Put your thoughts about today’s Franklin County deputy story here
Franklin County Sheriff Ewell Hunt
Big, big story today about the events leading up to the fatal shooting of a Franklin County deputy’s ex-wife on Memorial Day, outside Sheetz on Orange Avenue at Williamson Road.
Of course hindsight always is 20-20, but do you think Franklin County Sheriff Ewell Hunt could have handled it better?
Put your thoughts here.
June 1, 2011 - 7:00 AM
Of course he should have handled it differently. An angry man with a gun is a threat to the public. The sheriff was trying to “take care of his own” under the radar and obviously didn’t take the call as seriously as he should have. He will soon be referred to as “former sheriff Ewell Hunt.”
Unbelievable! Inexcusable! He should be immediately fired and charges brought against him. He was told the deputy was going to kill his wife and basically did nothing! The lady could still be alive, her children still have a mother and her child would not have to live with the memory of seeing his Dad murder his mother in front on him!
UH, Hello?
This Jackass should be immediately fired and arrested. If I were a relative of the deceased, I would immediately sue Ewell Hunt specifically for his inaction which likely led to the killing.
“I’m going to handle it myself.” The guy can’t even handle his own daughter much less a man with an assault rifle.
FIRE EWELL HUNT NOW.
To me, Sheriff Hunt is just as responsible for her death and the shooting of the state Tropper as Officer Agee was….his actions (or in this case NON action) resulted in this being “allowed” to happen!
Hunt should be suspended indefinitely while he is investigated for his role in Jennifer’s death. Based on the limited information that we have about this, it really looks like this entire situation going back weeks, perhaps years was handled in a shady fashion to protect Hunt’s staff.
Are you kidding me. After all the years in police enforcement and dealing with people in the frame of mind that jonathan was in did the sheriff really expect him to answer his radio or even call him back. Be for real. The only thing he should have done was issued the BOLO for him that way a tragic situation might have been stopped.
I’ve known Sheriff Hunt for a long, long time. I think he is a good man and I believe that he has the best interests of Franklin Co and the Sheriff’s Dept in mind. That said, I think his handling of this incident is terrible. Regardless of whether he thought he could handle it better or not, the call to be on the lookout needs to go out to all surrounding jurisdictions; a life could have been saved by simply getting the word out.
This is a terrible situation and I feel awful for everyone involved. As Dan said hindsight is 20/20, but from this outsiders prospective, this could have been handled better. I think this, along with the prior issues that Sheriff Hunt has had during his tenure, will lead to Bill Overton winning the upcoming election for Sheriff.
Handled it ‘better’? Does that question even need to be asked? This guy Hunt should have been found guilty back when he allowed his daughter to cavort around as a pretend cop. But the level of incompetence displayed here defies belief. Here is a highly credible 911 report of a potential killer (coming from a wife about a guy stalking an -ex wife). And Hunt fails to fully alert surrounding police? He obviously wanted to control the situation and a person died quite possibly because of his ego and incredibly bad judgement. If the people of that County do not demand his firing or resignation, then they deserve him.
i think he should have sent out a BOL but when you are in a situation with one of your own, you don’t think the worse, you pray for the best. He did what he could other then tracting him down himself. I support Hunt and i woul dhope that others would too. You back your sheriff. And all and all he is a good sheriff!!!
Boss Hogg needs to resign. His office is a prime example of southwest Virginia nepotism and small town politics.
For three-and-a-half years Sheriff Hunt has brought shame and embarrassment to Franklin County. His latest error in judgement has brought tragedy to the entire region and deeply impacted countless lives. Sheriff Hunt has only one honorable option left–he must resign. Join the facebook group calling for his resignation, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sheriff-Ewell-Hunt-Must-Resign/107505789340751
If that story is accurate, it looks like Hunt owns that murder. I’m sure there’s some reason he didn’t call in the bolo, and I’m sure it will come out.
How he still has that job, I have no idea. The entire story makes Hazzard County look relatively progressive.
Yes I think he could have handled it alot better. If he had put out that bol alert Jennifer Agee just might be alive today and her ex would be behind bars. I can not believe that he had a heads up and didn’t alert as many police officers as he could to what was about to happen. I think he needs to lose his job and put a more efficent Sheriff in his place.
I have not followed this closely but if a man’s wife calls and tells you he is headed to kill someone, it would behoove you to listen and act upon it. Hunt should resign and save the county a little dignity. He won’t, but he should.
Truly sad situation! Even the Police Department could not serve and protect this beautiful woman. For someone to have committed such a violent crime, and threaten it beforehand without intervention – is that premeditated?. The fact that the department did not utilize the “amber alert” message boards that we tax payers pay for in order to “serve and protect” is truly a crime in itself. BUT, I imagine it is to protect “their own”. My heart goes out to the young children caught in the middle of a violent situation, one child will never be the same after witnessing this crime.
There is something about the legal system in that part of the country that gives these people a confidence that anything they do is correct.
Hunt is just as guilty as Agee in killing this woman. He had sufficient advance notice to stop this murder. How was he going to “handle it?” If nothing else he should be prosecuted for dereliction of duty.
But it’s a pretty safe bet that nothing will ever come of it because the courts, lawyers and police there are one entity and cover each others back.
It is a system still held over from before the civil rights movement of the nineteen-sixties called Southern Justice.
Sheriff Hunt has demonstrated a long sequence of managerial ineffectiveness. It is questionable if he has the ability to demonstrate effective judgment, and performance, in his work field.
Should not such repetitive,demonstrated ineffectiveness justify his removal from office? Are the citizens of Franklin county willing to act accordingly?
Considering that Agee had made threats against his ex-wife before, Hunt should have issued a BOLO. Hunt has blood on his hands and has some explaining to do. He’s a disgrace.
Cops covering for cops…Whats new?
This guy is scum and should have been removed from office already. Wilbert is 100% correct. Hunt was trying to take care of his own and sweep this under the rug. But even when that didn’t work and he got the voicmail in Salem he still didn’t issue the alert. Not only will he soon be a former sheriff he will also be a defendant in the civil trial against him, the sherrif’s department, and Franklin County for the wrongful death of Jennifer Agee.
If someone told me they were leaving here to kill someone and I didn’t call and report it to the police wouldn’t I be charged with assisting or at least negligence? He is a police officer the Sheriff who cares if the crazy guy is his friend. I assume he wanted to personally “handle it” by texting the guy hoping to talk him out of it and never reporting it to anyone. He should be in jail right now in my opinion for not protecting the people in this case the victim and her children. Knowing he was going to Salem he should have alerted Roanoke, Roanoke County and Salem while at the same time have a deputy be contacting her to warn her to get to a police station to hide. I can only hope for her that he pays for his crimes as well she would probably be alive if he had done his job. I also hope in a civil case her children will be awarded any and all of his property and financial assets.
It’s safe to say that if a police officer, who is married to a police officer threatens something THIS SERIOUS, he means it! Shame on Ewell Hunt for not taking this more seriously. I wonder if HIS FAMILY had been threatened, if he would have acted differently? My guess is yes. This isn’t the first incident he has brushed under the rug and handled incorrectly. I hope you accomplished everything you wanted to while in office Mr. Hunt, I believe your days of being sheriff are numbered!
If the investigation proves this to be true- he must be terminated and charged as well, and sued by the family of course…
He should have put out the BOL alert, but as you said hindsight is 20/20. I’m sure he is living with could have/should have/if only, right now.
I shudder at the thought that if Sheriff Hunt had taken the appropriate actions, this woman would still be alive and her little girl would not have to live with this horrific memory. This is just another example of those in power not looking out for our best interests. Now of course there are brave men and women who do their best to protect us (Sgt. Brannock, for example) but Sheriff Hunt is NOT one of them! I hope the good people of Franklin County stand up and call for his departure.
Any chances of re-election are now toast. The sheriff’s actions have resulted in the homicide of an innocent person. He put at risk countless citizens. A Virginia State Trooper was shot and could have been killed! The pursuit could have ended in even more tragedy. What an incompetent, ineffective individual. In following the good old boy “we do our own laundry” policy he exposed the people he swore to protect to a homicidal maniac. His career should have been over a long time ago. Can we all say “MALFEASANCE IN OFFICE” together? Trying to cover this up and then go into hiding shows what this man is made of.
Wondering how a 911 call becomes a personal task for the Sheriff to handle? What could be quicker than a radio call to Salem & Roanoke patrol officers? The 911 call was very straight forward – someone is armed, angry and says they are going to kill. Why did the Sheriff need to be involved at all? Isn’t the threat to kill enough to bypass chain of command rules and go straight to someone who can actually do something – officers on the street not a bureaucrat in an office playing phone tag. Was the delay due to the fact that the Sheriff’s employee was involved? No excuse! I’m sure the BOL would have gone out immediately if the Sheriff’s daughter was the intended victim!
Hunt needs to go…blood on his hands. If Franklin County can’t get rid of him (they’ve failed in the past) maybe some lawyers can sue him into oblivion.
Question for Franklin Co residents: How much longer will you allow Hunt to continue to corrupt your county? From day 1 he has used nepotism and cronyism, illegally paying his own family and enabling his deputies to blur the lines of professionalism and integrity.
Being a former police officer, I know several, solid officers that quit other departments when Hunt offered them jobs when he took office. They quit shortly there after having witnessing first hand his lack of intention in keeping his oath to office.
Now your fowl smelling politics have spilled over into the surrounding communities and innocent victims and their families must suffer YOUR tolerance of this criminal sheriff. That’s right, he’s a criminal. How do you keep someone that has been proven to be stealing from YOU.
HUNT, do your community a favor and resign. Afterwards, take a long look in the mirror and see if you recognize anyone.
He should resign and I hope he does it quickly.
She was shot at a Sheetz on Orange Ave. I’m curious as to how her ex husband knew where she was, unless he followed her there from her house. There are a lot of questions here.
Ewell Hunt’s actions on monday had nothing to do with protecting his staff. Just like the actions of Jonathan Agee, Ewell acted with concern for only himself. He wanted to limit the political fallout that making the situation public would have caused. The actions of these two men on monday were two of the most selfish disgusting acts i have ever seen. Rest assured Ewell Hunt did not have any concern of protecting anyone but himself by not alerting the surrounding jurisdictons. Agee had to travel through a corridor with heavy police presence it would have been almost impossible for him to go unnoticed in a marked police car. Ewell Hunt gambled with a womans life and now she is dead. Hunt should do the honorable thing for once in his life and step aside.
I’m shocked he has not resigned over his latest questionable action. The man is a disgrace to Franklin County.
Hunt’s action was a matter of being reactive and not proactive. A BOLO should have been issued. If Agee had intent to kill his wife he most likely was going to shoot anyone who tried to stop him. The call should have been enough to warn Hunt of Agee’s intent. Society is very lucky more people we not maimed or killed in Agee’s flight after the murder of his wife. FCSO needs a full scale invstigation conducted by either the FBI or State Police into the operation as a department.
More like an Animal Planet episode the “Hunter becomes the Hunted”. Only WTF??!
Yes, hindsight is 20-20 and it is very easy to say now that Sheriff Hunt made a terrible mistake in regards to saving the young lady’s life. But the thing that I find most troubling in regards to the decision-making process of Sheriff Hunt is the “special” treatment he gave a police officer who was in the process of breaking several laws, this versus the treatment every other citizen receives. He told the dispatch officer to not follow proper procedure and issue the BOLO order to all regaional law enforcment agents, this to me says he wanted to keep the whole thing “off the books” so to speak. Was he afriad it would look bad on him and hurt his re-election chances? What would have Sheriff Hunt done had he managed to somehow get to Deputy Agee before he undertook his tragic actions? Give him a good talkling to and sent him back home. I would love to hear the man himself answer that one. Hopefully one day he will be forced to.
At the very least he should be immediately suspended without pay pending an investigation. I think there may be a lawsuit coming up from relatives of Jennifer Agee. Just from the looks of things so far, it would be well-deserved.
Euell Hunt made a fatal mistake this time. Had he performed his duty as he should have, and as it appears his staff wanted, this mother of two would most likely be alive today. Sheriff Hunt is as guilty of her death as his deputy that actually pulled the trigger. And all because of yet another attempt at a cover-up by the sheriff.
I wonder how he sleeps at night.
How is this disgrace of a man even still in the sheriff’s office to begin with?! His lack of responsibility, morals, and slack in taking a pro-active command over his deputies, daughter, and public leave him barely audible to push paper in the sheriff’s office! Nobody knows if Jennifer would still be alive if “Sheriff” Hunt had reacted appropriately and by protocol to alert all surrounding areas to look out for Deputy Agee–it possibly STILL could have been too late. But I bet had it been his daughter in danger he would would have acted much more quickly and had an alert out to every law enforcement agency around. This man owes an apology to poor Jennifer, to her sweet child for having to witness her mother’s death at the hands of her own father, to the family of Jennifer and the Agee family, to his deputy for not doing what he could to help him when there was a direct warning in his face, to his public, and to the troopers who were harmed or put in harms way due to his negligence. And least of all, he doesn’t deserve to own a badge nor the title of “Sheriff”. Once again his negligence has put too many people at risk and in danger.
I think Ewell Hunt should be immediately fired, and his salary and pension should be redirected to support and care for the two poor girls who are left without a mother after this horrible tragedy. He is a disgrace to the uniform. He was thinking first and foremost of preventing any more bad press for his crappy li’l organization. That’s what mattered to him, not the safety of the two women who were rightfully terrified of this man, or of the two daughters of Jennifer Agee. Disgusting, and criminal.
It’s my opinion that some of the fault rests with the dispatcher herself/himself. OK, she/he gets a call reporting that one of the department’s officers “got into his patrol car with an assault rifle…that he was going to Salem to kill his ex-wife.” And the first thing the dispatcher does is call Sheriff Hunt? I would have thought the safety of the general public would come first. In the first place, shouldn’t the dispatcher have notified immediately the police departments of Salem, Roanoke City, and Roanoke County, because Mr. Agee would have to travel through one of those jurisdictions to get to Salem? And *then* call Sheriff Hunt?
As someone born and raised in Franklin County who is now watching all of this from afar, I am AMAZED that Ewell Hunt is still sheriff. I know he was Overton’s right hand man and everyone thought that made him a good candidate when Quincy designed not to run again. Clearly it was a wrong choice. I can’t see where Hunt has made ONE good decision his entire time in office. I know he was cleared in the investigation over his daughter, but I have heard from too many honest people I know that most of what he was accused of did happen and that Ashley ran around that office like a queen bee. What he has done with the handling of the Agee situation is inexcusable. Ewell Hunt needs to resign ASAP and if not Franklin Co. needs to find some ba!!s and get him out of office. The county and its citizens deserve better, much better.
I’m a person that believe Police Officers need ever tool available to them to remain safe and to keep the community safe, but again WTF
Whose doing the annual psychological screening of officers need to be questioned. If this officer or any officer was showing signs of emotional distress you don’t say hey get over it here’s your keys.
1)April 13 2011 Bond Set for Former Memphis Police Officer Charged in Murder of Mistress.
2) Jun 4, 2007 … Two City Of Memphis Police Officers Shot With One Dead In Domestic Dispute … Did Memphis Police Officer Cover For Her Boyfriend In The Killing Of Her … hitting Watson in the stomach and killing her ex-boyfriend in a hallway … Police continue to investigate love triangle that left officer dead.
3) Detroit Police officer shoots, kills wife then self in parking lot …
Sep 22, 2009 … Canton Township Police say a Detroit police officer shot his wife — also a Detroit cop — in the parking lot of the Canton Public library.
4) JACKSONVILLE (AP) — A former Jacksonville police officer who strangled a businessman in his patrol car while committing a robbery and the officer’s police…In 1998, Officer Karl Waldon pulled over Safar after the convenience store chain owner withdrew $51,000 from a bank, then the police officer strangled Safar in the patrol car’s back seat.
5) Sheriff’s deputy, 2 others arrested in Arizona human trafficking bust
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
May 25, 2011
Be it Economic, Emotional abuse of power, or bigotry something has clearly affected some of Americas most respected men in Blue.
Yet as a legal Concealed Weapon Carrier I expect some police will eventually shoot or kill me based on the soul ideal that I’m a Black Man with a weapon legally.
Just wanted to express a deep felt thought.
From Agee’s actions it is apparent that he was willing to die to accomplish his goal. This probably wouldn’t have ended well regardless of what Sheriff Hunt did. If the police had tried to stop Agee earlier, it’s doubtful he would have stopped.
If the police had seen Agee’s car and tried to stop him on 220 northbound, it is likely that he would have led a procession of police cars to Sheetz. I don’t know how Agee knew his ex-wife was at Sheetz, but if his ex-wife was standing on the lot waiting to meet him, the same thing might well have happened to her since the pursuing police wouldn’t know her or have any reason to think she was at Sheetz. There would probably have been shots exchanged between the pursuing officers and Agee on a crowded business lot. Who knows how many Sheetz customers, police officers, people driving by, etc. would have been injured or killed?
I’m not excusing Sheriff Hunt, but when a person has the mindset that Agee apparently had that day, things are probably not going to end well.
Can we say Barney Fife!!??? Ewell Hunt is making a mockery of law enforcement, first by letting his daughter “run” the department and now by this extremely stupid decision in not contacting Roanoke or Salem police forces. It sounds like the dispatcher had a better grasp of the situation.V8B8
Hunt was an idiot but I have to agree to some degree with VRWC. MAYBE the wife would still be alive, but things would have gotten ugly one way or another. Putting out a BOL should have been done, but it also guaranteed nothing.
As to how Agee knew she was at the Sheetz, she probably agreed to meet him there to discuss something or even to hand over the daughter living with her for a visit.
Hunt should face charges over this.
As a long time outsider to the valley the “Good Ol Boy” crap has got to be cleaned up.
Honestly how many times do these folks get a pass?
VRWC.. you are kidding right? This “officer” was reported as unfit months ago yet there he was in a squad car.
Give it a rest
What a shame when we allow public servants such as Hunt to circumvent proper channels for their own convoluted reasons. Hunt’s lack of appropriate action enabled an already tragic event to be carried out to the very end with the death of Agee’s ex-wife. Hunt should not be allowed to wear the badge of service and should immediately be removed from office as well as have all pension and rights of public servant removed from his path. He is a disgrace to Franklin County. The citizens deserve better and he needs to be held accountable for the death and injury of all involved in the events.
He put countless innocent people at risk by his inaction. He is totally incompetent and needs to be placed on leave IMMEDIATELY!!!! And then removed from office, FOREVER.
He has shown very poor judgement since the beginning of his term. Now a young Mother is dead, when there is a good chance that it could have been prevented. HOW CAN HE SLEEP KNOWING HE CARRIES THAT RESPONSIBILITY?
What “Sheriff” Hunt did was criminally negligent. Not only has he consistently demonstrated his inability to excercise sound judgement and action on day to day operations,(See Clerk Hurricane Ashley), it’s apparent that every day he is in office the people of Franklin County and surrounding areas are at risk from this “law enforcement professionals” judgement. Find a good attorney Mr. Hunt. If Jenny were my daughter, you would be hauled into court with every criminal and civil charge imaginable. A more complete disgrace would be mpossible to find.
Seems like Hunt is trying really hard to be the stereotypical rural incompetent Sheriff. I wonder if it was better when his 14 year old daughter was running things.
VRWC, he shot an unarmed woman dead, gave chase, and returned fire. How on earth does that translate into being willing “die to accomplish his goal”? It looks a lot more like he was willing to see a lot of OTHER people die in pursuit of that goal.
What a disgrace!!! That is an understatement. Suspension shouldn’t even be an option. He needs to be fired immediately. We put our trust in him to make mature, knowledgable decisions. He broke that trust and decided to handle things “on his own”. We pay him a salary of at least $85,000 a year and this is what we get. What a disgrace.
You should be ashamed of yourself Ewell Hunt. I feel very sorry for you, having to live the rest of your life knowing that you could have possibly prevented a murder and the shooting of a fellow officer.
There have been quite a few calls on this thread for Hunt to be fired or suspended. Here’s the applicable law in Virginia regarding the removal of constitutional officers.
Code of Virginia, 24.2-232:
“Upon petition, a circuit court may remove from office any elected officer or officer who has been appointed to fill an elective office, residing within the jurisdiction of the court:
1. For neglect of duty, misuse of office, or incompetence in the performance of duties when that neglect of duty, misuse of office, or incompetence in the performance of duties has a material adverse effect upon the conduct of the office, or
2. Upon conviction of a misdemeanor pursuant to Article 1 (§ 18.2-247 et seq.) or Article 1.1 (§ 18.2-265.1 et seq.) of Chapter 7 of Title 18.2 and after all rights of appeal have terminated involving the:
a. Manufacture, sale, gift, distribution, or possession with intent to manufacture, sell, give, or distribute a controlled substance or marijuana, or
b. Sale, possession with intent to sell, or placing an advertisement for the purpose of selling drug paraphernalia, or
c. Possession of any controlled substance or marijuana, and such conviction under a, b, or c has a material adverse effect upon the conduct of such office, or
3. Upon conviction, and after all rights of appeal have terminated, of a misdemeanor involving a “hate crime” as that term is defined in § 52-8.5 when the conviction has a material adverse effect upon the conduct of such office.
The petition must be signed by a number of registered voters who reside within the jurisdiction of the officer equal to ten percent of the total number of votes cast at the last election for the office that the officer holds.
Any person removed from office under the provisions of subdivision 2 or 3 may not be subsequently subject to the provisions of this section for the same criminal offense.”
To Franklin County citizens: Remember you voted this man in for Sheriff. He was your choice. Maybe this time before you vote you will stop and think. Do I just want a good old county boy or someone who truly cares about Franklin County and the people who have live there in peace for the last 30 years. Prayer for all the family members.
Hunt should be fired immediately. Between the investigation of his daughter and now Jennifer’s death, this man could have possibly prevented it but it seems like he wanted to “protect” his reputation and department FIRST! What a disgrace! He has a lot to answer for and Jennifer’s family should make him answer..and pay! Get your wallet ready, I’m sure you are going to wish you had never been elected!
As a former dispatcher, a BOLO should have been issued IMMEDIATELY and those dispatchers should have went with their training and sent the BOLO on because they obviously don’t have a good leader. I am very disappointed that they did not follow protocol and go on above him and send this out. I would have risked my job to possibly save another when obviously a stupid decision was made. This could have possibly been prevented.
Overton, where are you?? You retire, Barney Fife takes over, and now the whole department is falling apart!! GET HIM OUT!!
My prayers go out to Jennifer’s family and to those poor innocent children who will have to live with this every day. God bless all the families that were touched by this tragedy. Hunt, God is your only saving Grace right now, I hope you know Him!
From the information in the articles on roanoke.com today, it really looks like Deputy Agee had his mind made up about what he was going to do. I’m not sure that there was anything that Sheriff Hunt could have done to stop it. From the times given in today’s article, it looks like it was less than 25 minutes from the time that Angell made her call to the time that Agee shot his ex-wife. That’s pretty quick, and even with proper notification from wherever it was available, it would have required some luck by Roanoke County, Roanoke City, or Salem cops to find and slow Agee down.
But, even knowing that, Sheriff Hunt handled this warning absolutely wrong. Sheriff Hunt’s actions took away that chance for other police officers to be lucky enough to spot Agee and attempt to slow him down. I’m not saying that if he had handled it correctly that Ms. Agee would, without a doubt, still be alive, but at least there could have been more of a chance for other officers to find Deputy Agee and try to stop him or slow him down from completing his plan. I can’t say that Sheriff Hunt is responsible for her death, because he wasn’t the one on a rampage out to shoot someone. Even though Hunt’s actions were completely wrong, let’s not remove ANY blame and fault from the shooter himself. But, Sheriff Hunt should be held responsible for the lack of effort to properly warn neighboring police officers of the situation. Following protocol doesn’t always guarantee success, but it does usually guarantee that best CHANCE for success. Hunt’s job is supposed to be to serve and protect, and in this case, his lack of following protocol did neither. His repeated questionable choices has shown that Franklin County needs a more capable Sheriff.
42 VRWC makes yet another well-thought-out post. That’s exactly how it would have happened since Sheetz was not the known destination. The only way to have stopped this attack would have been a roadblock. But could or would that have been done absent an offense?
I am bothered by the Roanoke Times trying and sentencing Hunt on the front page today. Apparently its account has swayed an awful lot of people against Mr. Hunt without the benefit of the results of a full investigation. Perhaps all this ire is warranted. Let’s wait for the facts first.
VWRC, at the very least, had Hunt issued the BOLO, the chase between of Agee that occurred on 460 & I81 could have happened on 220 when Agee was en route to Roanoke. LEOs could have stopped him before he ever got to Sheetz to commit murder.
@51 Kristen – In today’s article about this case on Roanoke.com, there is this part that may explain where VRWC is coming from when he says that Agee was willing to die to accomplish his goal:
At 12:03 p.m., about a half-hour after Jennifer Agee was killed, Agee called a Rocky Mount police officer who was a friend and said he would surrender to him — but that the friend “would have to kill him.”
