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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 10, 1993                   TAG: 9311100185
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: KAREN BARNES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BEDFORD                                LENGTH: Medium

PROTEST TARGETS SHERIFF

Brandishing signs calling for the resignation of Bedford County Sheriff Carl Wells and a retrial for convicted murderer Beattie Coe, and making references to persistent rumors of missing money in the Sheriff's Department, about 12 protestors marched in front of the county administration building Tuesday night.

The marchers - Coe's family and former co-workers - are asking for an independent state police investigation of on-duty drinking by deputies. In his request for a new trial, Coe asserted that the chief investigator, Lt. Steve Rush, was drunk at the June 1, 1991, scene of Clayton Jahue Fore's murder near Jordantown.

Wells launched an internal investigation into the charges about three weeks after deputies and Rush admitted to drinking before responding to the call. Judge J. Samuel Johnston rejected a retrial, saying that although Rush did drink before arriving at the crime scene, his actions did not indicate he was impaired.

But Coe's supporters are circulating petitions and taking their message to the streets. "We're protesting the investigation of the Sheriff's Department by the sheriff," said Gary Dean Coe, Beattie Coe's brother. "We feel it's unethical, and we want the state police to make a nonbiased decision."

Gary Coe, who was at the murder scene, said that Rush staggered that night. Coe also said that Rush's eyes were glassy.

"How the judge came up with that decision is beyond me," he said. "I think the judge's friendship with Carl Wells influenced the decision."

Alfred Wheeler of Chamblissburg campaigned and voted for Wells but marched in support of an independent investigation. Although he didn't carry a sign, he let his opinion be known. "This is a disgrace to taxpayers," he said. "We won't have any credibility, and we have to clean this up."

One of the marchers, R. Brown of Smith Mountain Lake, worked with Beattie Coe at Norfolk Southern Corp. and said Coe was one of his best workers. "This is like a malpractice suit," he said. "You go back to the same doctor for confirmation."

Wells has consistently refused to comment on the internal investigation or the rumors of mishandled money. Members of the Board of Supervisors were equally silent when asked to comment on the protest.

A state police investigation can be initiated only by a request from the attorney general, governor or a grand jury.

by CNB