an unarmed, fleeing suspect in the back of the head in October, a grand jury has declined to charge him with manslaughter.

After the panel of grand jurors in Botetourt County Circuit Court decided not to return an indictment, special prosecutor Cliff Hapgood said his role in the case is over.

However, Shires still faces an investigation by federal authorities into possible civil-rights violations stemming from the fatal shooting.

Shires is white. The victim, 29-year-old Terry Ricardo Smith of Staunton, was black.

Shires, a deputy for 11 years, was pursuing Smith in connection with a robbery at a Buchanan convenience store Oct. 24. He told authorities he fired after Smith turned toward him with an object in his hand.

A grand jury that met in December also declined to indict Shires. Harold Eads, a Fincastle lawyer who represents Shires, said Hapgood told him he does not intend to seek an indictment a third time.

Monday's grand jury heard testimony from one witness, a state police investigator who summarized results of the agency's probe.

Because grand juries meet in private, details of the investigation have not been made public.

"The grand jury considered all of the evidence and determined that Officer Shires committed no crime," Sheriff Reed Kelly said.

Had the grand jury returned a manslaughter indictment, prosecutors would have attempted to prove that Shires acted with criminal recklessness - not that he intended to kill Smith.

Hapgood is Franklin County's commonwealth's attorney. He was appointed special prosecutor after then-Botetourt County Commonwealth's Attorney Buck Heartwell, citing his close professional relationship with the deputy, removed himself from the case.

Shires was suspended after the shooting but reinstated after the first grand jury session. He will continue with his normal duties, Kelly said.

Although the federal investigation is pending, the sheriff said, "We're thrilled that this chapter of it is closed."

by CNB