How did this man become Sheriff of Franklin County? Trying to cover up a 911 call and deal with the incident privately has ended up in a murder and the shooting of a State Trooper. Add in the thousands and thousands of dollars spent on police responses, investigation,s etc. Ewell Hunt will have to live with this for the rest of his life. If the people of Franklin County reelect him then it’s their own fault. Open your eyes. The man should be in prison.
Hunt should have been bounced when his 17 year old started playing the queen–and riding with Agee, amongst other things.
Now, this.
Dan, it appears he fits the code’s #1, for neglect or misuse of duty, with a nod to incompetence also.
To put in a word for Barney Fife…Fife had integrity. After that fiasco with Hunt shuttling taxpayer money to his daughter, it’s pretty clear he has none.
I’m not sure the question is whether or not Hunt could have saved Jennifer Agee had he followed any procedure appropriate to the situation. The point is that he most definitely did NOT follow anything that resembles procedure, for whatever reasons are still to come out. If people are trying to claim that Hunt, given advanced warning of a murder, was incapable of martialling the appropriate law enforcement available and making an effort to prevent it, then make him a crossing guard or put him at the fry cooker. He’s useless as a cop.
#57 Had Hunt been a Democrat, suzie would have been all over him.
As I said, I agree with VRWC to a point, but there’s just no question at all that a BOL should have gone out. BTW, the RT isn’t the only outlet reporting this. It’s all over the place and without question it’s a legitimate news story.
#44 gdad, that’s probably exactly what happened. She was probably going to meet him at a public place to discuss child visitation or something because she felt safer there. That is what people are often told to do who fear an ex-spouse but must have contact with him/her.
#46 Jim, I know nothing about Agee other than what I read in the article this morning, what do you think I was kidding about? Do you know of a way to stop a man who is armed, in a car, and willing to die from doing something without anyone getting hurt? If so, you are wasting time on a blog when you could be instructing police and military personnel.
#51 Kristen, Agee apparently had two shoot outs with the state police afterward. He was willing to kill a lot of others but he was also willing to be killed. If Agee cared about his own safety, he could have called the police after he shot his ex-wife and gave himself up at Sheetz. Stopping a person with that mindset is never easy and almost never happens without others being injured or killed.
Sheriff was an accessory before the fact if there ever was one. Murder was in city of Roanoke, and I hope City will prosecute him as ABF. Dispatcher was also an accessory, but was probably called Sheriff rather that put out a warning because he/she was scared for her job/life of the Sheriff.
When the civil suits start, I suspect Franklin Co. will be sued for allowing a guy like this(Sheriff) to serve.
There are no excuses for this and if something is not done NOW then it is only going to get worst. He did not even address his own deputies about the situation as it was going on and still has yet to address what happened. These poor deputies need a leader and direction, which they have never gotten from him. I just wonder how many others at that office have been pulled into his (many)corrupt politics and are struggling mentally since his time in office. As to Dan’s post, how many votes did he get so we will know how many people need to sign?
I am a Franklin County resident and the sooner we get Barney Fife out of office, the better. This guy is nothing but incompetent and is a threat to all our well-being.
Let this winner know what’s on your mind. He is responsible for killing my niece. There should be no voice unheard in this. It’s time for his reign to end.
Send him a message.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000744577161&ref=ts
Reading the article, it was just 13 minutes that made the difference between life and death for Jennifer Agee. Hunt waited 13 minutes between the time he should have put out the BOLO and the time he actually spoke with the Salem Police Supervisor. This brings home the fact that doing nothing is acting negatively. He sat there for 13 minutes and during that time, Jennifer Agee was shot. This is disgraceful.
As for Agee being unfit for duty – that can’t be denied. Sadly, for Franklin County, Sheriff Hunt is unfit for duty as well.
#57 Had Hunt been a Democrat, suzie would have been all over him.
Newsflash. I had no idea Hunt was a Republican. Nor would I have reason to know. I should have figured, though, with the RT lynching and all.
#65 I’m no Hunt fan, but he was cleared of misdemeanor charges in the record-keeping thing and the voters elected him. Not sure how Franklin Co. could have kept him from serving.
This man (Ewell Hunt) is a disgrace to law enforcement everywhere and should be removed from office at the earliest opportunity. It makes one wonder how many other crimes the citizens of Franklin County have suffered from as a result of this IDIOT!!!!!! People wake up he needs to go, and hopefully to jail for his blantant disregard for the public’s safety.
Agee will have his day when he leaves this world, Jenny is in Heaven looking down over her little girls. With all of that aside lets think about Hunts actions. Cops deal with homicidal / Suicidal people every single day. When you as a cop find out they have left in a car with a gun making threats, the first thing you do is put out a BOL for agencies all around, in this case Vinton, Salem, Roanoke City, Roanoke County, etc. Hunt wouldnt even pass it on to the Officers working Franklin County. He’s going to take care of it own his own,,,,,,news flash Agee hated Hunt just as much as the rest of the department. If Hunt would have tried calling the night before to offer him a pay raise, Agee still wouldnt have answered the phone, why you ask, BECAUSE HE HATED HUNT. So Hunt shouldnt have been the one trying to handle it. If John Doe’s wife would have called and reported the same thing, a teletype would have been sent followed up with calls, but your right Hunt handle it your self. A guy who isnt playing with a full deck and by the way his only hobby is shooting and is a sniper, lets keep that low key.
I hate a innocent girl is dead and state troopers are hurt, could this have been prevented? Well normally in everyday travels to Roanoke you pass at least hmmmm 4 cops? So if local jurisdictions would have been looking for Franklin County Sheriffs brown K9 police car with blacked out windows on this day, just them knowing the situation may have helped them intercept the car and spare an innocent girl her life. But as Agee passed the 3-4 cop cars that day on his way to kill his ex wife, the officers probably waved and didnt think nothing about it because they had no idea. So Ewell Hunt, job well done once again, and to think the safety and lives of Franklin County are in his hands as he is still the man in charge.
it would absolutely been prevented those police cars have gps. they would have know exactly where he was and could have stopped him from killing jennifer. he would have most likly been in a shootout with other officers but not with his exwife
At least the writers from the Roanoke Times are “wasting this crisis” by not advocating more gun control.
It seems like the writers look at a story like this and say “how can I use this to my political advantage”?
Thin Blue Line kills another person. He should sit next to Agee on trial for murder. No surprise though. Cops do what Cops do. Protect themsemves first.
Sheriff Hunt found himself in a position of either protecting life or protecting his Department. Unfortunately he chose to protect his agency at the tragic cost of the life of a mother of two young girls and the shooting of a veteran State Police Officer. There is the real possibilty that had the Sheriff issued a BOLO immediately the tragedies of Memorial Day could have been averted.
Some have stated that “Hindsight is 20/20.” Well as a retired Law Enforcement Officer, I can say that there is no hindsight to look at in this case. There was only one decision to be made and the Sheriff chose not to make it. Whether it was his incompetence or self preservation of the Sheriff that needs to be examined. He did not follow police procedures. Why? Maybe because he has already had enough problems and did not need any new ones. Maybe it is because he knew that the connection between Agee, himself, and his daugther would again be in the spot light. Whatever the reason a young mother has been murdered and a fellow police officer was shot.
This decision should cost the Sheriff his job. Unfortunately he is an elected official and can only be removed from office by the Governor, a recall election, or the next time he comes up for re-election.
There is one other option. Sheriff, RESIGN, because your incompetence has already cost to many lives.
I do not think it could have been handled any WORSE than it was. Sheriff Ewell Hunt needs to be removed from office at once while this is being investigated. I think he is complicit in this and should be prosecuted.
Apologies if I repeat anything from earlier, I’m not reading the whole thread.
While I personally have doubts that this murder could have been prevented (crimes of passion are generally very hard to keep from happening, a close friend of the family was the victim of one, her estranged husband is serving life for her murder), it is absolutely 100% clear that the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, and Sheriff Hunt in particular, absolutely dropped the ball and handled this with callous disregard for the safety of Jennifer Agee and everyone else involved.
He should have immediately authorized the notification to all area law enforcement to be on the lookout for this loose cannon of a deputy, and only after that, then have done his best personal efforts to prevent the situation from happening.
In my mind, he has, at the very minimum, demonstrated gross misconduct and a blatant disregard for the safety of the victim in this case, and has failed to uphold the very minimum standard for being involved in law enforcement.
I fully expect that he will not be representing Franklin County for much longer, and that there will at least be a civil trial brought to the courts due to his apparent negligence. A criminal trial might be harder to bring, but if one occurred, it would not surprise me.
One person needlessly died, kids are now without both parents, and a state trooper was shot. And all because the Sheriff didn’t want more bad publicity. Well, you got more than you bargained for. He should have been removed years ago.
Lori #58, There is no guarantee they could have stopped him. Lots of pursuits go on for long distances. Usually pursuits consist of a line of police cars following the pursued driver. Agee would have been aware of police techniques for ending pursuits and probably wouldn’t have driven over stop strips or similar devices. It’s doubtful the police would have rammed his car or anything similar to stop him since he had not done anything serious yet.
Since the police apparently had no idea he was meeting his ex-wife at Sheetz they probably would have followed in a line right to Sheetz. When he pulled onto the lot they would have thought he had just stopped running. At that point if his ex-wife was on the lot, who knows what would have happened?
Suzie #57, Thanks.
I was in a similar situation Sunday Night. I and My Mom called 911 about 10X because my husband was being abusive. FINALLY after about 30 minutes 1 State trooper FINALLY showed up. I live appoximately 5-7 minutes from police dept. Even though I have bruises head to toe, the trooper said he didn’t see any visible signs of abuse. My husband was drunk and the trooper promised if he walked outside he would arrest him. However, he went outside twice and HE DID NOTHING! My husband verbally threatened to kill me in the presence of the officer and still NOTHING! Memorial Day morning I filed a emergency protective order around 930 AM. He wasn’t served until 3:00! Meanwhile, I was harrassed all day by my Husband. When I called and asked why, they said they were short handed. Meanwhile, I could have been the 2ND VICTIM!
EWELL HUNT HAS BLOOD ON HIS HANDS! Remove him from OFFICE NOW!
“This decision should cost the Sheriff his job. Unfortunately he is an elected official and can only be removed from office by the Governor, a recall election, or the next time he comes up for re-election.”
I imagine he could lose his job if he was arrested for criminal negligence as well.
I wonder where Ashley was during all this.
Okay let’s get one thing straight. No a single one of you that have commented nor I have any idea what it is like to be sheriff. My god, you all are blaming a man that was no where near the shooting of being responsible for the death of this woman. The ONLY MAN RESPONSIBLE FOR THTA IS THE ONE WHO PULLED THE TRIGGER!!!!!!! We have all made bad chooses sometime in life and have all done stupid things and have all tried to protect our own family and that is what the officers are, family. Ewell did what he could, he called and yes he should have put out a BOL but they really had no idea that he was going to Roanoke, they tought Salem! Is everyone missing that. And stop bring up the past about his daughter. Are you all forgetting that is when Overton was in office not Ewell! i support Ewell and don’t care what anyone thinks about it. He has been a good sheriff and has fought with all the BS everyone had thrown at him with face and i respect him and back him 100%. I didn’t see everyone dogging the Martinsville Sheriff when he did what he did and more we probably don’t even know about. Give it a rest people and pray for the families and stop pointing blame on others, only point at the one who pulled the trigger!!!!!!!!!!
Wow, what a story that is developing here. Agee tells his new wife ( a Roanoke sheriffs deputy) he is driving to Roanoke to KILL his ex. She calls 911 why didnt she call someone in Roanoke also? If a BOL had been put out, by Agee driving a marked Franklin County car he would have been spotted and could have been stopped, Hunt at the very least needs to resign or face charges. Agee wanted to die after he killed his wife and it’s just my opinion but if it was me i would have shot him in the head and ended this because if he lives the taxpayers of Va are going to have to support him for the rest of his life, or at least until he is put to death for this. My prayers are going out to the girls who dont have a mom anymore because of this mans actions.
#70 It’s amusing to see what you think is a “lynching” and it says tons about how you interpret what the media writes or airs. A dispassionate look at what the RT wrote this morning shows a completely unbiased and balanced story that put out the facts as they are known at this point. They used public records from the 911 log and gave Hunt a chance to give his reasoning, which he did. They quoted one “expert” at the very end of the story but didn’t dwell on that.
Is that REALLY what you think is a lynching, suzie? If so, you have an extremely skewed view of the media’s job.
JM,
Your situation sounds highly alarming. If I were you, I’d get the hell out of dodge NOW. Don’t wait for the police. Do not stay with this man another minute.
#74 I had forgotten about GPS and the ability to track the car. I also just saw that the wife who called was herself a Roanoke County deputy. The fact that a deputy was reporting this should have made thing even more urgent.
There is no excuse at all for not issuing a BOLO as soon as he knew what was happening. Jennifer Agee could still be alive. I can’t stop thinking about her two children.
Sorry Suzie, “I had no idea Hunt was a Republican” is just not credible (imagine that), and as for being “bothered by the Roanoke Times… swayed an awful lot of people against Mr. Hunt without the benefit of the results of a full investigation. Perhaps all this ire is warranted. Let’s wait for the facts first” that is just laughable from a woman who insisted the fictitious liberal who messed with your bumper sticker should get the maximum efforts of law enforcement brought to bear, or else. Since when are facts, reality and the truth part of your own response system? When have you ever waited to judge anyone? The level of hypocrisy would be stunning if you were anyone else.
Perhaps the rash of new posters had your forgetting you are so well known here.
I’m curious…. why didn’t the “current wife” call and warn the “former wife?”
She knew of the impending threat and could have warned her……
The most tragic thing is a life was lost because of Hunt’s inaction. The fact that a state trooper was shot because of his inaction will do him more harm in the fraternity of law enforcement. You cannot, I repeat cannot, jeopardize another officer’s well-being. He has brought dishonor to his office, his department, his county, and his profession.
How in Gods name can any of the 3 or 4 of you defend his sorry #$$? It baffles me to the core that you could even take a stand for him. Maybe he’s in your pockets. Maybe you’re in his. Any who defend the self serving actions of this man, may you find your way to the burning pits of hell with him.
It seeems to me that Officer Agee did receive preferential treatment in that if me, Joe Public would have been seen getting into a vehicle with an assault rifle and having mentioned “going to kill me ex-wife”, the 911 call would have held alot more weight and law enforcement everywhere would have been notified. For that, Mr. Hunt, you are definetly guilty of, hands down. Everything else will come out in time and hopefully the right course of action will be taken against those that are responsible for this tragedy. And for those who choose to turn this into a political side taking event, shame on you!! That is precisely what is wrong with this country today. Nobody wants to do the right thing, they just want to do what is right for their party, whether it really is the right thing or not to do.
#79 Other John…You have nailed it exactly. Hunt has already been tired to Agee over one bad news story, he certainly didn’t want a second. He thought by keeping it quiet and calling in “favors” from other local law enforcement he could keep this out of the headlines. So question to Hunt…How is that CYA working out for you???
#83 I think you are missing the point he may not have pulled the trigger but EWELL did decide not to follow proper procedure when notified of the possible situation. If someone hangs up on a 911 call do we just forget about it and act like they never called? NO procedure is to send an officer to check on the situation. A simple BOLO should have been issued and if the claims of Agee going to kill his wife were false then life goes on, but since they were true and ignored a woman has lost her life if there is a more ultimate sacrifice please tell me. Ewell Hunt should resign and be charged with accessory to murder for trying to handle it himself.
It wasn’t like the guy was driving a grey Camry. He was driving his official vehicle. How hard is that to find?
JM, Suzie in #85 is actually right. Don’t expect much protection from the police. Get somewhere safe and stay there.
I wonder if his wife sent a text message to Jennifer that her husband was coming after her.
This entire story is absolutely insane and so crazy. What a disaster that could have been prevented “IF” Hunt had done what was right. No, he had to hide it and try to cover his little department and now one woman is dead, her children have no mother and the nutcase that was a deputy not only kills her but gets in a gun battle with the State Police! Just think, he was firing at a gas station…what would have happened if he had struck a pump! Stand down Hunt…you need to pay the price of being a total idiot.
This is such a tragic story of course, and I hate that it happened this way, but I hope and pray (hopefully not in vain) that this will motivate local authorities, courts, etc., to pay more attention to domestic violence complaints. Too many times I’ve been to court and asked, when a protective order is denied, “What do I have to do? Bring you a corpse?” There may not have been any complaints filed in this case, I have no idea–but I know the whole issue is taken too lightly. And as for Boss Hogg, he should be charged with ABF and whatever else the Commonwealth Attorney can come up with. In the 13 minutes that he sat on this info, he could have at least made some attempt to get someone to reach Jennifer–ANYTHING other than NOTHING. I don’t know the specific time line, but I wonder if the state trooper intercepted Agee within 13 minutes of the crime? If so, there’s proof right there that a life could have been saved. I hope something is done so that something positive can at least be slightly associated with this tragedy and perhaps keep it from happening to someone else.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000744577161&ref=ts
~~and to JM~~ definitely GET OUT! There is help out there.
http://www.co.bedford.va.us/Res/Social/Domestic/index.asp
Native: You are correct, Agee is the one who pulled the trigger. But “Sheriff” Hunt is the one who FAILED to do everything in his power to try to prevent this killing. Hunt’s story now is it would have taken too long to issue the BOLO, therefore he chose to call the Salem dispatch center personally. Why could he not have done both? And even if the “Sheriff” thought Agee was going to Salem instead of Roanoke, there are only a few roads that lead from Boones Mill to either Roanoke or Salem. Since you have to pass through Roanoke COunty to get to Salem, why not place a call to the Roanoke County dispatch center?
You are correct, I do not know what it’s like to be Sheriff. Nor do you. And apparently, neither does Euell Hunt. Yes, he holds the office, but that does not mean he knows how to do the job. And of the three of us, he is the one who needs to know.
You say to only point a finger at the one who pulled the trigger. But just as guilty is the one who made it convenient for him to pull it.
#81 (JM) I have had the same experience with Rke County response to protective order violations. After two years of violations last fall I called telling them the person was on my deck after dark banging on the door. It took over 20 minutes for an officer to show up. Then took over 6 weeks for them to arrest him for the violation. Law enforcement in this area seems to consider protective orders a joke. Move! Change your numbers! Get a PO Box and do not use your new street address for anything! Contact the women’s shelter or a lawyer. Do not rely on what amounts to a worthless piece of paper!
As more and more information comes out it become more apparent that Hunt has this women’s and the state trooper’s blood on his hands. Now reports are that the man’s father even called Hunt stating Agee was going after ex-wife. Two family members call in warning and Hunt leaves message!
I can not understand why no one called Jennifer Agee to warn her !!
Whether you like Hunt or not on a personal level, nobody really cares!!! But when it comes to protecting citizens, and I don’t mean just for Franklin County, he has taken a sworn oath and he should of done whatever necessary to protect Jennifer as well as children and this nightmare that they will have to live with for the rest of their lives. This “good ole boy” mentality is for the dogs and his ass should be canned immediately. He didn’t act as a superior, he acted as a friend and for that reason a young woman is dead and her children are motherless!
Re: #86
Once in a while, Suzie does get something right.
Mr Hunt should already be relieved of his duties. Fire him! He obviously doesn’t have the skills to manage an intense, dangerous situation that may involve violence. He wasn’t held accountable for allowing his daughter to play “cop” and now I wonder if he will be held at all accountable for trying to handle THIS “on his own” Apparently, he thinks HE is above the law since proper procedures were obviously not carried out! and he is used to being able to “sweep” incidences under the rug. It’s another example of proffessional courtesy gone overboard! UNBELIEVABLE!
What the heck are you rpeople saying?? You know nothing about this man other than what a newspaper is saying! And they never have all the facts straight on anything! I know for a fact that most of the officers in the FCSD like Hunt and support him so the one who said that they all hated him, you need to shut up before your stick more than just your foot in your mouth! You know nothing about FC! This is a heck of a lot better place to live then Roanoke, SAlem, Vinton or anywhere else. So back off! I vote Hunt! Did before and still will! OVerton will never get my vote because he is even more shady then his dad was!
Seems that not only is Sheriff Hunt liable in this case but also the dispatch. Any other time, if it did not involve another officer wouldn’t you issue a Be on the lookout? Instead, the dispatch decided to contact the sheriff. So if we are going to cast blames, let’s look at all of those involved. Maybe it is time to clean house all the way around.
A grand Jury needs to review the sheriff’s actions and he should be indicted for malfeasance in office.
Sheriff Hunt appears to have been absolutely wrong in the way that he handled the information that he had, but it is crazy to turn this tragedy into being his fault, and not the fault of Deputy Agee who decided that he needed to get an assault rifle, drive to find his ex-wife and shoot her, then run from the cops, then shoot a state cop, then run from the cops some more before being stopped.
Sheriff Hunt didn’t use the information that he had to give area police a chance to stop Agee, but Hunt also isn’t the one who decided that shooting someone was the answer to his problems. Even if Hunt had followed protocol, that still would in no way have guaranteed that the shooting wouldn’t have taken place. But… he should have followed protocol. Protocol isn’t a guarantee of success, but it’s in place to provide the best chance for success.
Sheriff Hunt in my opinion should be removed from the sheriff’s position, but the blame for Jennifer Agee’s death should be squarely placed 100% on Deputy Agee’s head.
POOR EXCUSE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL! HOW MANY RULES DID HE BREAK BY “HANDLING IT HIMSELF”. MAYBE HE SHOULD FIRE HIMSELF LIKE HE FIRED ALAN ARRINGTON FOR NOT FOLLOWING POLICIES OF THE DEPARTMENT. RETIRE ALREADY!!
VRWC you make an assumption that even if a bulletin had been issued they couldnt have stopped him. I assume that Roanoke’s finest would have seen a Franklin county patrol car cruising around and would have.
At the very least it was a chance.
So in your convoluted reasoning they shouldn’t have even tried?
Glass half empty?
There is NO excuse for what that pathetic sheriff did/has done.
#46 Jim, I know nothing about Agee other than what I read in the article this morning, what do you think I was kidding about? Do you know of a way to stop a man who is armed, in a car, and willing to die from doing something without anyone getting hurt? If so, you are wasting time on a blog when you could be instructing police and military personnel.
Don’t even start with the Overton for Sheriff stuff. This is bad. How it was handled is bad and needs to be addressed. How about we look for a new sheriff in November that is truly “new.” Why go down the same old road? Read the dispatch log in the Roanoke Times…I think car 22 needs to be running for Sheriff. He seemed the most on the ball. Sign me up. 22 for Sheriff!
native, while only one person ultimately pulled the trigger, the Sheriff was involved in a chain of abysmal decision making that contributed to the actions taking place. By law, he is partially culpable for his decisions contributing to the murder and shooting.
Had proper notification been made to other law enforcement agencies, they would have had an idea of who to look for, what they were driving, what their intent was, and been at least ready for a potential encounter. Plus, perhaps, the victim could have been notified as well.
It may have all still happened anyway, but there’s no way that Sheriff Hunt is innocent in this whole matter. One does not need to pull the trigger to contribute to a crime taking place.
If you choose to continue supporting Hunt in spite of his rather obvious failure to perform his duties, that’s certainly your prerogative. It makes absolutely no lick of sense though.
#90 Just Curious and #97 greg: I thought the same thing myself. I wonder as well if Agee’s current wife tried to contact Jennifer Agee to tell her about her ex-husband. I would think that she, Agee’s current wife, would have a contact number for Jennifer Agee, because of the child custody situation.
Sad times for everyone. How is the kids doing?
#112 Jim, how do you stop him if he doesn’t want to stop? Apparently the state police had to ram his car after he was wanted for murder to stop him. Until he shot his wife he hadn’t committed a crime. Would you have a sniper shoot him as he is driving north on 220? You might, but the police don’t operate that way. They would have tried to stop him with a traffic stop or maybe by calling him on the radio or phone. If he didn’t stop they would have pursued him. If he drove to Sheetz, they would have no idea his ex-wife was going to be there.
I never said they shouldn’t try to stop him. I just said there is no guarantee that anything would be different and that a confrontation between Agee and the police at Sheetz potentially could have resulted in a number of injuries/deaths. If you have never had any experience with guns, get someone to show you a video of what a rifle like Agee was using will do to cars/buildings etc. There is little “cover” against a rifle like that, about the best one could hope for on the Sheetz lot would be “concealment.”
Surprised? I’m not. It’s the “good ol’ boy” system that is any law enforcement agency.
The kids are effectively made orphans. I cannot imagine a scenario under which they’d be doing very well.
Haven’t the people of Franklin County had enough? Aren’t they smart enough to stand up and call for the kind of change that will restore dignity, pride and confidence to county government? Get some backbone people and let your voices be heard.
