Nearly one week after a series of shootings by an off-duty deputy in Roanoke and Montgomery counties left the deputy’s ex-wife dead and a State Policeman wounded, a grassroots movement is growing in Franklin County that is seeking to force Sheriff Ewell Hunt from office.
Hunt, a first-term Republican, is being blamed for endangering public safety by not issuing a “Be on the Lookout” (BOTL) for off-duty deputy Jonathan Agee, who had placed an assault rifle in his patrol car and left after threatening to kill his ex-wife. When Deputy Agee’s wife called 911 to report the issue, Sheriff Hunt was informed of the threat by the dispatcher. Sheriff Hunt reportedly told the dispatcher “not to say anything,” adding that he “would take care of it.” Sheriff Hunt later called the Salem Police Department and asked to speak with the shift supervisor. When the supervisor was unable to come to the phone, the sheriff left a message for the supervisor simply asking that the supervisor return his call.
Critics say that Sheriff Hunt should have displayed more urgency in his call to the Salem Police warning of the impending danger for Jennifer Agee. They also say that Sheriff Hunt should have issued the BOTL for Deputy Agee’s patrol car. Sheriff Hunt’s attorney, Bill Stanley, has responded that the complaints are essentially a matter of semantics:
“At no time did Sheriff Hunt say not to mention anything to law enforcement,” Stanley said. “His only advisement was not to disseminate it to the public.”
Sheriff Hunt acknowledges making a mistake by not telling the Salem Police that his call was urgent, but otherwise stands by his actions and the actions of his department:
I can assure you that both myself and members of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office did everything possible, with the information that we had at the time, to alert the appropriate authorities as to the situation regarding Mr. [Jonathan] Agee.
Personally, I contacted local authorities by the quickest method possible (by phone) in order to alert them to what was occurring; I was advised by my dispatch of what information they had received from Mr. Agee’s wife regarding her husband’s intentions; and believing that I could expedite the process by alerting them to the situation so that they could respond accordingly, I called Salem police at 11:18 a.m. to let them know what was occurring, and asked to speak to the on-duty supervisor, believing that Mr. Agee was on the way to his ex-wife’s house in Salem, according to the information that we had received by telephone contact with Mr. Agee’s wife and family. At no time did I cancel a “be on the lookout,” order for Mr. Agee.
Still, Sheriff Hunt’s critics are not waiting until November to try to oust the sheriff. Joe Stanley, a prominent local Democratic activist and former political consultant, started a Facebook group “Sheriff Ewell Hunt Must Resign” (which currently has more than 3,700 likes) and is circulating a petition asking the Franklin County Circuit Court to remove Ewell Hunt from his position. The petition needs the signatures of 10 percent of the registered voters in the last election (1,545 signatures); after a rally held Saturday on the steps of the county courthouse, the petition had 170 signatures.
“Sheriff Hunt stood in the way of getting help. He put his hand up and said stop,” said Joe Stanley, organizer of the rally. If he won’t do the honorable thing and resign, we’ll do the legal thing and have him removed”….
When questioned about his political motives by a reporter from The Franklin News-Post (herself a local Republican activist), Joe Stanley retorted that he was leading the anti-Hunt movement because of “…two orphaned children, who don’t get to say ‘good night’ to their mama.”
Attendees at Saturday’s rally left energized and prepared to circulate the petition throughout their neighborhoods and circles of friends until they had the requisite number of signatures while the State Police investigation of the shootings continues.
