Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 9, 1993 TAG: 9311090081
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KAREN BARNES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BEDFORD LENGTH: Medium
The petitions, distributed throughout the county over the weekend, ask the state police to intervene and call Sheriff Carl Wells' current internal investigation into those matters "inappropriate and unethical."
Wells announced an internal investigation three weeks after deputies, during a hearing in September on Coe's request for a new trial, admitted drinking on duty.
Wells' original news release did not specify if on-duty drinking is the only focus of his investigation. He refused to comment on the investigation Monday.
The petitioners are taking their message a step further. Coe's supporters will protest the sheriff's involvement tonight at 6:30 in front of the county administration building. The sheriff is expected to attend the Board of Supervisors meeting, which begins an hour later.
The petition drive stems from the recent rejection of Coe's request for a new trial. His lawyer argued that the chief investigator, Lt. Steve Rush, was drunk at the murder scene and missed crucial evidence. Several deputies, and Rush himself, admitted drinking while on duty before heading to the scene of Clayton Jahue Fore's murder near Jordantown on June 1, 1991.
Substitute Circuit Court Judge J. Samuel Johnston ruled last month that although Rush drank earlier in the evening, his actions at the scene did not indicate impairment. But Johnston called the deputies' drinking "inexcusable" and "unprofessional."
Supporters behind the petition drive wonder if the sheriff can conduct an impartial investigation into matters he might be involved in himself and in the face of internal political upheaval.
The petitions will be forwarded to the state police in Richmond, but a state police investigation can be initiated only by the attorney general, the governor or a grand jury.
The petition at McGhee's Grocery in Moneta had four signatures Monday afternoon. Customers at other stores asked where they could find petitions, store managers said.
One store manager said someone removed a petition from his business. A Thaxton store owner said he threw one away.
On the money-handling issue, rumors of missing funds sparked an independent audit of how the sheriff handles the department's payroll. Money from the State Compensation Board is deposited in an account controlled exclusively by the sheriff, who issues paychecks.
Wells has admitted to depositing personal money into the account but has said he stopped in April. The board is expected today to strip Wells of the responsibility of writing all his department's paychecks and have the county administration assume the task.
An accountant is expected to deliver a statement at tonight's supervisors meeting.
Wells would not comment on allegations of mishandling money.
by CNB