Where is Cuccinelli when you need him? McDonnell, since you have the power to remove him from office, can you?
Perhaps Agee needed to be eliminated and Hunt’s “poor judgement” wasn’t poor at all. Could this have been Hunt’s way to get rid of a problem?
You’re right VRWC, in that we don’t know whether his ex-wife would still be alive if other jurisdictions had been notified. The fact is though that no one was notified until after the murder happened. Sheriff Hunt didn’t follow proper procedure which is in place for a reason. That is inexcusable.
Just tha good ol’ boys… never meanin’ no harm…
(Dan — This is not spam. This is totally on-topic.)
I would hope that would not be his way to get rid of a problem, Daisy. I don’t think the man’s judgement is that demented.
Being the widow of a career police officer, I gained a lot of experience and still consider myself one of the police “family”. I know that in some situations the brotherhood “takes care of it’s own”, and it’s appropriate. However, this situation was NOT one of them. Hunt, upon receiving that phone call, should have IMMEDIATELY contacted the local PD. A woman’s life was lost, and others were endangered.
Hunt failed to follow procedure and a woman is dead, two children now without parents. No right-minded person can defend the sheriff’s actions, period. If anybody has the power to do so, Hunt should be relieved of duty before the sun goes down today.
What the heck is going on in Franklin County? What kind of law do they have down there? The whole Sheriff’s office appears to be incompetent and/or corrupt and at least one of their deputies looks like a nutcase who should have been weeded out before he went on a shooting rampage and then tries to commit “suicide by cop”. Is there no accountability at all to the people? The State AG needs to act now to clean up this mess! If you live in Franklin County, be afraid! Be very afraid!
#85 And Kristen…..I forgot to put in my post….I live in FRANKLIN COUNTY!
Becki,
Hunt did contact the Salem PD — and he left a message. The issue here is that before he did that, he canceled an order to issue a be on the lookout.
Hunt has done nothing but protect himself and his buddies the whole time he has been in office! If you arent in his back pocket you are nothing… Cant even get a hello out of him in public! This is a sad tragic story that shows that everything in that office is run by him! He did not do his job and should be help accountable for it! He got off the hook with the last scandal concerning his daughter, but this is on a whole other level! We cant be for sure if the shootings would have occured or not, but he is responsible for the notifications not going out to the other counties! He has blood on his hands! Dont know how well he is sleeping at night but I hope his conscience keeps him awake!! I have lived here all my life and I know no administration has been perfect by no means, but this has to end somewhere and I say it should end immediately!! He should do himself and this community a favor and resign!! Many of his own deputies have NO respect for him and many of the residents dont either!
https://www.facebook.com/resignhunt
The service for Ms. Agee isn’t until tomorrow. There will be plenty of time for blame later on.
A well regulated militia strikes again.
Here you have an extremely well-trained gun owner with a legally owned weapon. And yet, contrary to what the gun lobby would have us believe, it gets used by its owner in the commission of murder and shooting an officer. He was not at all detered by the prospect of life in prison or the death penalty. He did not think twice about the possibility of an armed citizen with a concealed weapon thwarting his crime.
Nope. He got worked up enough to contemplate killing someone and reached for the easiest way to do it. A legal instrument of terror and death — a good old American assault rifle.
Agee pulled the trigger, of course. But the gun lobby put that rifle in his hands.
I sincerely hope our Governor is watching this situation closely. Hunt made his biggest mistake when he let Agee get out of his jurisdiction. Up to that point, he might have been successful at sweeping it under a rug, but Agee committed crimes in three jurisdictions, including shooting a State Trooper and exchanged fire with more VSP officers. Now the VSP and the other jurisdictions will be investigating every little thing involving Deputy Agee, on the job and off the job. They will investigate the divorce and the actions of the judge in the child custody cases. They will dig up all the dirt. The dirty laundry will be aired in public. The Thin Blue Line won’t know you and the good ol’ boy network won’t save your hide when you take the rampage to other jurisdictions and you shoot fellow officers. Not a one of the Good Ol’ Boys will know either Deputy Agee or Sheriff Hunt after this.
I think the State Police should come in and take over the FCSD. They need to open every file and talk to all employees, including the janitor. Then, the Circuit Court should remove Hunt from office.
This brings up troubling questions about the 911 system. Why was a Franklin County Sheriff able to cancel a reported crime in progress(homicide)alert for the Roanoke valley? The 911 operator should have immediately contacted the State Police for this multi-jurisdictional incident. We pay good money for all of these services (911 and Sheriffs) – they failed.
Vote Hunt out Franklin County!!! The “good ol’ boy” mentality has to end at some point. Even he thought his phone call could have made a difference he still should have followed procedure. I think FC deserves a change.
Why didn’t Agee’s current wife notify the Salem PD or at least her own department’s dispatcher? Why not alert the ex that she might be in danger? She pretty much let her husband ride right into the jurisdiction she was sworn to protect armed and dangerous. You can’t get to Salem or the city of Roanoke coming from Franklin County without going through Roanoke County. I wonder what her supervisors and the citizens of Roanoke County think about that?
He needs to be fired. He wasted time that may have saved her life. Stand up and call for him to resign or be fired. Hunt is a disgrace. What does Jenn’s family have to say?
In general, one never knows the consequence of the road not traveled. So, it is actually impossible to know what would have happened if Hunt had actually put out an all point bulletin with 15 minutes until it happened. Maybe, the police try to crash the deputy’s car and he drives off faster in another direction, hits a car and kills 3 people. The point is you just don;t know…. and you don;t know if an all point bulletin would have saved anyone’s life.
However, it does appear that the sherrif (in an election year) was trying to keep it hush hush and handle it that way which is very self-serving. Whether anyone’s life wa slost due to that, we can never really know.
what is the point of having 911 if there is a gatekeeper you have to go thru to get the police called?
I am a law enforcement officer and I wish to respond to the comment about law-enforcement protecting its own or the good ol boy system. No dedicated law-enforcement officer would defend the decisions made by the sheriff. The first duty of all law-enforcement officers is to serve and protect, and their is no hindsite needed to know Sheriff Hunt made the wrong decision and should be held accountable. God Bless the families involved in this tragedy.
@ ChrisH–this guy was a police officer! He had access to many guns due to his job as an enforcer of the law. The gun lobby didn’t put a gun in his hands; a service weapon comes with the job. Are you suggesting that the police not carry weapons? The criminals would really love that, because they will always find a way to own a gun with which to commit crimes. Gun laws only affect the law-abiding citizen. They matter not one whit to criminals.
It is a damn shame that a poor little girl has to live with seeing her mother killed right in front of her own eyes all because our SO Called leader Hunt decided to take the situation into his own hands. There are proto calls on everything and he failed to use those and he should be removed from office, after all he has been a screw up from day one and has not helped the county other than getting his name in the paper for all the bad things that happen involving him and his daughter. How do you justify trying to call a man that is in route to kill his x wife thinking he will really answer your call come on now Hunt must really be even stupider than I thought. I feel sorry for the family who has lost a love one and the VA state troopers that are involved when this whole situation could have been handled properly and none of this may have not occured…..FIRE HIS ASS AND CHARGE HUNT CAUSE HE IS JUST AS GUILTY AS THE SHOOTER!!!! He has been a failer to Franklin County since day one and does not deserve to keep his job NO QUESTIONS asked….the remaining pay he is scheduled to get should go to the poor family who has to suffer due to his ignorance! Wounder if Hunt sleeps at night knowing a inocent child is sleepless at night after watching her mother be KILLEED IN COLD BLOOD because one man chose to take thing into his own hands…..Hunt you should be ashamed and give your postion up willing without a fuss or anything…..Thank god Overton will be back in office soon and maybe he can fix all of Hunts screw up and get our county back to what it should be! My prayers and thought to the families involved.
He called The Salem PD and left a message to be called back. That didn’t happen until 15 minutes later. 15 minutes of wasted time.
@Comment by Robert Wilson — June 1, 2011 @ 4:21 pm
USDA Robert Wilson?
There will be a Petition for Removal from Office circulating soon. If you are a registered voter in Franklin County please make it your business to sign it. This inept buffoon has got to go.
@#132 “A legal instrument of terror and death — a good old American assault rifle.”
For God’s sake. It was NOT an assault rifle. I don’t know why ever media outlet has repeated that inaccuracy. The search warrant made clear it was a semi-automatic, not a fully automatic, and an “assault rifle” is by definition fully automatic. And which is illegal to possess without a federally issued permit.
And this “extremely well-trained gun owner with a legally owned weapon” was a law enforcement officer. The only members of society other than the military that we’re supposed to trust to have guns.
@#138 “Whether anyone’s life wa slost due to that, we can never really know.”
I strongly disagree. Even if, in the what-if scenario of his car crashing and killing three people, that doesn’t change the fact that Sheriff Hunt’s actions cost Jennifer Agee HER life. He didn’t follow procedure, so there was zero chance that her ex-husband would be prevented from killing her by the police. If he had followed procedure, at least they would have been given the opportunity to try to stop him.
I hope her family sues the pants off of him and he dies bankrupt….even though that could never ever make up for their tragic loss.
This is standard operating procedure for the police. They take care of their own. It also coincides with my theory of getting the police to act. Police act under these very few circumstances:
1. The victim is a cop (or family member)
2. There is a fine or asset forfeiture possible
3. There is an opportunity for publicity
4. There is a chance to kick someone’s ass
Otherwise, they show up and take a report
#132 ChrisH, with all due respect, this is not about an average citizen using a gun, please don’t turn this into a debate about guns. This was a professional law enforcement officer who snapped due to reasons that have yet to come to light. The gun lobby has nothing to do with putting the gun in his hands as he is/was a law abiding citizen who also served the public and could LAWFULLY own and possess a fire arm, according to that little thing in the Constitution called the Second Amendment.
I own weapons for both sport and personal protection, but it takes a completely different state of mind to (since no conviction exists currently) allegedly commit murder in cold blood and then attempt what can only assumed as suicide by cop. Is your alternative is to have the brave Public Servants use night sticks against drug dealers with firearms?
In this time of turmoil and sorrow within our great region, please refrain from turning your anti-gun spew upon everyone. That debate can be taken up at a later date.
As far as Sheriff Hunt, I will await the VSP report prior to passing judgement. If that report doesn’t come out in time for the Republican primary here in my county, my voice will be heard there, if not in November at the latest.
@146 You need to re-learn the definition of Assault Rifle.
Franklin County is a bunch of good old boys… The Board of Supervisors should hold an emergency session and immediately fire him… They won’t though as this is Franklin County… Maybe we should ask Hunt’s 18-year-old daughter what to do??
Someone should explain to Sheriff Hunt that the “good ole boy” network he obviously subscribes to is no longer in service…as the mother of a 17 year old I am appalled he defended this man who was inappropriately alone with his daughter in the first place and then this ignorance of “make the call myself” is a load of crap leading to what could have been a preventable tragedy.
Mentally ill and guns.
Guns and mentally ill.
These circumstances play out daily and as long as we fail society by failing to require extensive
mental evaluation before ANYONE can own a gun, we have no one to blame but ourselves. Well,
actually, we CAN BLAME the greedy gun lobby, the blood-money of the gun manufacturers and
all of the “Americans” who blindly believe in the right to own a gun no matter what. Well guess
what? We have a moral responsibility to make it impossible for people with mental illness to ever
get their hands on guns—regardless of their status as police officer, college student, military
personel or anyone else.
Does anyone have a decent count of the gun-banners on this thread? Just curious. I’d have expected more of that than what I see posted so far.
Those who forget history will be condemned to repeat it.
Folks how far before 1930 im not sure…but read a few excerpts
from The Moonshine Conspiricy Trial..Keister Greer.
From that and some of his relatives a movie is about to be made of our fathers and grandfathers. The seeds of this have been sown for generations. I for one am damned aware of it. I have seen it with embarrassment for my entire life..thankfully for the last 30 years from afar as well. Its been nearly a master /slave mentality and selective prosecution for generations. A lot of you folks are just fine with that as long as you are on the good old boys side. Throw off your chains let some sunshine in. That Hunt be gone is REALLY a question? In my mind the federal government sorely needs to step in and investigate the hell out of this..and see how long this has been going on. AND as far as another Overton? I hope to God you dont repeat that same ugly mistake as well
JM #81, Edie Skye #99 and Rke Native #102 all raise a very serious issue. The justice system in this nation, from law enforcement to judges, do not take domestic abuse as seriously as events prove they should. Say what you want, these things do not happen out of a clear blue sky and warning signs are ALWAYS available to anyone willing to look for them. Too often the abused, the police and the courts make excuses and allowances for the perpetrator in domestic violence cases and it needs to stop.
Someone I love holds it against me to this day that I advised his soon to be wife to take their child and run. He never has seen his child again to this day (20+ years later) and sad as that is, it remains the correct decision.
Please do not take abuse! NO ONE deserves to be hurt, not verbally and not physically. Go to a shelter, get an advocate and stand up for yourself, take the children and run. Run as far and as fast as you need to. NOTHING is worse than living in an abusive relationship or watching your mother live in one. Fear is not as powerful as courage, it is just easier.
Where to Get Help
Godspeed!
ChrisH, you’re so funny. The gun lobby put the gun in his hands. Hehe. If it hadn’t been that rifle it would have been the one that the TAXPAYERS put in his hands.
One must remember policy is written as wanted in Franklin County,my case in point is with the other K9 cop who murdered the last person killed by the Sheriffs Dept during a domestic dispute.(One would think when an officer arrives at a domestic dispute and a gun has been brandished that the first thing the officer should do is take possession of the gun instead of sitting down talking to the 2 involved in the domestic dispute for several minutes before shooting one of the involved 13 times.)Both the FCSD and RMPD have alot of people talking about them right now….Lets hope Ken Cuccinelli has both investigated.
@JP: “Why didn’t Agee’s current wife notify the Salem PD or at least her own department’s dispatcher?”
911 is the fastest way to notify another jurisdiction. It would be much faster for them to contact Salem PD than it would be for you to look it up and call the non-emergency number, which is what would be listed.
Uh, FC resident, don’t hold your breath waiting for Ken Cuccinelli to investigate this. KC acts when it’s in his political self-interest. He has made great hay from suiing UVa, and the EPA, the Department of Health and Human Services. All of that has made him a Tea Party hero on a national level.
There no percentage for him in this mess. It’s way, way too small-fry.
Extremely sad. By the grace and mercy of the good Lord above do we wake up everyday. Let the VSP system work it out…..and some of you need to be careful what you wish for.
joe@6:34
Keister Greer’s book is a fascinating read. And you are absolutely correct in that it nails the good ‘ole boy system of justice that old time Franklin County residents have been accepting and putting up with for at least a hundred years. The moonshine economy and the corruption that it fostered became a way of life that has been difficult to root out. Many of my ancestors were from Franklin County and I have heard many stories from folks who are now long gone about how things were in the 20′s
30′s and beyond.. All this doesn’t say that this tragic incident was
caused by that system but it does say that the way it was handled by Sheriff Hunt and the way previous issues with this deputy were handled are good examples of the vestiges of the old time attitude.
Sorry..to correct some of my previous..
The Film as most may know is “Wettest County…”
And the writer of the novel from which it comes
is of course Matt Bondurant.
Bondurant used much of the material from Keister Greers
book as research for his novel.
The point is law enforcement was hellish in the 1920-s and 30-s.
Father to son to friend..and so life has gone.
I can only hope that the film puts some emphasis on this
to at least give the county a chance to see what it has looked like
over the years. I pray the film gets the guts of what life has been like for the many that werent inside the good ole boy network.
If I had the money I would sue Hunt on behalf of the girls. They are without a mother because he is so stupid. He should be fired immediately.
Hunt was a “detective” before he became Sheriff. Our child was dealt drugs in the county and we called Hunt to have a private convo’ about these drug dealers and to turn them in, name by name. We left messages after messages and he NEVER called us back!!! Well, DUH!!!! One of the dealers is a cops son, so guess why he wouldnt return out calls????
We got our kids out of that crooked county and away from the political BS they call justice. HA! Hunt better resign………..maybe he can spend time bailing out his cop buddy’s son for drug distribution and manufacturing!! (He isn’t hard to find, he deals at the high school and Ferrum college, and drives a brand new $50,000 truck yet doesn’t have a REAL job)………you know who you are A**hole!!
And this all boils down to one thing………Hunt was protecting a murdering, lying cop, NOT the dead ex-wife, so his department won’t be sullied again…. and for this, a young mother died!! Hunt is complicit in this tragedy and should be fired and then tried in a court of law.
good ridence to an overfed “good ol’ boy”, Hunt!!!!
EdofH, I’m an inveterate “gun-banner” and to me that’s not the issue here. I’ve never advocated banning guns from the military or law enforcement, so this wouldn’t work for me.
Sorry Suzie, “I had no idea Hunt was a Republican” is just not credible
Why would I know the party of the sheriff in Franklin County where I do not live? Quick, Sandi. What party is the sheriff of Montgomery County? Floyd County? Craig County? Giles County? You have no idea in hell.
Both the Sheriff and the Dispatcher made serious mistakes and must face the consequences. Take the fact that Mr. Agee was a deputy out of the equation. If this had been any other citizen, what is the proper protocol when a person threatens intent to murder and leaves with a weapon. In these cases is it acceptable for a dispatcher to delay help by calling to talk it over with the Sheriff? The fact is, the dispatcher and the Sheriff both breached protocol and a life has been lost because of it. If this were any other profession, they would both be immediately suspended without pay pending a full investigation from an unbiased, outside source. Why isn’t that happening here?
I am horrified to hear that Sheriff Hunt handled Monday’s tragedy in such a negligent way. A young mother is dead and a trooper is injured – both of which MAY have been prevented had Sheriff Hunt not tried to cover up and protect one of his own. I am embarrassed to say that I voted for Sheriff Hunt, because of his impressive skills as an investigator and his extensive law enforcement experience. I have been dissappointed in Sheriff Hunt since he stepped foot in office and promoted and hired his “good ol’ boys” that helped him in his election. Those same “good ol’ boys” have caused him quite a bit of trouble. It is time Franklin County elects a SHERIFF who promotes good morals and ethics. One that does not tolerate extra-marital affairs within his department. One who does not promote his friends and love interests. One who hires and promotes based on experience, education and moral turpitude. One that does not cover up wrong doing and who upholds the law regardless of who your father is, how much money you make and where you work. We need a leader who instills and models a good work ethic and ensures that people who do their job are rewarded and people that don’t – are reprimanded. Must importantly – we need someone who spends time listening to the citizens, validates/investigates their complaints, communicates with their staff and supervises their department.
Sheriff Hunt needs to step down. It is the least he could do in this terrible situation.
God Bless the families and the law enforcement community that have been affected by this tragedy. May justice be served.
And to “FC resident” – don’t even try to compare the acts of Deputy Hodges to the current situation at hand. If you know ANYTHING about law enforcement, you would know that domestic disputes are the most dangerous situation that law enforcment officers handle. The deputy in that case had no other option (as a gun was pulled on both him and another person) and he followed appropriate protocol. He IS NOT a cold blooded killer and will live with the memory of that day for the rest of his life. He had one second to make a life or death situation and the public had the rest of their lives to judge him for it. THAT IS NOT THE CASE WITH THE SITUATION AT HAND. Lets not categorize all law enforcement as bad. The majority of them risk their life daily for our safety – and for very little compensation. Sheriff Hunt’s mistake should not represent law enforcement as a whole.
How this man ever became a Sheriff is a mystery to me. If he doesn’t resign, which would be the right thing to do, he should be fired and sent to jail along with all else involved. The pain and suffering of Ms. Agee and her family cannot be measured, this could have easily been prevented, and it is criminal that it wasn’t.
I totally agree with most of those who have commented. There is a law enforcement BOL that should have taken place the minute 911 was dispatched. Ewell Hunt should have followed the same protocal. Had 911 dispacther and Hunt took action (BOL) immediately the guy would have never made it all the way from Boones Mill North 220 to Sheetz. They all need prayer for the devastation of the families the children what they are going to have to face, it’s sad, all because BOL protocal was not followed through properly.
Thoughts and prayers going out to the family and friends of Jenifer Agee, and thankful Sgt. Brannock will survive
“Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted”
Hunt should finally stand up and be a man and resign. THen negligence charges should be brought on him. Hey Hapgood, are you reading this? How about doing YOUR job for once? This is just one more case of Franklin County law enforcement trying to live outside/above the law. I’ve seen it first hand, many times. RMPD and FCSD, being as integrated as they are “professionally” and personally, all act like they are above normal protocol and expected behavior. If it smells dirty, its dirty, and that’s not just moonshine smoke on the wind. A woman is lost now, to her children, to her family and friends. All because one Sheriff thought he could ride solo into the sunset. Wake up Hunt. Your “law enforcement” days are over.
Jeanette – I’m not so sure I would blame the Dispatcher for anything. The so-called Sheriff (term used quite loosely) asked for the supervisor on duty and did not relay a reason to dispatch. I totally agree with you that it would have been handled differently – Let’s face it – Franklin Co Sheriff believes he is always been above the law – acts innocent with a teen brat who he couldn’t control and let’s not forget the loosely run sheriff’s office there – so his “superior than thou” attitude resulted in a young woman being killed – two daughters without their mother forever – one forever scarred and YES I’m sure a civil libel suit would be warranted for the monetary protection of the two young children who now have neither parent to provide for them just don’t let him guide them into adulthood – he obviously did not do a good job with his own child but I’m sure he could pay for these orphaned children’s upbringing and college. Welcome to the real world Sheriff – you should be held responsible for the judgement call. From the time you received the first phone call to the time that ignorant deputy hit the roanoke county line – think of the amount of officers from Franklin Co., Roanoke County and Roanoke City, that could have stopped him had they known to be looking for him. Anyone else would be immediately terminated for there position – which is what should exactly happen to you – Franklin Co. is not safe with you as a leader.
If Ewell Hunt had half a brain he would step down immediately. I read the 911 call sheet and could not believe my eyes. CAR 1 will handle it? That’s dispatch talk for THE SHERIFF: CAR ONE. That’s also code talk for try to fly under the radar. Well CAR ONE did a lousey job of handling the situation in my opinion. CAR ONE did a lousey job policing his own daughter as she terrified the employees of the FCSO. CAR ONE apparently does not know the word NEPOTISM. CAR ONE needs to step down pronto.
Result of CAR ONE taking care of things personally: delayed response, a dead victim, a wounded state trooper, traumatized onlookers, terrified citizens, a cost to the taxpayers for the response and investigation that could run into tens if not hundreds of thousands of our tax dollars!
EWELL HUNT: YOU WILL HUNT…for a new job. I just hope and pray it’s not in law enforcement.
And just to think how effective the BOLO would have been… VERY. It’s not like they were issuing a BOLO for a silver Honda Civic or something… it was a POLICE CAR from a DIFFERENT CITY/COUNTY.
If they had said we are watching for a Franklin County police vehicle in Roanoke or Salem, it would have stuck out like a sore thumb. That probably would have been one of the more successful BOLOs.
Sheriff Ewell Hunt had issues with Johnathan Agee long before this incident and he handled them just as poorly. He had plenty of warning about this deputy and ignored them. If he had handled this situation properly, Jennifer Agee would likely be alive today. The Sheriff was negligent and should be prosecuted and have to pay damages. The fact that he should be removed from his position is a given.
Where is the freaking Franklin Co BOS?
#167 Hunt has been in the news a lot in the past 18 months, suzie, and because he beat the son of a long-time Democrat and sheriff, Quint Overton, for the job. That’s why I knew his party and why I’m sure a number of other people here do.
Gov Bob McDonnell and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli should have a task force investigate any wrong doing by Sheriff Hunt and the entire Salem dispatch department. Proceduces have to be followed at all times even if causes inconviencs to the public. Better to be safe than sorry.
Please remember that we should continue to support our police as it was them who put their lives on the line against this “rouge cop” to prevent further damage. Most law enforcement do their duty day in and day out. I hoped this task force will see that Hunt, Agee, and any other parties to be held responisble to the fullest extent of any laws as due. May justice prevail.
Check out:
http://tinyurl.com/3nbzxsr
Didn’t imply you were Kristen. =) I agree; it’s *not* the issue here.
But invariably when something horrible like this happens, so many of the anti-gun folks begin salivating at the thought of another opportunity to start banning guns. I didn’t post all day long, mostly because I expected that would be the case. I’m pleasantly surprised, that it seems mostly confined to ChrisH’s post at 4:11, and the smattering of responses. I liked the post by the person who identified himself as a police officer at 4:51 best. That pretty much said it all.
Same story posted on RT at 9:52PM
Why didn’t Julie Angel, a deputy herself, call Jennifer Agee and warn her? The reports state that she knew of his intent and called 911. She had received text messages- so she had the cell number for Agee.
http://www.thefranklinnewspost.com/article.cfm?ID=19281
So Hunt is not going to step down? While he tries to protect the “good ol’ boys” in his little department, perhaps the Governor will throw him in jail. Justice…where is it? Not in Franklin County and not in Roanoke so far…somebody please do something that is right in this case.
