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

DATE: SUNDAY, November 19, 1995                   TAG: 9511210010
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

HARDY MAN CHARGED IN 2ND HUNTING ACCIDENT

Virginia State Game Warden D.H. Cushman said Stacy Alan Walls, 27, of Hardy was in the process of uncocking the hammer on his .50-caliber muzzleloading rifle when the gun went off. The slug struck Walls' hunting partner, Thomas Christopher Hughes, 25, of Salem, in his lower right leg, Cushman said.

The accident occurred at 6:10 a.m. Saturday in the Hardy area of Franklin County as the two men and another hunter were preparing to go into the woods, Cushman said. Hughes was taken to Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where his condition was listed as stable Saturday night.

If convicted, Walls faces a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $2,500 fine, Cushman said.

The shooter in a hunting accident that occurred in Franklin County on Friday afternoon also was charged Saturday with reckless handling of a firearm, Cushman said.

James Mattox, 42, of Glade Hill was charged as a result of the accidental shooting of a member of his hunting party, Johnny Blakenship, 40, of Wirtz, Cushman said. The pair and another hunter were hunting in the Union Hall section of Franklin County when the accident occurred about 3 p.m., said Sgt. Ron Henry of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

Blakenship was struck in his right shoulder by a .50-caliber bullet from a muzzleloader. The bullet traveled down his arm before exiting at the wrist, Henry said.

Blakenship also was taken to Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition Saturday night.