ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 19, 1997 TAG: 9702190085
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ROCKY MOUNT
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
Franklin County moonshiner William Gray "Dee" Stanley said that he shot his son after they got into a fight, according to search warrant affidavits filed Tuesday.
Investigators conducted two searches of the Stanleys' home on Scuffling Hill Road near Rocky Mount after Scott Stanley, 26, was shot several times there Sunday night.
"William G. Stanley told me that he shot Scott Stanley and had thrown the gun away," Deputy H.T. Woods wrote in one of the affidavits.
Investigators later found a handgun outside the house along with several packets of money.
On another affidavit, Woods wrote that Dee Stanley - after making his first statement - denied shooting Scott Stanley, but said he and his son fought and that he had been injured.
Dee Stanley, 51, has abrasions on his face and a gash on his back, said his lawyer, Bill Davis of Rocky Mount.
Davis said Stanley - who is out of jail on $25,000 bond - will plead not guilty to the charge of malicious wounding. The lawyer would not confirm whether he will build a case based on self-defense.
No reason for the fight has been disclosed.
Scott Stanley remains hooked to a respirator in critical condition at Roanoke Memorial Hospital, but he is making slight improvements, said Sheriff W.Q. "Quint" Overton. Scott Stanley has not spoken to investigators.
Dee Stanley, choking back tears at times, was arraigned Tuesday morning and a court date was set for April 18.
The search warrants detail a long list of evidence seized from the home, including 13 guns, numerous jars of illegal whiskey, bags of a "green plant-like material" and $1,471 in cash.
The Stanleys have earned a reputation over the years for their moonshining exploits. Dee and Scott Stanley have both been convicted of felony moonshine charges, an investigator said. Members of the family were charged with hauling moonshine three times in two weeks last year.
A Franklin County special agent, acting as an anonymous tipster, gave authorities in other counties information to arrest Stanley family members on at least one occasion.
Dee Stanley has already been arrested again this year for transporting illegal liquor in Charlottesville.
LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Dee Stanley. color.by CNB