It is an absolute disgrace he did not do the proper protocol. He could have prevented this innocent woman from dying as well as her child WATCHING the whole situation unfold. No One thinks of anyone but themselves. Now this child has to suffer the Rest of her life remembering her father Killing her mother in front of her. Mr. Hunt needs to be put in jail himself because in my opinion it is a crime NOT to report the threat of Mr. Agee. Shameful!!
If this had been me, a Joe Blow citizen, would Sheriff Hunt tried to reach me on my cell phone before he let the the 911 system do what we pay for every month? I think not!!! My prayers are with all the families involved, I can not imagine what they are going through including Mr. Hunt. Ignorance is BLISS!!!!!
Sorry, I am retired Law Enforcement and I would have to say Franklin County get ready for the Law Suit of a life time. The dispatcher did what they needed to do. Sheriff made a big mistake by not taking it serious enough to put our the BOL himself. The man’s own father called, most parents would not call unless it was an Emergency. I started LE in 1978 Sheriff Barber would have never let something like this happen. WE ARE ALL A THREAT just like the citzens we serve. We have problems just like anyone else!
Any public servant has twice the likely hood of hurting a love one. Just like our military we see and experience things that no human should have too. I myself suffer from PTSD and nearly lost my job because of it. EVERY POLICE OFFICER OR IF YOU KNOW ONE SHOULD READ “COP SHOCK”.
Like the president it takes alot to get a Sheriff out. HUNT you should be put on Adm Leave without pay, no way should the citizens of the Commonwealth SHOULD PAY YOUR REITEMENT OR HAZARDOUS DUTY PAY. YOU KNEW WHAT WAS EXPECTED OF YOU! PEOPLE OF FRANKLIN SHOULD LOOK UP TO YOU, NOT DOWN AND THEY HAVE DONE THAT A LOT LATELY.
I am so thankful that more law enforcement were not hurt or killed.
In my career I have held the hand of Terry Griffith and Scott Hylton as they died. God answered prayers that no other officer had to do this May 30, 2011. No thanks to Sheriff Hunt.
Just embaressed to live in FC
Just for the record, the sheriff is an elected official. Demanding he be fired, or suspended, is pointless, as only the voters can fire him in November. Did anyone on this board study government in school?
I just know Sheriff Hunt is an experienced law enforcer and a man of integrity, so I believe he deserves the benefit of the doubt regarding decisions he made in this case, pending the outcome of the investigation.
Could this had been prevented? Yes, we as taxpayers pay toooo much money for the technology, training, and leadership we have today in our public safety system (that works 95% of the time when used on “non-employees”).
Should Hunt be removed and charged because his lack of concern for the people he was elected to protect? Yes!
But REALLY…..come on people! Who are we kidding? We’ll sit back and watch as the “good ole boys, over in da big house”……do the exact same thing! Protect their own! Hunt won’t be charged or removed…. “He was going above the call of duty by handling it himself”. If you’re in, you’re protected!
They’re a family from top to bottom! It tickles up and down!
My sympathy to the Carter family
Emma, read earlier in the thread. Citizens can petition the Circuit Court to remove a local constitutional officer from office for neglect of duty. There are certain requirements — in this case it would take 1,545 signatures of registered voters.
It is a mournful thing when one’s judgment becomes so clouded that any other consideration could get in the way of protecting a life. God help us all learn from this horrible incident and become better people who make better communities for the common good.
Oh come on, defenders of Sheriff Hunt. It’s a bad soap opera. His teenage daughter goes on stakeouts and drug busts with this deputy? Then the deputy divorces his wife and married another officer? Then he goes back and forth between his ex-wife and new wife? Then he goes off the deep end and drives off in a rage intending to kill his ex-wife, while the Sheriff is “handling it” himself with phone calls to Agee and some of his buddies? Yeah, he handled it really well: dead ex-wife, wounded state trooper, and Hunt says he did nothing wrong? Of course not, he never does anything wrong (so he says), and the citizens of Franklin County think this whole sad soap opera is fine??? Good grief!
My point above is that gun advocates typically extoll the virtues of concealed-carry as a deterrent to gun violence. They usually insist that legally-owned weapons are rarely used in acts of violence. And they argue that, gun owners who are educated in the safe use of firearms are much less likely to kill someone with them. The events on Memorial Day run counter to these arguments. As a proud advocate for sensible gun regulation, and as the owner of three firearms of my own, I believe we as a nation ignore these plain and simple facts at our ultimate peril.
From what Ive seen here In the way of opinions I think 1600 signatures would be easily gathered right in front of the Sheriff’s office during business hours before noon tomorrow. If he wants to spare people he-ll step down now. Is this guy so out of touch that he thinks the county line holds the kind of invisable boundries that it did in the 20-s and 30-s. You politicians who use your wet fingers to see which way the current political winds are blowing better get off your asses and get in front of this one. Youve sat in the back seat and let this thing spin totally out of control..doing nothing is a silent head nod of acceptance and business as usual .
Good Thursday column, Dan.
What a tragic chain of events. While the murder may or may not have been prevented had the sheriff made the “right” call (BOLO), I believe he is negligent in his failure to make that call and wait for “personal” contact. I wonder if Franklin County dispatchers are under his orders not to put out BOLOs without calling him first? From a protocol standpoint, the responsibility to issue the BOLO should have been that of the dispatcher who took the 911 call. But we don’t know what protocols (if any) the sheriff instructed his department to follow. Yes, hindsight is 20/20 at times, however, is this not another example of how a law enforcement agency’s “chief” made an errant decision in that he (they) could best handle the situation and waited while things unfolded tragically? (Think Va. Tech police) Bottom line, Sheriff Hunt should be held accountable.
Can the citizens of Franklin County file a class action lawsuit against the Sheriffs Dept ? We don’t feel safe. Even posting on here, Ewell Hunt could read this and have us killed.
ChrisH post #198,
Gun grabbers/sensible gun control advocates always extoll the virtues of more training for those that wish to carry concealed. Just ask Dan, he has written enough about Virginia gun owners with no hands on training.
They also want better back ground checks and testing.
Just in case you are not getting it, this Law Enforcement officer had all of the above. He still wanted to kill someone and he did. Gun control would not have stopped him. A law against murder did not stop him. Loosing his life, family, job, retirement, etc… etc… did not stop him. I would take a wild guess if he did not have access to a gun that would not have stopped him either.
After covering crime as a reporter, I know there’s a desire among law enforcement agencies to handle things in-house. However, this sheriff’s actions were negligent. He should’ve immediately issued an APB noting the deputy was in his cruiser and reportedly armed with an assault rifle and his alleged intentions and destination. If this deputy heard the APB on his own radio, would it have influenced his decision-making? We’ll never know.
I too am watching all this from afar, but am still a Franklin Co. resident, and I have known all these people for years except for Johnathon’s new wife. I wonder when anyone is going to ask the question “Why did Johnathon’s new wife call the Franklin Co. police when she worked for the Salem police herself, knew he was headed that way to find Jennifer, but yet she called Franklin Co. instead. And when she hung up the phone with them, why not call Salem or Roanoke police??? I don’t think Sheriff Hunt was covering for Johnathon nearly as much as she was trying to. She knew how mad he was, she was there, she knew he was taking a rifle and going to kill her, but yet she didn’t think it was serious enough to call the police where Jennifer could be found and warned???????? I’m not accusing her or anyone else for this except for Johnathon, he pulled the trigger, he had the anger, and to kill Jennifer right in front of his oldest daughter, he must have snapped for sure. I’ve known him and his parents since before he was born, he was a sweet little boy, and he had the most loving, wonderful parents, but life takes us on different paths than we plan sometimes, and the only thing anyone else is guilty of is not getting him some type of counseling to help him deal with what ever he had going on with Jennifer. There will never in a million years, be another Sheriff like Quincy Overton, not even Billy will be “Our Quincy”, he was truly one of a kind, and probably the greatest Sheriff Franklin County will ever know, so Ewell or no one else will ever be free from this harsh judgment, without all the facts! And ALL the facts is something the public will probably never know. But I do know Ewell well enough to know that if he thought for one minute this would end this way, he would have handle things differently. And please stop all the name calling of his daughter, do YOU ALL know every single thing your teenage children are doing all the time?? He thought they were working, and maybe he didn’t even know she was with Johnathon. Let’s stop with all judgment on these people and let the police get all the facts. And spend our time praying for these families, Jennifer’s children, her parents and family, and Johnathon’s parents and family. If his wife didn’t feel the need to call her own police department, then maybe Ewell didn’t feel the need to handle this another way. It’s not hard to figure out his wife and Ewell both were trying to save Johnathon’s career and thought he WOULD NEVER do this horrific thing, and I am sure now, wish they had instead been trying to save Jennifer’s life. When the media starts printing every single thing they hear, fact or not, it is easy to start forming opinions that may not be correct, let’s give these people time to get the facts right and then seek fair judgment on the ones involved, and have those facts lead to the fair justice for all involved and final peace for Jennifer’s family, and Johnathon’s family. And punish those who were at fault in any way for Jennifer’s death. DCH
It just gets worse and worser. If Hunt can’t take the word of the wife, who is also a police officer, as to the seriousness of the emergency at hand, then the call from the father should be enough to convince him that his deputy is out of control and needs to be stopped. A father would not call the sheriff if he did not think his son is really going to carry out the threat of violence.
Let’s get a couple of things straig. Don’t be talking about us Franklin County people like we are idots. He did what he could with the info provided and did it as fast as he could. Why didn’t the wife call Ronoake or Salem herself. She works over there so you know she has the dispatch number straight to them. And doesn’t anyone think it is a litle fishy that she was getting text messages from Jennifer about her husband and her having a relationship? Yet she says that they were having heated arguements on the phone. If I am messing around then I am not fighting with the one I am messing around with. Did anyone ever think that mabye Jennifer was trying to break them up so she could get the other kid back and have him pay her child support? What kind of mother doesn’t pay child support when by law has been ordered to. Ther is a lot more to this story that is not adding up. Ewell did what he could with what he had at the time. I quote:But smaller localities sometimes informally call neighboring law enforcement agencies rather than issuing an alert, Burke said. And further more get off the Ashely kick….that is old news and nothing came of if. I am so tired of everyone living in the past. GET A LIFE!!!! Did you ever think that if all hell broke lose and 5 police officers did find him say at Sheetz, things could have been a lot worse. He wanted to die and he wanted her to die and he could have took out a lot more people that had nothing to do with it. It could have been a lot worse. What is done is done and I don’t give a damn what you all think. I still support HUNT! I am tired of hereing so many rag against him. He has nothing but downers ever since in office. It is a heck of a lot better than an Overton in office who are blinded by everything just for you last name or how much money you have to offer. Enough is enough, move on and get a new story to bitch about!
Each and everyone of these people have said all the things I was going to write, so I don’t have to write very much. Thank God for these people
and I am glad I don’t live in Franklin County because I would vote or do whatever I could to get “BOSS Hogg” out of office. Yes, the young ladys life could have been saved. Don’t guess the Sheriff, thought or thinks about the 12 year old and 6 year old who has to ,go through life and live with seeing her Mother killed.
To all the people in Franklin County, I am really proud of all the Comments.
God Bless all the families involved.
Wow…Dan…did you really try to validate a blog post in your column by using the poster’s name “retired officer”? Only a few of us use honest names.
Sounds like “native” is an idiot. I bet if this had been a Roanoke County officer as opposed to a Franklin County officer, he/she would be raising hell about why something else wasn’t done. I believe that “native” is just pissed because it happened in his/her county and she doesn’t like the negative connotations that come with it, fair or not. You have to be an idiot to believe that Hunt did all that he could do. YOU need to get a life and quit sticking up for a horrible sheriff.
FIRE THIS IDIOT NOW, WE WILL NOT TAKE THIS POLICE ‘BROTHERHOOD’ ANYMORE
#207- I cannot believe that you are sticking up for Sheriff Hunt by maligning other people, including the victim. And btw, I don’t think the people of Franklin County are idiots, and I hope no one starts thinking that after reading your post.
This sheriff was forewarned, not only by the father of Jonathan Agee, but also received a 911 from Agee’s current wife (who also happens to be a Roanoke sheriff’s deputy). He was told that his deputy had retrieved an assault rifle from his gunsafe, was agitated and left in his police car to go and kill his former wife.
And concerning your quote, “But smaller localities sometimes informally call neighboring law enforcement agencies rather than issuing an alert, Burke said.” The key word there was “sometimes”, and you also didn’t include the rest of his quote which was- “The danger with that approach, he said, is that it limits the information to a particular jurisdiction and assumes that someone will be there to take the call.” Which there wasn’t, and Hunt still didn’t issue an alert but waited for a callback wasting even more precious time.
It is police officers such as HUNT who are the cause of so many women for being murdered or severely wounder because they are dedicated to “protecting their own.” Not only HUNT, but ever police office (regardless of his or her rank) should be punished severely for allowing situations like Ms. Agee’s death to happen. Hunt should be charged for aiding in Jennifer Agee’s death.
Unfortunately we’re witnessing another example of an “abuse of power” situation. Mr. Hunt should not have intervined and should have allowed the dispatcher to do his/her job appropriately-none of are sure if Jennifer would still be alive but at least the correct procedures for identifying and arresting that coward would have been in place. Thoughts and prayers for Jennifer’s family and child.
These problems with this Ex-Officer just didn’t start the day of the shooting. You cannot tell me, his Superviosr missed all the signs. They allowed it to continue. Police Officers gone Wild… And don’t give me this bull about job stress, being a police officer, etc everybody has stress not just you. Happy Valley and the surrounding depts and hospitals need to take a close look at their officers. And it is sad, a family has lost a love one, and two children are forever changed. Police Departments have a major problem. Four words for Franklin County ..See you in Court ..I hope I’m on the jury…
I lost my cousin in 1997 due to the imeptness of the Henry County Sheriff Office. Similar story the sherriff office recieved a call saying someone with a gun is on the way here. (The guility party called and said I am coming) the officer went to the house of the guility party instead of the home of the caller. Knew the HCSO was messed up then, a few years later we all know what happened as the State Police flew in!
One other thought that I offer on this horrible situation if each FCSD car is equipped the technology of GPS and the first call was made about an hour prior to the Sheetz shooting why didn’t ANY of the officers mentioned (from the RMPD “friend” to any of the FCSD,Salem,Roanoke or even the VSP)use their own technology to track the car and prevent this from happening?
native — You are missing the point — WHY WOULD HE NOT PUT OUT THE BOLO — if you grab a gun and said i am going to go kill my ex wife and your current wife called 911 — would a BOLO be put out to all areas on you — YES IT WOULD — he was trying to cover he dept and his employee. It should cost him his job and bad choices in life have real impact
This is how i would have handled it — put out the BOLO and try to call him my self — even if i held off on the BOLO as soon as he did not answer the radio calls put out the BOLO — yes it was going to cause him trouble even if he did nothing. But that happened when he took a weapon and communicated a threat. relly sheriff hunt was you going to keep him on the force after that
dont agree that Sheriff Hunt should resign. He needs to be CHARGED with Accomplice to Murder in the death of Jennifer Agee and for the mailicious wounding of the Virginia state trooper. I would not allow him to resign nor to retire unless he agrees to have his retirement funds garnished to pay Ms. Agee’s children for loss of their mother and pay for the treatment of the wounded officer
Make no mistake we will get this deal taken care of …..Run him out of the county as some in the past have quietly been forced to comply with, stay out of the co for a long while. you have lost your privliges one way or another and i think you know that. this has been a long time comeing IT WILL STOP NOW
Who knew Jim Tressel was Sheriff of Franklin County ….wow.
Please do not forget to visit http://www.facebook.com/resignhunt and lend your voice to growing numbers demanding that Sheriff Hunt resign.
I hate to even say this, because it is such a tragic event, I know hindsight is 20/20, and all of that. Don’t get me wrong, everyone, EVERYONE, involved in this situation is in my prayers…but WHY in the world didn’t Agee’s current wife text Jennifer and notify her of this?? It’s been said that Jennifer had been texting her. I mean, maybe she did and the news just hasn’t been released on that yet…but it just seems that somewhere in this whole mess of phone calls, someone would have thought to try to get Jennifer on the phone. Even if Hunt was worried about the negative publicity, etc.; notifying Jennifer that she, not to mention her child, may be in danger just seems the humane thing to do.
Between these comments & those on the rapidly growing Facebook page – I have seen a few things questioned that I would like to clear up. However I would like to say that it is my specific intent to show neither support or condemnation of Sheriff Hunt in this message – simply to set a few things straight.
1) The facebook page calling for Sheriff Hunt to step down has recently advocated calling the Sheriffs Department’s published number of 483-3000.
PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS! – That number is not answered by a secretary or administrative assistant – that line rings directly into the communications office aka dispatch. These dispatchers must handle all 911 calls, these “Non Emergency” lines, as well as dispatch & interact with All Fire, EMS, Town of Rocky Mount PD, Ferrum College PD, Franklin County Sheriffs Office, Franklin County Jail/Courts, Virginia Dept. of Game & Inland Fisheries, and Virginia State Police units – the added burden of fielding all these calls is simply more undue stress added to individuals who already have enough to do and have no true power to affect the change you are requesting.
If you feel Sheriff Hunt should be removed from office then by all means please continue to voice that opinion & contact any County, State (or even Federal) government entity or office you see fit, but please do not involve the communications officers – they have enough to deal with every day already.
2) In Car GPS Laptops – These ARE NOT tracking GPS units (aka LoJack or OnStar) they are simply “Garmins on Steroids” tied to mapping software on the laptop so for everyone questioning why no one tracked his vehicle – they couldn’t.
3) Reverse 911 or Citizens Notification system – Some have asked why this “system” wasn’t used to notify Mrs Agee of the situation. Simply put – Reverse 911 is designed to call a group of numbers and play a pre-recorded message. It uses a database of phone numbers that is pre-populated with Land Line numbers from the telephone company for the geographic area in question. Any alerts made to e-mail or cell phones (which the system is capable of doing) can only be done if an individual has registered that e-mail / cell number in the system manually. Since there was only one person to notify and not an entire county AND since her cell number would not likely be in the system then Reverse 911 would not have helped in this particular instance.
Now – as to why no individual with knowledge of the situation AND her cell number didn’t call her (or maybe they did & that hasn’t been released yet) – I have no idea and am as anxious as the next person to hear an answer to this question.
Regardless of your position on the overall issue, I respectfully ask that you please pass along these facts. There are already too many unanswered questions here that deserve answers, let us not cloud the issues with questions based on speculation & errant information.
My Mistake – apparently my understanding of the GPS systems was inaccurate. They are capable of tracking however the unit in Mr. Agee’s car had apparently been “disabled”.
“Officers attempted to locate Agee using the GPS unit in his police car but learned that the car’s GPS had been disabled, according to Hunt.”
http://www.thefranklinnewspost.com/article.cfm?ID=19282
Again – simply trying to get facts and not speculation.
I’ve also thought to myself, “why didn’t anyone contact Jennifer Agee and let her know he was coming?” But then, I think about it a little more, and then I ask “how did Jonathan Agee know that Jennifer would be at a Sheetz in Roanoke instead of at her home in Salem?” Had they already arranged to meet there for some reason, but Jennifer had no idea what Jonathan’s intentions really were? From the time that Jonathan’s current wife called 911 to the time he shot his ex-wife was only 20-something minutes, and the news reports say that they could hear Jonathan in the background of his current wife’s 911 call from Boones Mill. So he drove from Boones Mill to Sheetz inside of that 20-something minutes. He didn’t spend a lot of time looking for his ex-wife, somehow he knew exactly where she was.
Sheriff Hunt has blood on his hands, a resignation will not suffice. He had information that an individual had intent to commit a crime and failed to act accordingly. I don’t know what Virginia’s stance is on this but in some states such as Ohio no person shall not report a crime that they have knowledge of being commited or about to be commited. Johnathan Agee crossed into two localities and a Franklin County Sheriffs vehicle would have stood out on 220/5-81 and Roanoke Co., Roanoke City and the VA State police have a visible presence on that stretch of highway between Boones Mill and Orange Ave. Justice needs to be swift on this!!
Dan Casey: I saw your comment concerning th Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli: following the Rahm Emmanual rule ” let no crisis go to waste”
A woman murdered and your thought seems to be “how can I use this against my political enemies 200 miles away”
If it takes a Petition with only 1,550 signatures to make our County safe again please tell me where to sign. Heck tell me how to get the thing started. It is time for Hunt to find a new job. Maybe there is a Mcdonald’s in Alaska hiring.
Yes, there should be consequences for not doing his job. On the other hand – we are focusing a great deal of attention and blame on him – while the blame should be on the one actually doing the killing. Funny how his name isn’t really plastered all over the news right… seems like he’s getting off pretty easy by the media. Even if Hunt had done the right thing… isn’t there still a chance the outcome would have been the same. Just sayin… yes – slap him on the wrist – fire him – whatever. But point the blame at the one who is REALLY at fault.
Seriously…Agee’s father even called to warn them, as well as his current wife…who knows him better than that? This could have been prevented if he got off his fat, lazy ass and took action. The call that he made to Salem does not sound urgent at all. I hope he is charged and both him and Jonathan burn in hell, better yet put them in a maximum security prison so they can be someone’s bitch and get raped and beaten up daily.
Edie, you make a very good point. Hunt, the current wife, or Jonathan’s father could had called or texted Jennifer. I am still wondering how he knew she would be at the Sheetz.
To Native #207 among other posts:
Have you heard the audio of Hunts call to Salem PD? He really conveyed a sense of urgency, didn’t he? One can hear the same urgency if Hunt were calling the Salem PD shift Supervisor to see if he wanted to meet for lunch.
Hunt had a massive failure of judgement and we will never know what might have been.
He is an embarrassment to the good people of Franklin County and if you are unable to see this and blindly defend his actions Monday, you have no sense of right and wrong and thus no credibility.
Thank you Dan Casey!
1. Hunt tried to cover for his crazy deputy and his office.
2. Directly because of his poor judgement a wonan is dead, and officer has been shot.
3. The only correct thing to do is get rid of this country bumpkin before he causes even more problems for everyone.
While I usually don’t have much good to say to Dan Casey regarding his editorials, I’m afraid he’s spot on with todays. I can’t understand why Jonathan Agee was still a deputy, after his envolvment in the earlier fiasco with Sheriff Hunt’s teenaged daughter. Any other law enforcement agency that I’ve ever delt with {and thats more than a few,local and Federal}, he would’ve been long gone. And Ewell Hunt would’ve, in all probility, been right behind him.
Ewell Hunt bears a direct responsibility in this tragedy, wheather he suffers any consequences from it will remain to be seen. Oh, and Emma, ya might wanna fresh-up your Government class. In Virginia he can indeed be recalled and/or relieved of duty pending investigation.
And please people, get off the assualt rifle, concealed carry, second admendment, wahwahwah thing, it has nothing to do with this. Jonathan Agee is a sworn law enforcment officer, and as such, he had access to everything short of Dynamite and hand grenades. We don’t know why he went over the edge, and may never. But, probably the only thing that would’ve stopped him from his intended course would’ve been for him to be stopped, period, before he got to Jennifer Agee. That didn’t happen, due to the action {inactions} of Sheriff Ewell Hunt, and thats what this is about.
Mike Hickok
Roanoke
The thing that stinks the most about the Hunt part of this situation is the obvious fact that if he somehow miraculously could have gotten to Agee and managed to stop this violent outburst, that it all would have been swept under the rug. Very troubling.
#s 225, 226 Thanks for those points, FC Facts.
The moment law enforcement tries to protect one of their own
in this manner you have a major problem. He should be fired
by end of business today; and then charged with dereliction of
duty, aiding in a criminal act, and possibly worse. Had he said,
“I have an armed officer, out of control, on his way to Roanoke
considered dangerous and a threat to his ex-wife…here’s her
address…I assure you the outcome would have been MUCH
different.”
I think this is indicative of how most police act anyway, so whats new. They would never admit to any wrongdoing especially when its their own. I say fire them all and start over. Not sure the Roanoke City police could have stopped the killing since no one knew specifically where he was headed. I believe its in the mentality of most policemen to kill before thinking.
#227- hokie24, This article said that Jennifer “planned to meet a friend on Memorial Day at a Roanoke convenience store…so that her 12-year-old daughter could go swimming with the 10-year-old daughter of Agee’s friend…”.
Agee’s Dad called the sheriff at 11:04am, and his current wife put in that 911 call at 11:06am. While she was on the phone with them, Jonathan returned to their house. He left again, and sometime in that time period found out that Jennifer was going to be at Sheetz. He pulled up when she was getting out of her vehicle and opened fire on her.
I don’t know if Jonathan Agee’s current wife tried to call her or not. Maybe after she got off of the 911 call? Jennifer could have been en route to Sheetz at that time and maybe didn’t want to pick up her phone while driving or didn’t hear it… or she could have been on the phone with Jonathan who made up some excuse about wanting to meet with her to talk.
The sheriff got the first notification at 11:04, yet he didn’t even make that call to Salem PD until 11:18? He also didn’t make it sound urgent or even serious, so they didn’t call him back until 13 minutes later- almost 30 minutes had elapsed from when he was first given the information.
Sheriff Hunt has blood on his hands for not doing what could have saved Jennifer’s life. Such a tragedy that could have been avoided. I also wonder why Julia Angell didn’t text or call Jennifer to let her know that her ex-husband was coming to gun her down. Seems that would have been the most logical thing to do…
To Another FC Resident: If she had a cell phone with her Officer Agee (Who is still an officer for the Sheriffs Dept)could have used the equiptment in his car to track her(WSLS did a story on how anyone can do this just last week)I seriously don’t think the high Sheriff or any of his puppets even thought about tracking Officer Agee in the hour or so that Agee’s father and wife called to alert the Sheriffs Dept what was about to go down…..They just didn’t care thats why you haven’t seen 1 FCSD employee come on here and publicly make a comment. 80% of the FCSD and RMPD are nothing but trash,they drink on the job,run around with each others spouses,their kids sell drugs and the list can go on and own.And don’t even mention the words illegal Mexicans to either the high Sheriff or Acting Chief of Police as they have both have/had employeed on their farms.
to anyone who wants to dog me for supporting Hunt, so be it! I could care less. Ans as far the one who said “I do not know right from worng and have no creditablity” you can shove it! Even if he did put out a BOL, he still would have killed her and others perhaps once they got there to stop him and others standing by pumping gas for all we know. The point is everyone is so quick to point blame at Hunt well think about this:
Wife works for Ronaoke right??? Why not call them straight through on their dispatch since she knows he is headed that way. You know she knows the number! Second of all the dispather at FC should have sent out the BOL before contacting HUNT. That is proper procedure right so why is no one fussing about them? Also the wife knew Jennifer’s number so why didn’t she call and warn her unless she did not care? She called at 11:06 to 911 and he came back while she was on the phone with them so therefore he did not really leave until about 11:10, Agee’s dad called Hunt directly before that. He had just hung up with him when FC dispatch called him. Agee went from Boones MIll to Williamson Rd in 20 min. He would have got there, did what he set out to do and mabye more reguardless if a BOL was sent or not. He killed her not Hunt, not anyone else, Agee did it and he will pay for his actions not only in this life but in his death. none of us are perfect but I still SUPPORT AND BELIEVE IN HIM!
Love NRV,
There is no person who can “fire” Hunt. He’s an elected official. Voters can petition a judge to remove him office for neglect — but that would be at the judge’s discretion.
To a certain extent, politicians need such autonomy (for a specified term) because politics can be ugly.
Dan Casey- I think your write up about the whole thing is just a way for you to bring up the past about Hunt’s daughter. You have no idea if she had a relationship with Agee. That is no where on record and furter more Hunt was cleared of all that so why in the world do you want to drag a girls name through the mud for something that has done been settled? You are the dog sir and yes there is freedom of speech so here is mine: SHUT UP!
207-Native, the people in FC should be just as embarrassed by your post as they are about your sheriff. Fortunately we realize you(along with Hunt) are the “idot” and not all of the good people of FC.
Of course someone should have tried to warn the victim.
I wonder how the Deputy/perpetrator knew the victim was going to the Sheetz where the murder occurred.
After Salem Police had been notified–too late to prevent the murder–but after the murder, the Deputy/perpetrator was able to drive his marked Sheriff’s car all the way through Salem on Main Street/ Rt. 460. That’s one street that should have definitely been watched after the murder.
The Deputy/perpetrator also was able to drive on the main road through Northwest Roanoke, but I’d guess officers from that area would have been needed at the scene of the murder.–Bird Dog
Don’t always agree with you Dan, but you hit the nail on the head with this one. The sheriff was negligent and needs to go, whether by his resignation or through he petition/court process. He failed horribly in his duty to protect the public and sadly, it may have cost a lady her life.
This is an absolute disgrace! I don’t blame the deputies of Franklin County… I do blame Sheriff Hunt for his lack of appropriate action and the fact that he made decisions based on 1 thing… covering his own tail! Had an ABP been issued… it would have been easy for Roanoke City to catch Agee b/c he would’ve gotten off I-581 right there at Sheetz. Not the mention the NE branch of Roanoke City PD is ONE BLOCK… ONE BLOCK up the street from Sheetz. It’s a mindless deduction to watch that exit for a Franklin County cruiser that would’ve stuck out like a sore thumb!
I agree that Sheriff Hunt needs to go & he needs to go NOW before something else happens. To much has transpired already! 1500 signatures huh? Well, I think someone should start a FaceBook page calling for his dismissal and I bet we would have the required signatures in no time at all! Wish I knew how to start it.
when the dust settles go back and look at the relationship
between Quint Overton and Jaybird Philpott.
There was a cozy pair.
Philpotts wife disappeared mysteriously while he was at a race.
Nothing happened. They found her dead concealed in a rotton hollow log.
Philpott attacked a couple of teenagers for “parking” on his property.
Cant remember if he killed one or both of them. Sheriff did nothing.
The boys father shot Philpott on a loading dock in Salem.
Hands off Quint…nice job. And on and on and on it goes.
@242 – Magpie – Yeah, I read that article too, but that still doesn’t say anything about whether or not Jennifer and Jonathan had planned to meet at Sheetz. Obviously Jennifer did not know what Jonathan’s plans were in this meeting, whether she knew that she would be seeing him there or not. But it’s hard for me to see a way for Jonathan to find out an exact time to find her at a convenience store without Jennifer expecting to see him there, or at least knowing that Jonathan knew of her plans to be at Sheetz at a certain time. If I had to guess, I would guess that your scenario of Jonathan contacting her on his way to Sheetz could be a possibility.
Still, of course someone could have/should have called to warn Jennifer directly of Jonathan’s intentions, whether it was Agee’s wife, Agee’s father, or FC or Salem police.
I’m not here to bash on Hunt. We can all see that he made horrible choices with how to handle this situation, as well as many past situations. There’s no question about any of that. We can’t say 100% that he could have prevented Jennifer’s death, but he could have followed protocol and issued proper warnings and at least given area police a chance. No matter how slight of a chance of stopping Agee it may have been… at least it would have been a better chance. Hunt needs to go, no question. I was just throwing out questions as to how Jonathan knew how to find Jennifer away from her home so quickly.
Now with all the comments, about Hunt what are the Leaders of Franklin County and the State going to do about this incident. Nothing, cause we have not hear a word from you. What’s the matter? Someone up higher needs to step in start an investigation now. What about it State Police? What happens is the Big Time Boys don’t want to step in and make any decisions. What about it elected officals? What yea say now….What about all you do good politicians, where are you now! Oh, I forgot its not election time yet!!! Lives were destroyed here, and no one is stepping to the plate..What’s the matter LEADERS.. Hunt will try and wait this out if he can stand the heat..law suits are sure to follow and they should..
FedUp, it’s already been started I think. The link was on here yesterday.
“Native”, that crap with Hunt’s daughter wasn’t very long ago. It’s not like anyone’s forgotten it. And it’s not Dan’s fault that she liked to ride around at night with a married man doing “stake outs” with him.
RM- I am no idot, you are the idot. He is not resigning and doesn’t have to so deal with it. Unless you live here in FC, then don’t worry about it. We vote in Nov and that will be that but don’t call me an idot because I am a lot smarter than you are! I don’t blame anyone other than the shooter! Hunt is a good man and feels for the families just like the rest of us. He is human, not god nor are you so do not judge because that job is only for god to do. Mabye instead of everyone bitching about Hunt you should be praying for the families and the children. Focus on that and given this other a freakin rest!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All of the murder mess aside, what is the State Police doing that caused the Ironto area being shut down for two days or more after the incident? No one seem to be concerned except maybe the businesses there that have suffered. Let the Roanoke Times look into that. It sure looks like, to me, that the State Police is spending a lot of time and effort in covering up something!
You have to live in Franklin County to understand that this is just the way it is. Sadly, everyone (but those directly affected) will forget about this in 3-4 months and move on to the NEXT tragedy that will occur in this very corrupt county.
I used to believe that Franklin County was the red headed step child of Roanoke. It seemed that only the bad stuff was reported. NOW, I believe that Franklin County is just an embarrassment. No one likes their trashy relatives exposed.
Shocked this happened, sadly, NO. Wishing that this never happened…YES!
Does anyone even consider the strangeness that this violent person had custody of his two daughters and the apparent sane, hard working, and law abiding mother did not? She was fighting to “get her babies back”?
If someone were to investigate the incidences of violent/abusive/domestic violent prone fathers were obtaining full custody of the children, EVERYONE would be shocked at the frequency of the occurrences. It is generally well hidden in the Juvenile and Domestic Courts which is “protected” information.
Talk to the victims of domestic violence in this county. There is NO HELP. The “shelter” (last I knew) was within shouting distance of the jail where perpetrators are held. The courts will even allow individuals who are under restraining orders/protective orders to carry firearms for the purpose of “hunting.” (I have proof of that by the way!)Hunting who? Their victims! God help us all who live in fear in Franklin County.
Sometimes I have to stop and look around and can’t believe I live this close to so many idiots…and this guy is a sheriff? Sheriff of what? Complete ignorance and stupidity?
Even if he resigns, won’t he still get a huge retirement check each month? I would be curious to see if he resigns BEFORE being removed from office to protect his pension. If he does receive a pension/retirement package, I hope the children get a portion of it. No doubt in my mind that the APB would have stopped him on Rt. 220- there must have been at least 4 cops out there on a holiday.
For those wondering why the current wife called FC 911 instead of caling Salem, it could possibly be because Agee was a Franklin County deputy driving a Franklin County patrol car. As to why she didn’t text or call Jennifer Agee, I don’t know. Maybe she did and Agee had her phone turned off and didn’t get the message.
I wonder how different the outcome might have been had the 911 caller been a man, and the would-be target a man, as well. Wasn’t it enough that the caller was a police officer who had knowledge of a potentially deadly act of premeditation? What does this say about a county that doesn’t take domestic violence seriously? What will this same county do to help the orphaned children of this tragic family violence, especially the one who witnessed her own father kill her mother? I wonder how different the outcome might have been . . . had there been a different sheriff at the helm.
Wonder if Agee could have tracked his ex-wife by her cell phone? He mentioned he was going to Salem, but ended up in Roanoke City. How else would he have known?
If this were my child that had been killed, I would own Franklin County! I speak as a mother who has lost a child. Yes, he should have already resigned! His high & mighty attitude of trying to cover for one of his own, more than likely cost this girl her life. I agree with the other comments, he couldn’t control his daughter, much less this crazy deputy! I would guess they both had covered lots for each other!
i use to live in boones mill for over 5 years and this hunt is a good old boy who is over his head. he is not a sheriff he needs to go i wont be surprised if the county is sued due to his in action and suit will be in the million of dollars. the state police do not have much respect for franklin county and this sure puts another knoch in there reasoning. if i still lived in franklin county i would help lead a recall partition to eliminate this good old boy and get a new sheriff from outside the county to clean up the department somone like a retired fbi or federal officer is what is needed. overton was past his prime and hunt was just fat loser who shouldnt have been elected he isnt a leader.
Hunt should be out, now. He should be sued for his part in the victim’s death and the trooper’s injury.
Why are we taxpayers still paying for cars and gas for these jerks to be out in patrol cars and committing crimes? Agee’s not the only one guilty of crimes in patrol cars, although his may be the worst. With all the budget cuts, cuts to education, cuts to services, it’s WAY PAST TIME to stop the practice of furnishing cars and gas to cops. Let them get to work the way the rest of us do.
Native,
If you’d like to convince the board that you’re truly not an “idot”, I suggest that you first use spellcheck before you post again. Many of us harbor stereotypes about our FC brethren being uneducated hicks; you’re only helping to perpetuate the notion.
I’m not sure what your dog is in this fight but I doubt that you’re associated with Hunt’s office because most County administration office positions require a High School diploma, a lofty credential that your grammar suggests isn’t at the bottom of your resume yet.
Hope this helps.
Okay Native, we know you are really Sheriff Hunt. You need to get off this blog and do the honorable thing and resign. After that you can use your free time learning how to spell.
Imagine this- Sheriff Hunt is at home and realizes his house is on FIRE.
What does he do?
Hello, this is the fire department, may I help you?
Yea, this is Sheriff Hunt. Is a supervisor around or could you have one call me?
I can take a message and have him call you back
Okay, that good. Thanks.
What a jackass, maybe he could get his daughter to run the dept, or what about former Vinton Police chief ricky foutz?,oh wait he covered up for bill brown, dang can anyone run law enforcement and do it right? Hunt should do the taxpayers a favor, pay for the funreal, pay the cost of prosecuting Agee, pay for the screw ups of his daughter and LEAVE office.
Good thing it isn’t a crime to be a blatant conspiracy theorist when one has absolutely no evidence or clue what they are talking about. The state police have been gathering evidence and conducting a reconstruction of the shooting incidents along the interstate using a device called a Total Station.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_station
This data will be used in the prosecution of Agee because, unlike a blog where a mere assumption that something is true is enough to make wild accusations, when Agee is tried in court, they will have to have actual evidence and prove he is guilty. The state police should be commended for doing a thorough, professional job. Certainly it is not as convenient as doing it the quick way, but sometimes that’s the price you pay.
On December 23, 2009 an editorial in the Roanoke Times called for Sheriff Ewell Hunt’s resignation. There were compelling reasons given. The editorial can be found here:
http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/wb/230603
Sadly, almost a year and a half later, even with the current fiasco, Hunt seems no more inclined to bow out than he did then. Hunt’s attempt to downplay a volatile situation which ended in the cold blooded, pre-meditated murder of a citizen of our community should be the last straw for anyone with a brain. Now is the call to action, and not only for residents of Franklin County. His ineptitude and hubris has reached far North of Franklin County and has affected all citizens of this Commonwealth. Citizens were needlessly put in harms way. A State Trooper could have been killed. A woman is now dead and Sheriff “I’ll handle this myself” is still at large. No pun intended.
Write the Governor and the Attorney General. I sure will. If you are a resident of Franklin, find out where you can sign a petition for his immediate REMOVAL. I have a feeling they will be readily available. For God’s sake DO SOMETHING before some other catastrophe happens and once again he says “I’ll handle this myself.”
What follows is an excerpt from the referenced editorial. I suggest it be read in its entirety:
[QUOTE] His problems are bigger than that charge, though. The grand jury spent more than 1,400 man-hours collecting testimony and reviewing evidence. It found more than just the violation for which he was arrested.
It also found that he allowed his daughter to run roughshod over the chain of command. She did whatever she wanted in the department without accountability or discipline and over the objections of officers. That included joining deputies on stakeouts, attending drug busts despite not being a sworn officer and not having training, and countermanding officers. Her employment and behavior harmed morale.
“Ashley Hunt’s participation in these law enforcement activities exposed her, other employees of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department and members of the general public to demonstrated risk and significantly increased exposure of the department to civil liability,” the grand jury also reported. [UNQUOTE]
Chuck@8:20
We often disagree. But this time I think you are absolutely right. At this
stage of the investigation, we can’t change what has happened. We need to
let professionals ( and the state police are) DO THEIR JOBS.
Ever wonder why a lot of talented kids leave the county and never come back? Ever wonder?
Ever sat down with them and had a discussion about how different
the world is away from there.
Have you? Really?
Do you wonder why the letters that have appeared here from “outside”
are tinged with sadness and frustration?
And those on the outside you realize the insiders are probably right that in 6 months inside the county life will go on as usual.
Life will go on indeed..yet again in quiet desperation . Read some local history folks..or just be honest with yourselves. Stop being a characature like one might see on a billboard pushing a rest stop on I-95
Own it..make the changes yourselves. Question the plantation master.
Three threads devoted to Ewell Hunt with his picture and over 300 posts condemning him. Maybe I missed something, but I thought Officer Agee committed this murder. How about we blame the person who is most responsible? Hmm?
Facebook Page: Sheriff Ewell Hunt Must Resign
https://www.facebook.com/resignhunt
Lane Judson Made His Daughter Crystal A Promise
[Father of slain wife of Tacoma Police Chief David Brame]
http://www.lanejudson.com/
Slideshow of just some of the Officer-Involved Domestic Fatalities
http://www.lanejudson.com/OFFICER_INVOLVED_FATALITIES.htm
Safe Call Now – provides crisis intervention and referral services to public safety employees
http://www.safecallnow.org/
BILLY OVERTON WE NEED YOU NOW!
#275 They already have that guy under arrest, suzie. And he’s been charged with multiple crimes. I think he’s being blamed.
Better catch up, you’re WAAAAAY below your 20 percent of posts on this thread.
#275 They already have that guy under arrest, suzie. And he’s been charged with multiple crimes. I think he’s being blamed.
Not by anybody on here. They’re blaming the guy who didn’t shoot anybody. Is this liberalism at its best or what? Blame Ken Starr for Bill Clinton’s crime. Blame the pope for the gay priests’ crimes. Blame the Sheriff Hunt for Officer Agee’s crime.
Goneanglad you hit it as close as it’s going to be hit. We won’t change a thing but I have to add to your post to make myself feel better.
If people really truly want to see change look at the current sheriff system.
The sheriff has total power over his/her jurisdiction. Just look at a sheriff who has more than 2 terms under their belt’s attitude. It takes that long for them to realize just how much unbridled authority they actually have. After that they feel they are “masters of all they survey” It takes them about that long to realize they can actually override state police authority. A simple phone call to the governors office is all it takes. Any authority the state police has is instantly washed away if they convince the governors office of their argument. Most regular folks think the state police have overall authority but the governors office and the majority of elected officials, believe it or not, have no real working knowledge of the inner-workings of the sheriff’s office or the police system. I recently learned of a Virginia Beach prosecutor’s inquiry (which is representative of higher government officials and not the governors office per se) ” Why is the state police investigating a murder?”
If you truly want change, the powers of the sheriff need to be sharply limited and much more closely legislated. Sheriff’s offices are not nearly as closely legislated and monitored as the state police or any other police department be it city or county.
The state police is constantly investigating sheriff’s office misconduct with absolutely no result.
Check out the recent investigation that was resolved by a “3 sheriff panel” that concluded that a sheriff accused of misconduct had not violated any laws. Have any of you ever heard of a “3 sheriff panel”? What the hell is that? The next time I screw up I want a 3 electrician panel to decide if I’m guilty or not. They are the only ones that could truly judge me in that scenario.
Come on people! They look out for their own just like we all do.
Why have 3 foxes judge another.
Bottom line, just like large metropolitan departments, a civilian review board for each county needs to be enacted to bring these “kings” into order. At least set some kind of standards (currently there are none) just like PD’s and the state police must adhere to.
Wake up before one of your loved ones is hurt… or worse yet… murdered.
There might not have been a murder if Sheriff Hunt had allowed his dispatcher to warn the police in Roanoke City, Roanoke County and Salem as soon as they were alerted. Hunt didn’t pull the trigger, but he certainly did nothing to stop it from being pulled. Sounds like accessory to murder to me.
If public opinion is anywhere near the correct course..Ewell,
Pack your bags..its gonna be a long summer. You-ll have plenty of time
to think this through . And decide how many of the people youve crapped on over the years because of political expediency have made you the man.
Think about it. Think long and hard about it. I hope it was worth it.
Even living away from the area for a few years, I see the local yolk-als/good ole boy network is still in action. Accessory to murder? Obstructing justice? How about plain ole stupidity running amuck !! Who voted for this sucker!
Hiring family is always problematic and other employees dont stand a chance at advancement or otherwise! Nepotism prevails! So throw away the employee handbook! This man should have known his people and been there for them before all of this took place. Instead his child had his attention in this job where his attention should have been focused in on his departments needs as well as stress management. These jobs are not easy and stress is there in the forefront every single day, and it would take a real obvilious person not to see that! (Been there done that in this type of job myself years ago!)
The damage assessment is going to be costly in more ways that one! Damage not only to a law enforcement department, but to those countless number of people that had to witness this violent act. Now…Mr. Hunt, try to unring the bell on this like you have in your own department with your spoiled child! Authority?…how’s that working for you now? Did you forget the oath of office what you were sworn to when you were placed in the Sheriffs position?
The citizens of Franklin County need to wake up! Here is your reality check folks! Get rid of the good ole boys and find yourself a fresh pair of eyes and ears that WILL take care of the citizens !
Two people are dead now because of what The Franklin County Sherriff’s Dept did or did not do. I remember the Frye family from Glade Hill desperately seeking help last July and were refused.
Yes, Euell Hunt and several others should not serve another day.
Franklin County Board of Supervisors Chairman Charles Wagner.another good old boy taking up for Hunt,They look out for their own ////
#269- RM,
As inept, corrupt or whatever this sheriff may be, I highly doubt that he is anonymously posting on Dan’s blog. It could be, as this person alludes to, that they are a loyal voter. Although I cannot imagine even a very loyal voter would still be spouting so strongly in his support, especially since so much of his complete bumbling of the situation has come to light. Also “native’s” comments sound like they come from a young and/or very immature person. Maybe his daughter?
#272- Chuck, I agree. The worst thing would be if a charge or charges were dropped due to a technicality. The police should have all the time and space they need in order to be thorough.
#282- Debbie I also agree with you. The Roanoke police said that they didn’t even know (or were informed) something was going on until after the shooting.
Shouldn’t the sheriff have been extremely concerned by the calls made by Agee’s dad and wife? Those alone should have been more than enough to trigger a stronger reaction. Add to it that Agee was not returning any calls made by dispatch or the sheriff himself. Yet the sheriff kept trying to reach him instead of (or at the same time)sending out a BOLO to Salem and Roanoke. If he truly was concerned for Jennifer Agee’s safety, then he had a strange way of showing it. He definitely didn’t follow procedure, and everything he did do seemed to show more concern with the welfare of his deputy instead.
Steve C- There is no dame spell check on this dumb ass! I type fast when I am pissed and if I really knew who the hell you were I would tell you to your face what I think you are! Are far as being and idot I graduateed HS and I have a degree in law so kiss my ass. And no RM I am not Hunt, I am sure he is not wasting his time listening to all your stupid comments from 80% of you that don’t even live in the county. So my suggestion to anyone who doesn’t live in FC, SHUT THE HELL UP! It is not your problem what goes on here. Our department is not a joke and they are very good people that work at the department and I respect them all. Agee snapped just like anyone of us could in a situation where you have an ex that is driving you crazy and there are kids involved that are being bounced around like balls! What kind of mother, works 2 jobs but can not pay her child support???? And I am tired of hearing that she lived forher kids…..she worked till 12:00 at night “per her boss at Mac & Bobs” so how do you see your kids??? Then you live with mommy and work those 2 jobs but get $24000.00 behind in child support??? She was driving the man nuts and he snapped. He is to blame and he is the only one at fault in the death and shootings. So wake up and stop blaming everyone else but the shooter. You people just want someone to point a finger at just to be jack asses. I feel sorry for you all and may god have mercy on your souls for condiming a man who did what he could and not the actual one who did the killing.
Steve C-sorry is I missspelled something for your tender ass!
#279- “They already have that guy under arrest, suzie. And he’s been charged with multiple crimes. I think he’s being blamed.”
That’s true, gdad. I think the only people that wouldn’t realize that, would be those who may have been out of the area and missed what has been going on. Otherwise, I don’t how to explain their lack of comprehension if they actually thought that.
Agee has been arrested and charged, as you noted. The reason so much of the focus is on the sheriff now, is because much of his actions (or lack of) played strongly in this tragedy. Also he seems to not have any remorse or feel any responsibility that those actions or non-action may have gotten someone killed. (That could be because he is trying to protect himself from a criminal and/or civil lawsuit. Who knows?) That’s why he is garnering most of the attention now. And honestly, I think just about everyone knows that no matter what they may be claiming.
Let’s calm this down, eh? It’s just a blog where the posters are mostly anonymous.
There are plenty of ways to make your points without hells and damns and orders to shut up.
“Are far as being and idot I graduateed HS and I have a degree in law so kiss my ass.”
Not much to add to this.
Native… it’s true that many posting here don’t live in Franklin County, but you can’t say that Hunt’s actions in this situation were contained within and only effected Franklin County. If “what goes on here” only happened in Franklin County, then maybe you’d have a leg to stand on with your comments, but Hunt’s lack of action effected people in Franklin County, Roanoke County, Roanoke City, and Montgomery County, as well as any other area that contained people who lost a friend or loved one with the loss of Jennifer Agee.
STILL WAITING ON THE STATE OFFICALS AND BIG TIME LEADERS TO DO THEIR JOBS!!!! WHAT YE SAY ALL YOU BIG TIME OFFICALS…WHO IS GOING TO LEAD AND WHO IS GOING TO FOLLOW…WATCH WHEN ONE DOES STEP UP..WATCH THE REST OF THE SO CALL LEADERS STEP TO THE PLATE…KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE LEADERS WHO DO NOTHING… NEXT ELECTION TIME GIVE THEM THE MESSAGE…..A LIFE WAS TAKEN WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT!!!!!!LET IT CONTINUE!!!!!WAITING…..HUNT CAN BE REMOVED….THIS AND THAT DOES NOT MATTER…ENOUGH PRESSURE FROM ABOVE AND HE WILL DEPART..IT WILL GET TO HOT IN THE KITCHEN FOR HIM..
#280 Poor suzie, can’t stand it that nearly everybody on this thread is ignoring her. Except maybe the guy who can’t spell or write a clear sentence and who has to use multiple cuss words.
You do not calm a fire down by asking it to behave, you throw water on it. Stop approving the posts from one anonymous person cursing at another. Requiring people to own their comments will be the eventual end and they will blame it on an infringement of their First Amendment rights and never even consider that their abuse of same was the actual cause.
Maybe ‘native’ means “iDot”.
“It is not your problem what goes on here.”
native, I could not agree more.
However, a shootout on I-81 IS MY PROBLEM!!!
A crazed lunatic driving a marked police car and shooting a civilian woman dead in front of her child with an assault rifle at the Sheetz in Roanoke–NOT Franklin County–IS MY PROBLEM!!!
Your thoughtless tirade, added to the fact that you even fail to acknowledge these not-in-Franklin problems in your post, perfectly demonstrates the endemic callousness and ineptitude we are all decrying here.
You have done well in bolstering our case. Consider yourself Exhibit B.
Keep up the good work…Esquire!
VRWC Agee was not going to Sheetz to meet his ex-wife. She had no idea he was coming there and neither did anyone else. She went there to meet a friend not him. How he knew where to find here has not been revealed yet.
Also, his current wife had Jennifer’s cell phone number, did she make any effort to call and warn her? I would like to know the answer to that question.
One last thing, I don’t know if it’s everyday or not but everytime I’ve gone into that Sheetz there is a police officer working there. If there was one inside that day, a BOLO might have given him enough info to react when a Franklin County Sherrif’s car pulls into the lot. I guess will never know since Hurt didn’t issue one.
“Agee snapped just like anyone of us could in a situation where you have an ex that is driving you crazy” … “She was driving the man nuts and he snapped.” … “So wake up and stop blaming everyone else but the shooter.”
Looks to me like you’re blaming the victim, native. If only she hadn’t been such a self-centered harpy, this tragedy never would have happened, right? Poor Jonathan Agee, he just couldn’t help himself, and poor Ewell Hunt, with manure splattered all over his pristine uniform, all because of ~that woman~. My heart bleeds for them. /sarcasm
Barney Fife…….WWBFHD??
OG, It will be interesting to find out how Agee knew how to find his ex-wife if she wasn’t meeting him. It is too much of a coincidence for Agee to have gotten off 581 at the Orange Ave. east exit and just happened to see her.
Agee had a rifle and was obviously willing to use it. I’m glad no police officer was working at Sheetz that day. It might have been worse. Agee would probably have still killed his ex-wife and a police officer with a pistol would be no match for a trained man with a rifle (I wonder if Agee was wearing body armor?) so we might have lost a police officer too. A crowded business lot is not a good place for a gun fight. A lot of Sheetz customers could have been injured or killed along with people driving on Orange Ave. and Williamson Rd.
There is much about this story we don’t know yet. Did Agee shoot the trooper in the leg on purpose? Did he want the troopers to kill him (suicide by cop), or was he trying to kill the troopers? I’ll wait until the whole story is in before making any judgements about who else might be at fault in this besides Agee.
#289 “Agee snapped just like anyone of us could in a situation where you have an ex that is driving you crazy and there are kids involved that are being bounced around like balls!”
Tell you what, native, I absolutely guarantee you that the majority of people on this thread and in the Roanoke Valley would NOT snap like Agee did, killing his child’s mother in front of her and attempting to kill several police officers. If you count yourself as one who would indeed snap like that, please turn yourself in immediately for some badly needed help.
#299 OG, earlier we didn’t know why Jennifer went there and we were just speculating.
Re: #289
“It is not your problem what goes on here.”
———-
Were this just a case of local partisan name-calling or actually a locally contained situation, you might have a point.
However, that is not the case.
The impact and ramification go well beyond provincial in-fighting.
It is too bad that the fallout will tarnish the reputation of other officers and other citizens. It is too bad that it will cast your county in an unflattering light. When things go bad there is nearly always collateral damage to bystanders. In fact, that is the reason I have refrained from getting involved, to this point.
However, things did go bad. Someone was killed. Another wounded. Children’s lives scared. Many lives disrupted, to one degree or another. Expenses incurred by individuals and organizations outside your sandbox.
Therefore, your position that this tragedy is just local to your county and that only locals have any standing to comment is incredulous.
Unless charges are brought by someone in authority outside the county, it is your affair to sort out. But others do have a stake in it being cleaned up.
Kristen-DO you realize that almost all the people up there are married and they have to partner up with others on stake outs? For gods sake the stuff with his daughter was not even in his term as sheriff! Get the fact honey before you run that mouth.
“Also, his current wife had Jennifer’s cell phone number, did she make any effort to call and warn her?”
Since the current wife and the ex had been communicating, is it possible that she knew where Jennifer was headed?
You know what this is all just a waste of time. You all are hanging a man who did what he could do and there have been others who said they would have done the same thing. The only person to balme is Agee and no to Laura, I do not blame Jennifer. But just an FYI, it has been told that he called her that morning, she told him where she was at and he told her he was going to kill her. So why did she not call for help? There is still A LOT of information out there that has not been given out and some we will never know but everyone is only blaming Hunt who did what he could. Everyone said SALEM so he called SALEM. The dispatch could have put out a BOL but didn’t instead text messaged Hunt. We can go through the if this, or if that, etc. until we are all blue in the face it doesn’t change the fact of what happened. And yes I feel for the families as I have said over and over again that instead of all this BS we should all be praying for them but no everyone on here just wants to point a finger or down me becuase I am not the best speller or typist. OH WELL!!! I am human too. I guess you want to hang me too becuase I am not perfect. I give up, you all can go on and just waste away the day with your comments and down grading. I have a life outside of this and no matter what I support Hunt and I believe he did what he could do with the information given to him at the time of all the phone calls. I blame the one laying in the RMH and only him! He is the killer, the one wwith blood on his hands and the one that will have what is coming to him if he makes it. He is the one and the only one to blame in all this and that is what everyone needs to remember and get in their heads. HAVE A BLESSED DAY ALL!
Re: #276
Maybe I missed something, but I thought Officer Agee committed this murder. How about we blame the person who is most responsible?
———-
It seems to me that the LEOs, Commonwealth Attorney etc (outside of Franklin County) have acted in a responsible professional manner and have that aspect of this tragedy well under control. Agee’s responsibility will be resolved judiciously, in due time.
The responsible professional handling by all others involved in the situation, once they were aware of it, is not the issue.
—– —– —– —–
Re: #300
“Looks to me like you’re blaming the victim”
———-
Yup!
A despicable tactic, IMHO.
Just read all the posts… I think a point only mentioned by a few is there are few roads which lead from Boones Mill to Roanoke County, US 220 being the main route used by 95%. A few Roanoke County patrol cars could so easily have spotted a Franklin County Sheriff’s car at any point along the route between the county line and US 419. I don’t think Agee would have fired at another officer if he had not yet committed a felony as Native notes a possibility. I consider not allowing a regional “be on lookout” to be released to area law enforcement agencies with an “I will handle this myself” grounds for a judge to remove Sheriff Hunt for incompetence once the proper petitions are gathered.
I would assume that Agee shot the trooper on purpose.
To believe he shot him accidentally, you would have to believe that he was firing toward the trooper while trying NOT to hit him, and that Agree screwed up in that and accidentally hit him.
Seems unlikely.
VRWC, all that your posts add up to is that you’re relieved law enforcement didn’t get off their fat rears to do anything to prevent this woman being gunned down in front of her kid.
Newsflash…we have cops to take risks with armed gunmen. That’s their job. If they’re scared to do the “protecting and serving” they’re sworn to do, then they should get their useless selves off the public payroll and go pull Slurpies or something. Their job should reach somewhere beyond Krispie Kreme and pulling over cute girls in expensive SUVs.
OG – I actually wonder if Agee did know where Jennifer was. He went from Boones Mill to Sheetz in 25 minutes. Seems he knew exactly where to find her, so I wonder if he contacted her on his way to Roanoke or before he left?
Dan #309, Some people on this board have mentioned that Agee was a tactical team sniper so I was wondering if he shot the trooper in a non-lethal area rather than center mass or the head, so that he wouldn’t kill him. I don’t know anything about Agee or his capabilities with his rifle. It will be interesting to find out if Agee wanted to kill other police officers or if he just wanted them to kill him.
#302- VRWC,
Agee headed to Jennifer’s house first, and then he headed back to his house after not finding her at home, and only then did he head out to Sheetz.
It sounds like he found out that she was going to be at Sheetz either after he got back to his house or right after he left it that second time. Otherwise why didn’t he head to Sheetz the very first time he left his house, or right after he found out she wasn’t at her house? Also, it is pretty unbelievable that he just happened by that Sheetz by coincidence. I speculated on how he found out where she was here in my comment #243, but of course that’s all it is- speculation.
why does a person who was elected by the vote of citizens refuse to comment or make a statement to the press. this seems to me an automatic plea of quilt. if hunt is any kind of a man he should explain his actions and why he did what he did.only hunt can tell the real truth. god is waiting on you to do the right thing.
#306- “For gods sake the stuff with his daughter was not even in his term as sheriff! Get the fact honey before you run that mouth.”
Oops, wrong again…
“She’d (Ashley Hunt) been seen spending a lot time with Agee, a 29-year-old drug investigator, according to the grand jury and people who were interviewed.
Her involvement with him became an ongoing problem at the sheriff’s office…After Agee had been yanked off the sheriff’s drug unit for violating an order to stay away from Ashley at work, she wrote a letter of resignation and left it on her father’s chair, Carter said.
Then she waited outside for the sheriff to return to the office. With about 20 people watching, including deputies and officers for other agencies, Ashley, shaking with rage, screamed that her father was trying to take her friends away and that she hated him.
“It was horrible,” Carter said. “We felt bad for him.”
Hunt stared at the ground, hands in his pockets. He didn’t accept her resignation.”
Kristen #312, wrote, “Newsflash…we have cops to take risks with armed gunmen. That’s their job. If they’re scared to do the “protecting and serving” they’re sworn to do, then they should get their useless selves off the public payroll and go pull Slurpies or something. Their job should reach somewhere beyond Krispie Kreme and pulling over cute girls in expensive SUVs.
Kristen, by this post we know what you think of the police. You don’t like them and don’t care what happens to them. What do you think about people on the lot of Sheetz on Memorial day or people driving by on Orange Ave. or Williamson Rd.? How many of them should be put at risk? What is the number of deaths that would be excusable from your perspective?
“I blame the one laying in the RMH and only him! He is the killer, the one wwith blood on his hands and the one that will have what is coming to him if he makes it.”
————
native,
Would it be too blindingly obvious to point out that Pontius Pilate, Adolf Hitler and Osama bin Laden didn’t have the blood of the victims on their hands either?
I didn’t think so.
IMHO Native cannot really be this blind.. I believe we have someone playing a part to stir the pot and get things boiling here. If true I was taken in.
Hunt must believe at this point he has nothing to lose by clinging to his job. The question is how can he function going forward? From all indications that bar has been set pretty low by past performance…….
“How many of them should be put at risk? ”
VRWC, the ones paid to take the risk. The cop who you’re glad wasn’t there, the cops who were never sent because of Hunt’s malfeasance…them. Please explain what you conceive law enforcement’s role being in this, because all you’ve done is express relief that none of them showed up to keep that poor woman from being shot dead.
native….if you’re going to call taking a teenaged girl on a ride with you “partnering up”…knock yourself out.
OK its obvious enough that I’d make a bet that “native” is one of Hurricane Ashley’s cohorts from either high school or whatever party college she went to up in West VA. No person with a law degree would make such spelling mistakes or be inept enough with a computer to realize that every way possible to read this blog is via a web browser that contains a built in spell checker. The red lines below the misspelled words indicate that it is misspelled.
I don’t think anyone here debates that the ultimate blame behind this terrible action lies within Jonathan Agee. However, he is not 100% to blame. The Sheriff’s neglect quite possibly led to a worse outcome than what happened. There’s no way to prove that, but there’s no way to prove that it wouldn’t either. As I said in another thread, when given the choice to either not issue a BOLO and issue one, you issue it to err on the side of caution. You can’t un-ring a bell, and you can’t bring people back from the dead. Whether or not Jennifer died due to Sheriff Hunt’s inaction is irrelevant to the fact that he failed to err on the side of caution in a move that smells like self-preservation. THAT is the reason he should be removed, and is partially to blame for what happened.
Suzie, many are sure to blame you for your inflammatory behavior, but I also place blame on your parents and upbringing for not teaching you manners, or how to appropriately use the Internet. You are Jonathan Agee. You both bear the brunt of the responsibility of your transgressions, but there are also outside factors that affect the outcome which cannot be ignored.
I just want to apologize on behalf of whoever “native” is. I am also a Franklin County native and I am embarrassed and appalled by his comments. I can promise you all that the good people of FC are not all as ignorant and insensitive as he is.
@ Native- You should be ashamed of yourself. You are the reason why others in surrounding communities look down upon small towns. You are an embarrassment to FC with your sexist, barbaric, and moronic comments. Take yourself and your deranged comments back to the sewer that you crawled out of.
The horrific events that happened on Monday are in no way a true representation of Franklin County and the citizens that live here. As anyone can see, it seems that most citizens of FC are calling for Hunt’s resignation for justice for the death of a beautiful, young mother. Though Hunt was not the one who pulled the trigger, there is still blood on his hands. Hunt did not do everything possible to prevent a cold-blooded, calculated killing, and in my eyes, as Sheriff, the protection of others should always be his first duty above anything else, including his own reputation.
Hmmm, my attempt.
The problems with Ashley came to a head during Sheriff Hunt’s tenure. See the following: http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/236505 OR http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/230469.html OR http://sdrcomp1.blogspot.com/2009/12/franklin-county-sheriff-arrested.html
Sheriff Hunt is a good man who has made some horrible, horrible errors in judgment. There will be a huge percentage of Franklin County native’s who will seek to ask him to resign from office. I believe the petition that is circulating will garner enough signatures to have him removed by the end of next week. Franklin County does not have a corner on the idiot market. We are all tied together by this tragedy. God is spelled with a capital G. And finally, please prey for the children of the Agee family. They are the ones I really worry about now….
Kristen #321, nice dodge but that isn’t what I asked. You established in your first post that you don’t care about law enforcement. I asked you how many customers at Sheetz and people driving by on Orange and Williamson should be put at risk. How many deaths/injuries to innocent bystanders is acceptable for you?
@#318 “How many of them should be put at risk? What is the number of deaths that would be excusable from your perspective?”
Police officers, the ones who haven’t lost their minds and become homicidal, don’t shoot willy-nilly into crowds of people. The cops would have been shouting warnings to any bystanders to take cover. What sane person would continue to just hang out to watch? I personally would have been dropping to the pavement and crawling to the nearest parked car or whatever else was handy to hide behind.
The police also wear body armor, so if officers had been on the scene at Sheetz and drawn the fire to themselves rather than Jennifer Agee, it could conceivably have saved her. A sniper could have taken him out before he had the chance to hurt anyone. We’ll never know.
It’s also possible their mere presence would have deterred him. He didn’t seem really keen on killing any police officers, even when they finally did catch up to him. We’ll never know.
And had the sheriff put out the BOLO immediately, it’s possible that they could have stopped him on 220, before he even got to Roanoke. We’ll never know.
There’s so many possibilities of how it could have turned out differently that we will never know because Sheriff Hunt did not follow protocol and therefore no officers were given a chance to do their jobs.
“I asked you how many customers at Sheetz and people driving by on Orange and Williamson should be put at risk. How many deaths/injuries to innocent bystanders is acceptable for you?”
There was an armed lunatic on the loose. Every single person there was “at risk”. As was every single person who shared the road with Agee that day. Ask the trooper who was hurt in the shoot-out on 81. Everyone on 81 was endangered as well. All because law enforcement wasn’t allowed to step up and prevent any of this. So, VRWC, it would appear that you’re far more willing to see the public put at risk than I am.
I have read a lot of comments that say the honorable thing for Sheriff Hunt to do would be to resign. I beg to differ. The only honorable thing this Unhonorable man can do is to turn himself in to Roanoke City and be held for trial.If this cannot come to pass,the honorable thing for Roanoke City to do is issue an arrest warrant for this piece of human garbage and arrest him.
Let’s say I get drunk and decide to get in my car and drive. It’s raining. I lose control of my car and cause an accident. You could argue that even if I was sober I could still have lost control of the car and caused the accident anyway. Maybe, maybe not. It doesn’t mean I wasn’t in the wrong for driving impaired. And I would still be held responsible for anyone who was injured or killed. I would certainly have a hard time living with myself.
Whether or not putting out the BOLO would have definitely saved Jennifer Agee or not doesn’t change the fact that Hunt did not follow procedure. Therefore he shares the burden of responsibility for what happened to her. His public reaction so far suggests to me he doesn’t seem to feel responsible, and I find that unconscionable.
As an aside, and not directed to anyone in particular, but I always find it interesting that whenever someone dies in an untimely fashion, especially a woman or a child, people always say some variation of “that’s terrible, she was so beautiful”. I’m guilty of this myself. But it does make me wonder, what causes us to think that thought?
Would it be less terrible if the person who died was butt ugly?
#330 Actually, VT Hokie, that does happen. Check out those national murder or disappearance stories on ET or Fox or wherever. Rarely are the victims ugly or poor or minorities or even male. It’s called the missing white woman syndrome or missing pretty girl syndrome. If you’re pretty, at least middle class, and female, it’s infinitely more tragic.
That said, this one is a sad situation no matter how you look at it.
#319 OK, I’m going to call WAAAAY over the top on Concerned Roanoker on this one.
from Ashby H. Mason… “I have read a lot of comments that say the honorable thing for Sheriff Hunt to do would be to resign. I beg to differ. The only honorable thing this Unhonorable man can do is to turn himself in to Roanoke City and be held for trial.If this cannot come to pass,the honorable thing for Roanoke City to do is issue an arrest warrant for this piece of human garbage and arrest him.”
Sheriff Hunt’s (in)actions were terrible, horribly incorrect choices, but he didn’t commit the crimes here. He should be removed from office asap, absolutely no question about that. But… Jonathan Agee is the one who will rightfully be put on trial and should be responsible for damages to Jennifer’s family and to their children.
Re: #330
Or why out of the sex-crimes, abductions, etc against women, the ones that go national and stay in the news are young, white, and/or attractive?
The cop who you’re glad wasn’t there, the cops who were never sent because of Hunt’s malfeasance…them
Yes. Hunt was negligent because he couldn’t foretell the future and divine that Sheetz would be the crime location and have officers waiting there.
We got us a moron alert.
@#331
Well in that case, if I should ever be murdered, it probably won’t make headlines and no one will lament how tragic it is.
@#335 “Hunt was negligent because he couldn’t foretell the future and divine that Sheetz would be the crime location and have officers waiting there. ”
With enough warning they could have caught up with his car on rt. 220 and either stopped him there or been in pursuit when he reached his destination. No crystal ball required.
Is 336 posts a record?
“Is 336 posts a record?”
Not close yet. The Charles Darwin thread had 448. The original rename LU thread had 343.
Magpie, 287. You realize I was just kidding?
Cburg,320, I think you are right- Native is a fake, he is playing “idot” a little over the top.
For those who are saying Hunt did all that he can do- well, that is an excellent reason to fire him, he is beyond incompetent. Barney Fife is a genius compared to Hunt.
If all you did was watch the news, you’d come to the conclusion that only pretty blondes ever go missing or get kidnapped or murdered.
So VRWC you’re OK if one person dies so others don’t have too?
If a person came into your house and held one of your loved ones at gun point, the police should just not show up right? I mean why take the risk on getting shot or getting the neighbors shot.
If you’re house was on fire and a loved one was trapped in a room, the firemen shouldn’t go in after them right? Why risk multiple firemen being killed in the fire versus one person?
Your logic makes very little sense. You’re OK with the Sherrif not doing what he was supposed to do because only one person died. Yes others may have died or maybe nobody does, I still think the law enforcement officers of this area deserved the chance to do the job they do very well.
Kristen you mean other people go missing too? Who knew.
#340- RM, yes, that’s why I added the smiley face. *But seriously, who would say things like that just to “stir the pot”? I know I’ve never come across anyone on here before who always seems to…
* imply that a victim (of anything) was at fault and brought it on themself
* cuss and call people names instead of having an honest debate or discussion
* make false accusations or imply things that weren’t true and then ignore proof disputing
* continue to turn a “blind eye” to ineptitude and/or corruption, just because they voted for the person
* take quotes out of context or skew it to suit their purposes
* take an opposite position of the majority of comments, not because they believe it but because they know that will attract attention to themself
*BTW, that was (< "tongue in cheek"
Should read “disputing it”
The truth wil come out. So far it is slowly trickling out, but before long the people will know the WHOLE truth. Ewell Hunt is a disgrace to the uniform he can’t even fit in. The people of FC need to band together and petition the Circuit Court to remove him. That’s called The Voice of the People. I lived in Rocky Mount years back and my only wish is that as a former resident I could add my name to the list of people willing to sign a petition. Unfortunately since I am not currently a resident I cannot. Hunt’s choices of actions as well as non-actions this past Monday have had a terrible impact on the community in and out of FC. Despite his claims of no wrondoing, I hope the people of the Moonshine Capital of Virginia have he brains to realize that the sheriff needs to go. The sooner the better.
#342 OG, does that mean you’re okay with a lot of people dying if one person doesn’t? I never mentioned what the sheriff did or didn’t do.
Some of the posts are obviously from the crowd who always asks, “why didn’t the police just shoot the gun out of his hand? Why did they have to shoot him 26 times?” Do some of you really believe that a police officer and a man with a rifle could have a shoot out on the lot of Sheetz on Memorial Day and no bystanders would be hurt or killed?
VT Hokie wrote, “Police officers, the ones who haven’t lost their minds and become homicidal, don’t shoot willy-nilly into crowds of people. The cops would have been shouting warnings to any bystanders to take cover. What sane person would continue to just hang out to watch? I personally would have been dropping to the pavement and crawling to the nearest parked car or whatever else was handy to hide behind.
The police also wear body armor, so if officers had been on the scene at Sheetz and drawn the fire to themselves rather than Jennifer Agee, it could conceivably have saved her. A sniper could have taken him out before he had the chance to hurt anyone. We’ll never know.”
That says it all, do you think a car is cover vs. a rifle? Do you think body armor will stop a rifle bullet? A parked car would provide about as much cover as just standing on the lot. Rifle bullets would penetrate the car with little resistance. The body armor that police wear won’t stop a .22 rifle much less a high caliber rifle. There is little/no cover from a rifle on the Sheetz lot or even the store. Concealment is about the only thing available. Wait for the results of the investigation, forget what you have seen on TV.
Well, Well, Well the plot thickens. Not only did Hunt CLEARLY show a lack of judgment in his handling of this entire situation he directed other county employees to keep quiet about it. It is obvious that Hunt knew immediately he had made a very bad call and this was going to get nasty. Of course one woman dead, a state trooper shot, 2 children without a mother and one who had to witness the attack goes way beyond nasty. I am sorry, but the more details come out the more Hunt’s actions seem criminal. He was given ample warning that an armed deputy was on a manhunt with the intent to kill, his efforts to sound any kind of alarm were feeble at best, and then he told the dispatcher to keep it quiet. I know Hunt should be removed as sheriff and at this point I think maybe he should be indicted as well.
The only person to blame in this tragic incident is the person who pulled the trigger, Mr. Agee. The initiation of a BOLO by Sheriff Hunt could have increased the likelihood of but not guarantee a positive outcome in this situation.
As I have asked almost daily here, Why does Sheriff Hunt still have a job right now?
The only person to blame in this tragic incident is the person who pulled the trigger, Mr. Agee. The initiation of a BOLO by Sheriff Hunt could have increased the likelihood of but not guarantee a positive outcome in this situation.
Thank you, Anne. What a breath of common sense!
What will tomorrow hold for Hunt and Franklin County? According to the facebook page, some citizens are holding a petition signing, well earlier it was a demonstration, and before that a rally at the court house. Sounds like trouble to me or a out and out shoot out !!! I admire these FB folks but to gather without a permit, without support from the Board of Supervisors – which one appears to support Hunt, the others are hiding in the bushes or staying out of the line of fire, newspaper and TV crews on hand is just asking for trouble. Everything that is printed clearly shows he is out of control – practicing Marshall Law and will do what he has to to protect himself and his officers. If Agee snappped, what’s to say others won’t – either the citizens or Law Enforcement. Hope someone is there to refee…
@ Ann, How can you say that only Agee is to blame?? Hunt knew this guy was out of control and he did everything he could to protect him by not calling in a BOL and having his staff keep quite. You can tell from the transcript the FC 911 dispatcher is scared, this dispatcher, did not directly lie to Roanoke City but when ask if FC had a car in Roanoke, she knew Agee was headed to Salem to kill his xwife, the FC 911 disp. took the call from Agee current wife – knew he had an assault rifle, and still did not want to help Roanoke City with information that was vital. Every Officer in FCSO is to blame, any one of them could have picked up a cell and called Roanoke/Salem 911 and alerted them. These officers knew, they hear the radio traffic, they called each other, they let a woman die trying to cover up for another. Did you read in the transcipts from FC that the Sheriff, called the Tactial Team out – that should have been a red flag for some of the good officers that things were not going according to protcall. What was Hunt going to do Load up on AMo and take the posse to “get him” (Agee) Why did NOT ONE of these officers override the Chain of Command – they were scare – of what losing their jobs, or the skeltons that Hunt is hiding for them? They are all guilty of aiding in a murder and if there is a law against it – taking orders from a crazy sheriff.
doesnt matter, he DID NOT do all he could have to prevent this tragedy. He is guilty of something here, maybe negligence, there are so many things that could have been done. Why didnt someone call Jenny? Why didnt they use the Amber Alert signs? If the wife was getting texts from her, then she also had the chance to call Jenny to forewarn her. A lot of people had a hand in this sick tragedy.
Boy, the FCSD was Johnny on the spot getting to the hospital to serve the unauthorized use warrant! I’m sure that warrant has Agee shaking in his hospital slippers, when he is also looking at a murder warrant and an attempted capital murder warrant.
The bottom line is Sheriff Hunt should have put out the bolo. Hunt did not want it going out over the airwaves that one of his own Deputies was homicidal. Now you have a dead woman and two children without a mother of father. What a shame!
Jonathan Agee must have contacted Jennifer by cell phone to know she was a Sheetz on Williamson/Orange. She likely would have never told him where she and their daughter were had she known that Jonathan was agitated and intent on killing her. He must have played it cool, “hey, what’s happening, where are you?” to know where she was. I am no fan of Sheriff Hunt and agree that he needs to go; however, Jonathan Agee sounds like a sociopath/psychopath that could fool people. Wonder if he could have fooled a psychological test before he become a deputy? Wonder if Franklin County Sheriff’s Office or any Virginia county sheriff’s office requires deputy applicants to undergo a psych eval?
Just wait and watch as this story unfolds…there is a lot of things that will come out involving this…such as how ironic that he knew she was at sheetz…hummm…maybe Jenny had been in contact with him??? Or maybe she knew she needed to get to a public place??? Theres a lot we have to learn about…hopefully it all comes out and the appropriate people are punished for their actions or inactions.
If, as the news media has reported, Angell Agee had Jennifer Agee’s cell phone number from receiving text messages from Jennifer, why didn’t Angell call Jennifer on her cell phone and tell her Jonathan was on his way to kill her?
Va. Beach deputy sheriff applicants must pass a psych eval after making the first cut:
http://www.vbso.net/pdf/qualifications.pdf
Virginia Beach, Hanover County, Alexandria websites attached re: all successful deputy sheriff applicants must undergo a psychological evaluation. If Franklin County does not currently require a psych eval, then it needs to start.
http://www.vbso.net/pdf/qualifications.pdf
http://www.co.hanover.va.us/sheriff/jobs.htm
http://alexandriava.gov/sheriff/info/default.aspx?id=8488
The residents of Franklin County are protected only as long as the “reputation” of the sheriff is protected….not a good deal for the residents!
As we learn more about the events of this truly sad situation, it deeply infuriates me that the ignorance and lack of proper procedural responses by Sheriff Hunt evidently allowed the death of a young mother and wounding of a State Police officer. What concerns my even more is that the obviously out of control Deputy Agee could have killed or wounded others while on his rampage. He obviously drove through residential areas of Roanoke City as he left the Sheetz parking lot and then driving through the middle of the City of Salem and westward towards Christiansburg. From start to finish Deputy Agee’s deadly escapade took him through no less than eight (8) legal jurisdictions that have a responsibility to protect its’ citizens from potential harm, and the law enforcement officers in these jurisdictions were compromised in the ablity to do their own job all because the way Sheriff Hunt chose to handle the initial 911 call warning and evidently cover it up.
In consideration of the above, I truly hope that the State Attorney General’s office takes immediate action regarding Sheriff Hunt and do something positive for the safety and well being of the immediate public in Franklin County and for the citizens in the surrounding areas by removing Sheriff Hunt from office with a full investigation of this mismanagement of law enforcement and endangerment of life to follow. Then I sincerely look for the family of Jennifer Agee to file legal suit against Ewell Hunt to the fullest extent possible of the law to help raise the two children who will be left behind since their mother is dead and their father who caused her death should never see them again. It has been noted by someone that Sheriff Hunt has yet to express sympathy regarding the family of Jennifer Agee and their tragic loss, but I’m sure that he will be doing so when he will be sitting in court while trying to explain himself to a judge and jury.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for Ken Cuccinelli to do anything about this. With Bill Stanley as Hnt’s lawyer, the Republican good ole boy network is already putting up the walls.
Now that the dead have been buried, I will agree with VWRC. Wait for the results of the formal investigation before casting blame.
“VWRC.”
That’s what you get for owning a Jetta. VRWC is what I meant.
We don’t need a sherriff who spends his time in the courtroom defending himself.
Buddy Guilliams
rocky mt
We have over 3,100 followers on Facebook and the online petition for non FC residents that will be sent to both Richmond and the FC Courthouse is underway.
The websites are : SheriffEwellHuntMustResign.com and http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/fc_hunt/
I live in Franklin County. Between our school superintendent being a gold digger and our sheriffs latest actions, our county looks like a bunch of assbackward hicks. These two idiots need to do the right thing and resign. Franklin County’s “good ole boy” mentality has got to go! This is 2011; not 1811. Ewell Hunt has always been known to protect his own; just look at the fiasco with his daughter. She was 17 and allowed to go on patrol with a married man! I hope the citizens of Franklin County pull together and get rid of both these men.
i think you need get him of police force if he can’t do his job like he should now these lady is deia becoue he couldn’t do his job right and husband should get death pently and be done just like he done her let him see what it feels like now her babys have grow up without there mom
Re: #355
Just a thought, here.
I don’t know the local rule.
However, I suspect that unauthorized use warrant has to do with whether Agee would be put on paid or unpaid leave, pending the outcome of the trial.
In most jurisdictions, personal or administrative actions are not taken until after criminal proceeding are complete.
In some jurisdictions, arrest for crimes outside of that jurisdiction result in paid leave pending the outcome of the trial. OTOH, arrest for crimes within that jurisdiction (and in some case violation of policy, such as unauthorized use) result in unpaid leave paid pending the outcome of the trial.
OTOH, it might be a laying the defensive groundwork for an anticipated tort action against the county.
However, as you say, that is the least of Agee’s problems, right now.
I agree with James G., #363.
#289 Native, I am a lifelong resident of Franklin County, and there is no way anyone can condone the way sheriff Hunt handled this matter.
A BOL should have been issued as soon as Steve Agee notified the sheriff of his son’s state of mind and that he was armed and driving the county vehicle. That would have given all agencies in the area 20-30 minutes to spot a K-9 unit from Franklin County in the vicinity. Maybe that still wouldn’t have prevented the murder, but maybe it would have. That certainly would have increased the odds of preventing it.
I can’t say for sure if Hunt was trying to protect his name, the department’s name, or just has a severe lack of common sense, but either way, it questions if he is fit to serve as sheriff. It seems that the main function of the enforcement agencies is to protect and serve the citizens, not to protect the reputation of the agencies and those within it.
5th straight day hunt has been on the front page of the RT. I doubt Oswald made it that many times. Now he’s four ahead of Agree.
I don’t think we should blame the other FC officers or dispatch for not overriding the sheriff’s decisions. In the police department, like in the military, there is a chain of command. It’s very, very different than civilian operations, and you do not disobey an order from your superior. That’s a tv or Hollywood scenario. Great heroics but not very realistic. The only person to blame, besides obviously Jonathan Agee, was the sheriff. He was in command, and he should take responsibility.
Remember the commander of the Blue Angels who recently resigned after the airshow in Lynchburg? No one was killed or even harmed in that incident, and I don’t think they even broke any FAA rules- just stringent ones set by the Blue Angels. Anyway, he still took complete responsibility for it and gave up his command.
Unfortunately this sheriff has proven that he is not honorable and not a true leader, so I don’t know why we’re all hoping he’ll start acting like one now by resigning or taking responsibility for his extreme mishandling of this situation.
Re: #349 & #351
Anne, Suzie, et al
The fact (if established) that X is only person guilty of a crime has no baring on most of the ongoing discussion in these threads.
The fact that X is only person guilty of a crime does not preclude that others were not guilty of being an accessory.
http://tinyurl.com/3nm6kbp
**
§ 18.2-21. When and where accessories tried; how indicted.
An accessory, either before or after the fact, may, whether the principal felon be convicted or not, or be amenable to justice or not, be indicted, tried, convicted and punished in the county or corporation in which he became accessory, or in which the principal felon might be indicted. Any such accessory before the fact may be indicted either with such principal or separately.
**
Also see:
http://tinyurl.com/3g5u9wf
**
GONZALES v. DUENAS-ALVAREZ (No. 05-1629)
SNIP
The common law divided participants in a felony into four basic categories: (1) first-degree principals, those who actually committed the crime in question; (2) second-degree principals, aiders and abettors present at the scene of the crime; (3) accessories before the fact, aiders and abettors who helped the principal before the basic criminal event took place; and (4) accessories after the fact, persons who helped the principal after the basic criminal event took place. See Standefer v. United States, 447 U. S. 10, 15 (1980) . In the course of the 20th century, however, American jurisdictions eliminated the distinction among the first three categories. Id., at 16–19; Nye & Nissen v. United States, 336 U. S. 613, 618 (1949) .
SNIP
**
All that notwithstanding, I do not think this case arises to the level of “aiding and abetting” given the lack of demonstrated criminal intent (from what we have seen so far).
OTOH, none of that has anything to do with the ongoing questions of fitness for office or the questions of “…neglect of duty, misuse of office, or incompetence in the performance of duties when that neglect of duty, misuse of office, or incompetence in the performance of duties has a material adverse effect upon the conduct of the office….” [See #53 above], IMHO.
One individual’s “guilt” or “responsibility” for murder and another’s “fitness for office… etc are different issues, IMHO.
Albeit the first may be the window through which we view and recolonize the other.
Or, it might be the “final straw” of a series of neglect and/or incompetence, which results in removal by one legal mechanism or another.
Re: #375
“The fact that X is only person guilty of a crime does not preclude that others were not guilty of being an accessory.”
———–
Arrggghhhh!
Should have been:
“The fact that X is only person guilty of a crime does not preclude that others were guilty of being an accessory.”
I was editing something like, “The fact that X is only person guilty or not guilty of a crime does not preclude a finding that others were guilty or not guilty of being an accessory to that crime” to make it less wordy and I messed up.
Boss Hog is not going to resign any time soon. The power of being THE SHERIFF has gone to his head. We can only hope he will be ousted and that can only be done by successfully presenting a petition to the Circuit Court. He wants to keep his job. He denies any wrongdoing. What could he possibly do until retirement age if he loses his job? Security guard at a mall? Even with having been vilified by so many of the people due to his mishandling of this recent situation, he lacks the intelligence and class to simply step down. WE NEED TO SIGN PETITIONS. Those petitions need to be specific and a lawyer needs to be consulted so he cannot successfully contest them.
good post #357, 359
#374 If suzie ran the RT:
Agee still charged with murder, by suzie
Franklin County deputy Jonathan Agee was still charged with murder Friday. Police still allege that he showed up at a Roanoke Sheetz and shot his former wife to death. The Roanoke Times has also learned that the suspect remains in the hospital recovering from wounds he suffered after shooting a state trooper.
In other breaking news, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department still plans to charge Agee with attempted capital murder of a police officer.
That’s it.
-30-
Being a law enforcment official means being able to make split second decsions that literally mean life or death. Boss Hogg made the wrong decision and now must pay for it.
Legal Dictionary
Main Entry: non·fea·sance
Pronunciation: “nän-’fEz- & ns
Function: noun
Etymology: non- + obsolete English feasance doing, execution, from Anglo-French fesance , from Old French faisance act, from fais- , stem of faire to do, from Latin facere
: the failure or omission to do something that should be done or esp. something that one is under a duty or obligation to do —compare MALFEASANCE, MISFEASANCE
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Legal Dictionary
Main Entry: der·e·lic·tion
Pronunciation: “der-&-’lik-sh&n
Function: noun
1 a : an intentional abandonment b : a state of being abandoned
2 : a recession of water leaving permanently dry land
3 : an intentional or conscious neglect
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Legal Dictionary
Main Entry: neg·li·gence
Pronunciation: ‘ne-gli-j&ns
Function: noun
: failure to exercise the degree of care expected of a person of ordinary prudence in like circumstances in protecting others from a foreseeable and unreasonable risk of harm in a particular situation; also : conduct that reflects this failure called also ordinary negligence simple negligence —compare ABUSE 2, DUE CARE, INTENT
NOTE: Negligence may render one civilly and sometimes criminally liable for resulting injuries.
criminal negligence
: a gross deviation from the standard of care expected of a reasonable person that is manifest in a failure to protect others from a risk (as of death) deriving from one’s conduct and that renders one criminally liable called also culpable negligence —compare GROSS NEGLIGENCE in this entry
gross negligence
: negligence that is marked by conduct that presents an unreasonably high degree of risk to others and by a failure to exercise even the slightest care in protecting them from it and that is sometimes associated with conscious and willful indifference to their rights
Legal Dictionary
Main Entry: ac·com·plice
Pronunciation: &-’käm-pl&s, -’k&m-
Function: noun
Etymology: alteration (from incorrect division of a complice ) of complice , from Middle French, associate, from Late Latin complic – complex partner, confederate
: one who intentionally and voluntarily participates with another in a crime by encouraging or assisting in the commission of the crime or by failing to prevent it though under a duty to do so accomplice of the burglar> accomplice in a robbery>
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
i disagree mostly – just my opinion. It was a love triangle – so any allegations are already suspect given that. his current wife works in Roanoke police – why didn’t she call her people? Since he notified Salem -why didn’t they apprehend the cruiser as it went all the way down 460 through Salem. a crusier is a whole lot easier to spot than a white toyota. this indicates to me that even if a BOL had been issued to Roanoke that there is no guarantee it would have made any difference. it is a mistake to try to second guess these things. simply a tragedy.
#377- DaveH, This is from another state. I don’t know what Virginia has, although I would guess most if not all departments have something similar.
Sheriff Hunt gave the dispatcher several orders, so the officers would have received the same orders from both the Sheriff and the dispatcher. They had no recourse but to follow them. The orders did not follow procedure, but they were not unlawful either:
501.02 Obedience to Orders of Ranking Officers
(1) Officers shall obey the lawful orders of their ranking officers and, regardless of their rank, they shall invariably obey instructions given by the dispatcher. They shall perform all duties required of them by their ranking officers, whether such duties are specifically assigned to them by Departmental Rules and Regulations, the Operations Manual, or written directives.
REV. 5-11
(3) Should any lawful order appear unjust or improper to the member to whom it is directed, they shall carry out the instructions first, and afterward they may call the matter to the attention of their commanding officer.
DaveH, concerning my last comment. If Virginia has something similar to this, then I wonder about this line- “regardless of their rank, they shall invariably obey instructions given by the dispatcher.”
Does this mean that the Sheriff has to obey the dispatcher also? How would that work though, if he gave orders to the dispatcher first? Wouldn’t the dispatcher have to follow the Sheriff’s order, or can the dispatcher override an order from their “boss”?
SIGN THE PETITION TODAY TO REMOVE EWELL HUNT:
FRANKLIN COUNTY COURT HOUSE 12:00 Noon till 1 PM SATURDAY.
YOU MUST BE A RESIDENT AS WELL AS REGISTERED VOTER IN FRANKLIN COUNTY.
http://www2.wsls.com/news/2011/jun/02/hundreds-push-ewell-hunts-resignation-ar-1082401/
http://www.facebook.com/resignhunt
Boss Hog and his daughter should have been jailed before all this happened. Just goes to show that a little power goes a long way
Re: #384
You appear to be discussing Hunt / dispatcher / other officers and the orders given or not given.
I was discussing / trying to show the separation between Hunt’s total action / lack there of / fitness / etc in relation to Agee’s alleged crime.
FWIIW, that “shall carry out the instructions first, and afterward they may call the matter to the attention of their commanding officer” somewhat parallels:
10 USC CHAPTER 47 – UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE
Sec. 892. Art. 92. Failure to obey order or regulation
-STATUTE-
Any person subject to this chapter who –
(1) violates or fails to obey any lawful general order or
regulation;
(2) having knowledge of any other lawful order issued by a
member of the armed forces, which it is his duty to obey, fails
to obey the order; or
(3) is derelict in the performance of his duties;
shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Also, see:
http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/pdf/Crim-Law-Deskbook_V-2.pdf
p. 3 – 25
**
Lawfulness of the order is a question of law that must be decided by the military judge.
a) United States v. Diesher, 61 M.J. 313 (C.A.A.F. 2005) (holding the legality of an order is an issue of law that must be decided by the military judge (citing United States v. New, 55 M.J. 95 (C.A.A.F. 2001)).
b) In 2005, MCM, Part IV, para. 14c(2)(a) was amended to clarify that the determination of lawfulness resides with the military judge, rather than the trier of fact. The analysis cites United States v. New, 55 M.J. 95 (C.A.A.F. 2001) as the basis for this change.
**
Hence, (in the USMC in any case) “shall carry out the instructions first, and afterward they may call the matter to the attention of their commanding officer” is taken very seriously — it’s do it or take your chances at your court-martial of convincing the the military judge that it was not lawful.
Re: #385
Sometimes law and/or rule makers get a bit carried away.
Hence, we have courts.
.
.
Didn’t Agee’s father call 911 (or Hunt?) about 20 minutes before the shooting — prior to Agee’s wife’s call? Seems like sending a “be on the lookout” order at that point would have provided adequate time for Agee to be stopped. We can’t be sure, but being on the lookout for a Franklin Co. Sheriff’s patrol car would be a lot easier than being on the lookout for a generic white van, for example.
As more details and comments come forworth, It appears, FC has more problems that just the FCSO, now we hear about the school board, etc Residents are blaming HUNT, rightfully so, however, reading the articles from 08 on the charges, investigation of his daughter, the officers being charged and fired. Where THE HECK WERE YOU PEOPLE ???? You complaint about others calling him Boss Hog and referring to FC as Hazard KY, well you VOTING Citizens did this !!! and failed yourselves by NOT taking action in ’08 !! Yes, the Officers are guilty, they made a CHOICE to work for HUNT and follow his directions, just like if I work at the grocery store and the manager tells me to keep quite about – say- the bad meat, it’s expired and rotten, I am guilty of deceit, maybe someone died of EColi- same thing here. JUST becasue they work for HUNT, does not mean they are to break or bend the law for him or anyone else. The two officers that were fired for “going against HUNT”, where were YOU the voting the Citizen ??? No the officers will not speak up because they know the citizens, don’t give a crap about the conditions and proved the last time. Once, the cameras are gone, the fb page shut down, and no more woop la, you folks will be in the same shape. If you don’t want to be compaired to Hazard, the get off you duff and make a difference, go to BOS meeting, serve on the School Board, City and Counties that DON’t have this problem – does have ACTIVE citizens that are involved on a daily basis, not just when the TV camera are on. If you want a good County to live in – go visit another county -see what makes them a sucess and great place to live and the Do something to change where you live. It’s always, the some old story in FC, the good ol boys, well, you put them in office and GAVE them FREE Will…
Here is a comment left by someone on another website about this situation:
“JAY C. LAW
WHY DID’NT OFFICER AGEE;S WIFE AFTER CALLING FRANKLIN CO. SHERIFFS DEPT . DID SHE NOT CALL HER OWN POLICE DEPT IF SHE THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO K-LL HIS EX-WIFE .SHE IS ALSO TRAINED TO DO POLICE WORK ALSO,IT’S SHE?
Yesterday, 10:17:11 PM”
I would like to ask that anyone who KNOWS the status of Agee’s wife to please let the rest of us know. There have been reports that she is “Law Enforcement.” Does anyone know that to be a fact? I have also heard that she is a JAIL GUARD for Roanoke. I do not believe jail guards are all trained as law enforcement officers, nor are they considered to be such. Does anyone know for certain her employment status, agency and title? That may help clear up some rather rude comments and assumptions.
for Donnie, I agree, the petitions must mean the legal verbage requirements and is usually written or approved by the county attorney to insure court approval. I don’t think the FB group has the knowledge they need or are seeking this knowledge to put together the charges. I bet, the folks that started this aren’t even registered voters and should have researched the process or ask for free legal advise. Once, the petition is filed, all signatures must be valided as registered voters, if they have enough signature and the “charges/complaints” are properly listed. I mean the laws broken the status number, etc, then a trial will be held. At the trial, HUNT can and will have BOS, registered voters, citizens etc, testify. IF the BOS decides not to impeach HUNT, and defends him – and by the way, the FC citizens will be paying for Hunts legal defense – it’s part of his employment, then I doubt any judge is going to impeach him. The key to success is having the RIGHT forms, verbage, witness, and creditability and from the FB group, they are seriously lacking in these skills. I have NOT seen or heard from any of the officals of FC, BOS, County Adm. etc involved in this petition process and without them it’s a waste of time and will just do more damage to the reputation of the County. Wonder how many will be arrested today?????
So the big petition signing is over and now we sit back and wait to see how the local news media covers the story. Will they artfully frame the shots to make it appear there was a large crowd in attendance? Most likely they will because that makes for a better story than the small number that I saw. It will certainly help keep this issue stirred up, but is that really what Jennifer Agee’s family needs right now? As usual, many people find it easy to express their opinion while hiding behind their Internet accounts. However, I have to wonder how many of them would be bold enough to say those same words to his face.
I appeal to all of you to stop giving the likes of Joe Stanley so much support on the Facebook page. However if you must continue to post your rants there, I suggest you ask him how much free labor from the Sheriff’s department his mother’s sad excuse for a Historical Society will get from now on. Mr. Stanley needs to put on his work clothes and plan on getting his hands dirty for once because she likes to keep those trustees from the jail busy moving furniture, mowing grass and pulling weeds. I’m sure there are other not-for-profit organizations around Franklin County will be grateful for any help they could get.
Sheriff Hunt made a big mistake by not placing a bolo as soon as he got the first warning. He was trying to keep all this hushed so his dept. didn’t look bad in the eyes of the public. In my opinion his leadership skills have been far short of what the sheriffs position calls for. He has demonstrated his bad judgement before and again this time, IT MAY cost a life. I agree he must resign.
Now Hunt has “lawyered up” as the police say, letting his attorney speak for him, which was smart since he kept digging his career grave deeper with every word. I sure home the residents of Franklin Co. have the good sense and courage to dump him. He’s the perfect example of Good Old Boy politics and law enforcement: protect your job first, your buddies second, and the public last.
VRWC why do you answer everyone’s questions with a question? Of course anyone would choose to have 1 person die over 20 people, but you have knowledge now that nobody had when this all played out. How did anyone know he would pull up to Sheetz and actually just kill one person? People with the mindset to kill 1 person usually end up shooting a lot more than the intended target. We are lucky he killed just one person, especially since our local police were not given the opportunity to show up and defend the citizens which is their sworn duty.
So if you don’t mind, please answer my question. If a person came into your house and held one of your loved ones at gun point, you would be OK with the police not showing up right? As long as that one person is the only one that dies, it’s all good correct?
I don’t expect you to answer it because I think you know your argument is a ridiculous one to start with. The area police should have been alerted and you know it.
@Suzi… it’s “the fifth day straight” you’ve been here defending Hunt for trying to personally handle (keep quiet) a deputy gone wild. This is a huge local story. The national news had plenty to say about Kennedy’s assassination for days and days, but that’s a poor analogy. The shooting last Monday was a big deal locally, and this is what the press does: they milk a story for all it’s worth. At least two officers (one retired, the other active), Agee’s dad and wife, reported that he was on his way to commit a murder. You can’t ask for better warning than that. Hunt says he never imagined Agee was capable of doing something like this, and he thought his personal calls (going nowhere) would be the best way to get Agee under control. The best that can be said for Hunt in this situation is that he used bad judgment, with good intentions and bad consequences. I’d like to think any other sheriff or police chief in that situation (or Hunt if he had it to do over) would sound the alarm to all surrounding juristictions. That’s standard operating procedure. He has yet to provide a convincing explanation for handling it in an unconventional way, and the only logical explanation is that he was trying to talk Agee down off the ledge himself and keep it from becoming a big deal. Boy did that backfire!
well, THE SIGNING is over and no one was shot. Per FB, they had 170 signatures,but the press only reported 80, well, wonder if any of these are voters? Stanley couldn’t keep from debating the newspaper, no self control or professionalism and they blame the paper. Now they are MAD at the paper. THere next plan, call more media and get them to come to the next signing. Is this about the Sheriff or media coverage??? Shame these folks on FB can’t get it together, involve the right people – registered voters, and act professional. Looking more and more like Hazzard…. and the Sheriff looks better and better, at least he has sense enough to keep his mouth shut until he has a plan that will work. I can only hope that the PROFESSONAL’s of FC, you know the ones that have spend the last 10, 20, or 30 years, voting and being active, serving on the school board, BOS, and volunteering in the community will take on the task of removing from office. If not, I see more trouble brewing, with FB and Hunt – you can’t take a bunch of rednecks and get them to listen and do thing the correct way, hey they are as bad or worse tha n Hunt. They are “all dressed up for the party” and don’t know how to get there….. and we the citizens of the State of Va are support to help them clean up the mess they created and condoned… again I bet most of the folks on the FB page aren’t voters,some even state so, what does that tell you about the organizers of the EVENT. FB needs to shut them down, they have changed thier page, removed post that they don’t like, and are only seeking publicty, they even purchase the domain name and I bet are collect advertising fees. Now, if that ain’t the kettle calling the kettle Black…. I can’t believe the media is covering this, the media that has spoken to them should know the calber of people these are after one conversation. HECK yea, I want HUNT out, but these folks are gonna mess up the only chance, those of us that are the VOTERS have of taking care of this matter in a professional manner. Made another laughing stock of Franklin County today…..
My feeling on why Agee’s wife just called the FC Sheriff’s Dept, is because he was a FC deputy driving an FC car and she more than likely trusted that they would do the proper thing and put out the BOLO alert. She acted in good faith and had no idea that Sheriff Hunt wouldn’t follow standard operating procedure.
OG – I never said the police shouldn’t have been alerted. Stop being so emotional and read and think.
OG, I wouldn’t depend on the police when it comes to defending my house. The police probably wouldn’t be there until it was over. They do the best they can, but they usually aren’t there when a crime is happening. If the scenario you gave happened it would be up to me to defend myself. I’d be okay with the police not showing up. I definitely would not put someone else in danger to save myself.
#394 B Brady, the RT says 80 there. Was that an exaggeration?
B.Brady..As a member of Jenny’s family I can tell you that what I need right now is to have my girl back, raising her daughters…that will not happen because of the actions of Jonathan..but I also need to be assured that those who are here to protect us are doing their jobs…could the Police have intervened in time?…we will never know but I would have more peace in my heart if I could say with certainty that someone tried their best…we will now focus on Jenny’s daughters, helping them to have the happy lives Jenny wished for them.
If Sheriff Hunt does not want to listen to the public asking him to step down, he needs to look at what other jurisdictions are saying. Salem and Roanoke City released the timelines of this horrible event. These jurisdictions are saying “We did not know anything until after the event at Sheetz”. Yes, they are trying to stay out of lawsuits but I think Sheriff Hunt needs to look at the hidden message. And then there are some being quoted as to saying ” I dont know what he (Sheriff Hunt) was thinking”. Sheriff Hunt, if you will not listen to the people, please take it from other agencies. They do not want to be involved in your lawsuit, but they are telling you to step down.
It certainly appears that Sheriff Hunt could have handled things much differently and things look overwhelmingly damning for him. However, as a former investigator I realize that all of the facts are not in and we are already discovering that things he is alleged to have said or ordered are not exactly factual. I am NOT pro Hunt, but I do realize that this is an investigation that is not concluded. With that said, right or wrong, one thing is certain. The citizens of Franklin County have lost all confidence in Sheriff Hunt. This horrific incident combined with his past poor judgment regarding his daughter Ashley’s role in the department has ruined the public’s perception of him as a leader and chief law enforcement officer. This lack of public confidence will simply make him more inefficient as Sheriff therefore I feel he should resign or at the very least choose not to seek re-election.
Liberte,
From what I hear, Hunt is a crack disciplined by-the-book lawman. A latter-day Matt Dillion. And for his reputation to be dragged through the mud like this is unfair. What must his family think? I hear he has a young impressionable daughter who has been good enough to help out on the force. What must she be going through now?
#406 OK, suzie, THAT one was funny. Too bad you didn’t save it for a caption contest, although I guess you could recycle it.
@406 Bless this family
#406, Either you’re hitting the bottle pretty hard today or you are showing an exceptionally humorous side. Too bad there’s nothing at all funny about this crime.
My sympathies are with the families of Jennifer Agee and Jonathan Agee. His family is suffering too. He’s still alive, but they are suffering. I don’t have much sympathy for Hunt or his family.
Pamela #403, you and your family have my sympathy and I hope that the outrage that sane and rational taxpayers are expressing will give you some measure of comfort that we too think that intervention might have made a difference or at the very least have given Jennifer a chance to flee. Prayer and condolences to you on your loss that is permanent unlike Sheriff Hunt’s.
>> And for his reputation to be dragged through the mud like this is unfair. What must his family think? I hear he has a young impressionable daughter who has been good enough to help out on the force. What must she be going through now? >> Is this comment for real? I don’t detect sarcasm. I think Suzie is actually serious. “a daughter who has been good enough to help out??” Wow! I guess you didn’t read the reports of what that did to morale at the department and the questions about improper pay and the tantrums and everything else.
OK, here’s another thought. What if TWO PEOPLE,both close relatives, and one a law enforcement official, called dispatch at Franklin County and said someone they knew had a shotgun and was going to kill his daughter. Would he have acted the same way?
I’ve been reading comments along here, but this Suzie seems, well, words escape me.
OK, Suzie’s comments just seem to bizarre to be true.
Dan – fess up that’s she’s a shill you’ve put on here just to rile people up and spur interest… She can’t be for real!
Appalled,
Many people have accused me of posting (mostly) right-wing nonsense as Suzie, trying to make conservatives look bad (at which she is quite effective). Or of engaging a shill to post as her.
As God is my witness I have no idea who is doing this.
“From what I hear, Hunt is a crack disciplined by-the-book lawman. ”
Time to get that hearing checked.
#403- Pamela, my heartfelt sympathies to you and your family.
#413- It’s not Dan. If you go back through some of the older threads (and probably even recent ones) you’ll realize that. He may do things to promote more response on his blog, but he’s too decent to have written the types of things that have been posted under that “handle”.
#415- Mike, “crack disciplined”? That sounds like a hardcore drug addict or someone who has gotten their butt whooped quite a bit.
[facetious]
Come on Dan.
Post another Suzie comment and push the count beyond the 448 record for a thread.
You can do it.
[/facetious]
.
Re: #406
“From what I hear, Hunt is a crack disciplined by-the-book lawman”
———-
Wonder if “disciplined by-the-book lawman” could be Suzie code for “head”?
See: http://tinyurl.com/44ee4mg #46
From what I hear, Hunt is a crack disciplined by-the-book lawman. A latter-day Matt Dillion. And for his reputation to be dragged through the mud like this is unfair. What must his family think? I hear he has a young impressionable daughter who has been good enough to help out on the force. What must she be going through now?
Comment by Suzie — June 5, 2011 @ 1:17 pm
Are you saying that Sheriff Hunt is “discipline by crack”? That might explain some of his actions.
#312 Appalled, suzie will use any situation at all — no matter how tragic — to draw attention to herself and to troll this blog. You’re right to be appalled.
Re: #422
Yup.
That’s our resident moi, moi, moi troller in a nutshell. Or should that be, that’s our resident nutcase in a moi, moi, moi troller?
Ashley, …….I mean Suzie (sorry)! Shouldn’t you be looking for a summer job while home from school? Daddy’s gonna need some of that “help” you’re sooooo good at doing! Now stop wasting your time on here and go talk daddy into packing up the office! Have a good summer!
#312 Appalled, suzie will use any situation at all — no matter how tragic — to draw attention to herself and to troll this blog. You’re right to be appalled.
Let’s see. I remember a bunch of liberal comments and even a separate thread falsely claiming after the Gabrielle Giffords shooting, that Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin were responsible. No tragedy was too great for leftwingers trying to go pollitical.
Just as the RT did with this tragedy in going after the Republican sheriff ahead of even the killer himself.
Just sayin’. Of the many many hundreds of bizarre things Suzie has posted on this blog, that one truly takes the prize as bizzaro #1.
FYI: mabye you all should catch up!
1- he did what he could witht hte info given to him at the time!
2- all sheriff’s have attorney so when people do stupid things like all of you are doing he has representation
3- I do not know Ashley personally but Do know Carter and I know why he was firesd and it was for good reason and he was just pissed and lying to the grand jury to get back at Hunt for firing his steeling tail!
4- everyone should get all the facts before asking for a good man to step down! All I see is a bunch of people who have lost it. You are blaming a man for doing what he could and not the one who killed!
5- HE NEVER CANCELED A BOL. That should have been the dispatchers 1st thing done!
6- to all that think I am an embarassment to FC: No you all are becuase you are just pointing a figure at a man who did what he could, never killed anyone and you all are the embarassment for being so blind and personally down grading a man just over the thing you read. Did your parents ever tell you not to believe everything you read from hearsay but to get the facts first?? Mine did!
please read and get all facts:
Ewell Hunt
Hunt, the sheriff of Franklin County, released this statement in response to events that occurred on Memorial Day.
The recent article in The Roanoke Times which used illegally leaked information is not accurate. The “CAD” sheet, that was leaked, records time from the point at which the information is entered, and not from when it actually occurs; and, it is a summary of information relayed through dispatch, rather than what actually transpired.
Therefore, the times and information reported on this CAD sheet are incomplete. And because this is an ongoing murder investigation, I am limited in what information I can provide at this time. And, I will not do anything that compromises this investigation.
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.
Moreover, both I and other members of my office attempted to contact Mr. Agee by every possible means in order to prevent the tragic events from occurring this past Monday.
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.
The following is an exact time line of my actions. These facts are compiled from both phone records and the actual dispatch records from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office:
11:04-11:05 a.m. Steve Agee (father of Jonathan Agee) calls Sheriff Hunt and informs him of a call from Julia Angell (Jonathan Agee’s wife) that Jonathan had left house in an agitated state with guns in a marked car. Asks Sheriff Hunt for assistance.
11:05-11:07 a.m. Sheriff Hunt calls Deputy Agee and leaves order to call him immediately.
11:09-11:11 a.m. Steve Agee calls sheriff to see if Sheriff Hunt has contacted his son.
11:12 to 11:18 (two calls) Sheriff Hunt calls dispatch; informed by dispatch that Julia Angell called the office to report her husband left the house in agitated state with guns saying he is going to kill ex-wife in Salem. Sheriff Hunt advised that he will call Salem to notify Police Department of situation.
11:18-11:19 a.m. Sheriff calls Salem dispatcher, asks to speak to police supervisor to give information about incident.
11:20-11:21 a.m. Sheriff calls Rocky Mount officer (friend and associate of Mr. Agee) to try to make contact with Agee.
11:22-11:24 Sheriff Hunt calls Mr. Agee’s cellphone, talks to Agee’s wife, gets his personal cell number and more information regarding her husband.
11:24-11:25 a.m. Sheriff Hunt calls the personal cell number of Jonathan Agee, does not reach Agee, leaves message.
11:27-11:29 a.m. Sheriff Hunt calls dispatch regarding current situation.
11:31-11:31 a.m. Sheriff Hunt receives incoming call from on-duty supervisor Sgt. Wimmer.
11:31-11:33 a.m. Sheriff Hunt receives return phone call from Salem Police Department in response to Sheriff Hunt’s original call at 11:18 a.m.
11:33-11:35 a.m. Family of Mr. Agee calls seeking information on situation.
11:35-11:37 a.m. Sheriff calls on-duty Supervisor FCSO Sgt. Wimmer.
11:37-11:38 a.m. Sheriff Hunt calls Franklin County Dispatch, told to call on-scene Roanoke Sgt. Anderson.
11:38-11:39 a.m. Sheriff Hunt calls Roanoke on-scene Sgt. Anderson.
11:39-11:41 a.m. Salem on-duty sergeant calls Sheriff Hunt requesting more information.
11:42-11:44 a.m. Sheriff Hunt receives call from Roanoke City Sgt. Anderson with more details from scene.
11:45-11:48 a.m. Salem on-duty sergeant calls Sheriff Hunt.
11:49-11:51 a.m. FCSO Sgt. Wimmer calls Sheriff Hunt from the Agee house, notifying him that he had secured Agee family and was bringing to sheriff’s office.
11:51-11:53 a.m. On-scene Roanoke city Sgt. Anderson calls Sheriff Hunt.
11:53-11:54 a.m. FCSO Sgt. Wimmer calls asking for TAC Team support; request granted by Sheriff Hunt.
11:53-11:55 a.m. Roanoke city officer on-scene Sgt. Anderson calls, gives sheriff additional details of incident.
11:56-11:57 a.m. Call from Sheriff Hunt’s family.
11:57 -11:58 a.m. Sheriff Hunt calls Roanoke city on-scene Sgt. Anderson.
11:57-11:58 a.m. Call from Franklin County dispatch to sheriff.
11:58-11:59 a.m. Call from Franklin County Dep. Brandt Gawor to Sheriff Hunt.
11:59 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Call from Franklin County Jail (unrelated to incident).
12:00-12:02 p.m. Sheriff Hunt calls Roanoke city officer on-scene Sgt. Anderson.
It goes without saying that what happened Monday is a terrible tragedy. All of this has had a profound effect on all of our lives both here in Franklin County, our sheriff’s office personnel and the Virginia State Police personnel. We must never forget not only the lives lost, but those affected by this senseless act of violence.
At no time did we ever have any indication that Mr. Agee was capable of such a horrific act.
But this act of one person does not, and shall not, reflect badly upon the members of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, who are the best law enforcement personnel in the commonwealth of Virginia; and, I am eternally grateful for their service to the citizens of Franklin County.
Native- I thought you were gone…..and you still can’t spell.
I apologize Suzie! The real Ashley (Native)just showed back up! I recognized her by the miss-spellings and the temper-tantrum. FYI Ashely, just because you ordered uniforms, carried a gun, and went on drug busts illegally with the actual KILLER……it doesn’t mean you have a law degree! But, if that is what you think then I understand how you believe the accessory (your daddy) did all he could do…..
I bet if the show was on the other foot and his daughter was gunned down,he would be looking at his story in a whole different aspect and he would be up on that news,I pray for nothing bad to happen to anyone but this man needs to get on outta here!!!!
SOOOOO sad!!!I bet if the show was on the other foot and his daughter was gunned down,he would be looking at his story in a whole different aspect and he would be up on that news,I pray for nothing bad to happen to anyone but this man needs to get on outta here!!!!Prayers go out to those beautiful little girls.RIP Jenny
@ HC the facebook page was designed and organized by a person who was in control of the democratic party for franklin county…as much as this sucks for the residents of a county that i enjoy being a part of…is all about politics and publicity for all the wrong reasons for them! The person who built that FB page used nothing but mudslinging in a campaign that he was managaing and that possibly lost the election for that person. For everyone following this…Election day will be here in almost exactly 5 months…if Hunt as the guts to run again… that’s when the resident of FC will speak professionally…until then I don’t see this as anything but bad publicity for the county!
Also…FC is small and it’s all about who you know when it comes to this county elections. The more people you know personally the more likely it is that you will win the election.
[Hunt:] “I called Salem and they ain’t called me back yet,” Hunt said. “I don’t know what the hell is wrong with them.”
THEY AIN’T CALLED ME BACK YET. They “is not” called me back yet. Did he go to school? In Franklin County? Oh. Now I understand.
I don’t know what the “hell” is wrong with HIM!
If the citizens of Franklin County allow him to be re-elected then it’s their own fault.
http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/288970
“HC the facebook page was designed and organized by a person who was in control of the democratic party for franklin county…”
So what? That person didn’t force Hunt to abdicate his professional responsiblity in some misguided effort to protect himself and his family. Hunt served that up all on his own.
The phone call between the two departments is particularly damning…the woman in FC has clearly been told not to discuss what was going on. She sounded almost relieved that Agee had actually done something so she had some pretext to call Hunt and talk about the situation. Too late for the victim unfortunately.
@native – Please, please, please, for the sake of yourself and everyone with an IQ in the normal range in Franklin County, stop posting. I do not know how you got a law degree…maybe online…but that would have meant using spell check…but please stop posting. You are making us all look like “idots” or as it is spelled correctly idiots. There is no getting around the facts, Hunt made a terrible mistake here. His mistake may have cost a woman her life and injured a state trooper. Yes, the real person at fault is the person who shot them but it was Hunt’s duty to protect them and he failed at that.
I’m glad that gal reporter got the truth about Saturday’s lynch mob being nothing but a Democrat put up job. People say Sheriff Hunt’s fitness for the job, well, he’s a REAL conservative, and knows it takes an iron fist to make those g-damned liberals obey the law. What they really are trying to do is keep motivated buyers from getting assault guns, that’s all. I think soon Sen. Stanley will get out the real truth, and come election, them liberal traitors will know you don’t mess with a real Republican conservative law officer.
You know what RockyMountGirl, HDM, KL and whoever else. I am not Hunt nor am I Ashley. I am a proud Hunt voter, was in 2007 and will again in 2011. Reguardless if he wins or not he did what he could. What all of you are missing is that HE NEVER TOLD DISPATCH TO NOT TELL ANY LAW ENFORCEMENT ANYTHING, NEVER DID HE SAY THAT. HE TOLD THEM WE THEY ASK IF THEY NEEDED TO CALL AND HE TOLD THEM HE WOULD TAKE CARE OF IT. HE MEANT THE CALL. THE DISPATCHER HAD EVERY RIGHT TO PUT OUT THE BOL AND DID NOT. THAT IS NOT HUNT’S FAULT!
HUNT:
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.
What part of that are you all missing. He did everything he could to help stop him from killing Jenny. He was told he was going to Salem. He had no idea he was going to Roanoke! Hello the phone logs do not lie for God sake. Stop acting like he helped in her killing because he did not! He did everything. The dispatch person gave false information when they said they were told not to say anything because that is not true. They were never told that and it is THEIR JOB TO ISSUE THE BOL AND CONTACT ALL PERSONS NEEDED TO HELP ASSIST IN ANY GIVEN SITUATION. THAT IS WHAT THEY GET PAID TO DO. NOT CALL THE SHERIFF FIRST AND ASK WHAT TO DO. THEY ARE SUPPOSE TO KNOW WHAT TO DO.
And I am not an embarassment to FC, if anything I am a supporter of the people in this fine county who support law officers and respect them unlike all of you who have dogged me for supporting Hunt. He is a good man and not the one with blood on his hands!
NO ONE CALLED JENNY TO WARN HER. GUILTY.
K.A. WAGONER Franklin news post what a joke she is, Wagoner as in Charles Wagoner,FC BOARD SUPERVISOR,HUNTS campaign manger GOOD OLD GIRL HELPING THE GOOD OLD BOYS LOL
And the editor of the Franklin News Post is a Republican Party Activist “Guest #432, does that mean every word she prints is a lie and only for political leverage?
now i know how lynch mob mentalities erupt. is not the presumption of innonence still inviolate?
@native – So you blame the wife, the dispatcher, the victim…with a law degree I would think you would have a better understanding of liability. All this “he is a good man” nonsense is not going to change anyone’s mind. If he were a “good man” he would acknowledge his gross error in judgment and resign. That would be the course of action a “good man” would take.
Some of you FC people sound nice and sane. Based on “native”, “God’s Army Buddy” (!) and some others…you might consider moving.
#436 GAB could challenge our favorite troll for sheer nuttiness. Either that or sheer theater. Not sure which.
@ 437 “HE NEVER TOLD DISPATCH TO NOT TELL ANY LAW ENFORCEMENT ANYTHING, NEVER DID HE SAY THAT. HE TOLD THEM WE THEY ASK IF THEY NEEDED TO CALL AND HE TOLD THEM HE WOULD TAKE CARE OF IT.”
What?
Ashley…sweetheart…please stop posting! You are making your family and your law degree (ha ha) look even worse!
It’s 2011 and the taxpayers of your county pay for 911 technology to alert anyone and everyone within seconds on a “possible” danger. Daddy (a so called “trained Sheriff”) chose to use “the fastest way he knew how….da ole teleeee-phone” REALLY? What a stupida$$!
436.I’m glad that gal reporter got the truth about Saturday’s lynch mob being nothing but a Democrat put up job. People say Sheriff Hunt’s fitness for the job, well, he’s a REAL conservative, and knows it takes an iron fist to make those g-damned liberals obey the law. What they really are trying to do is keep motivated buyers from getting assault guns, that’s all. I think soon Sen. Stanley will get out the real truth, and come election, them liberal traitors will know you don’t mess with a real Republican conservative law officer.
above Comment by God’s Army Buddy — June 6, 2011 @ 2:39 pm
HEY ARMY BUDDY, HAVE YOU LOST YOUR DAM MIND? YOU ARE NOT EVEN ON SUBJECT
To all the defenders of Hunt’s actions and/or his inaction.
Simple question:
If the target of a potential deadly attack by a man alleged to be armed, in route and driving an easily identifiable vehicle were Hunt’s own daughter, do you think that Hunt’s actions and/or inaction in the Agee case were all he would have taken?
Please answer.
To all the defenders of Hunt’s actions and/or his inaction.
Another simple question:
If the target of a future potential deadly attack by a man alleged to be armed, in route, and driving an easily identifiable vehicle were you, your spouse, daughter, or son would you want the Sheriff’s actions to be the actions and/or inaction Hunt took in the Agee case?
Please answer w/o any assumptions of party affiliation of the Sheriff at the time of your hypothetical need.
@#436
I think I might have met this person over the weekend. The language sounds about right. God’s Army Buddy, you weren’t down further south this weekend were you?
“What they really are trying to do is keep motivated buyers from getting assault guns, that’s all.”
That sentence doesn’t even make sense. BTW, what the heck is an “assault gun”? That’s a new one.
The Hunt supporters seem to be of the opinion that he’s a good ole boy doing the best he can, and don’t confront them with the facts.
Native- Dictionary.com
You wrote this:
“I give up, you all can go on and just waste away the day with your comments and down grading. I have a life outside of this”
Go get one!
As as 17 year veteran law enforcement officer who one worked in the Roanoke Valley I can assure you that this elected official (not a law enforcement officer) failed to follow basic policy and modern law enforcement practices which might have very well preserved the life of the victim and prevented the injury of a state trooper. An immediate alert should have been issued and would have been in instances much less significant than this. Matter of fact, I bet Franklin County issues them all the time. Also, why did Hunt not notify the victim, her family, and/or dispatch area law enforcement to locate her the minute he was notified. Again, basic common law enforcement action in a domestic threat such as this. If right now Franklin County received a call that a subject was leaving Salem to kill somebody in Franklin County you can bet your ass they would dispatch deputies to the residence and towards the route of travel. Elected official Hunt, there is no place in modern law enforcement for people like you and I simply thank God that the victims children, friend, her family, citizens, and other police officers were not killed. Don’t kid your self, this is partially your fault! Also, please do not tell people you are a law enforcement officer because you are not.
To the one who commented no one would tell ewell hunt he”s a POS.I told him 20 years ago to his face and again 1 month b-4 election and have no problem telling him today he”s a “POS”.Hunt should have crinmal and civil law suits instore for his fat ass.Hunt should be booted to the curb along with the rest of his hood rats.Never again should he be in law enforcment and he should stand trial for his part in this mess.Ewell the truth will set you free “lal”.Ashley for you get your dumb ass to bed.To the family”s may god be with you and u will be forever in my prayers. franklin county citizen D.G.
Party affiliation is irrelevant. It’s clear Hunt is a danger to the public he claims to serve. Since he lacks the integrity to resign, he needs to be removed from office as soon as possible.
I must say that there are so many judgemental accusations going on. We are not to judge others only God has the right to do so. The problem is that He just didn’t follow accurate protcol. Hunt already admitted that Agee had discussed killing his ex-wife several times. Hunt knew this – so his job as a Sheriff who are to protect & serve he should have know to send APB or BOLO IMMEDIATELY KNOWING THAT WAS ON HIS MIND FROM PRIOR CONVERSATIONS. Agee would have never made it past Franklin County Line traveling into Roanoke either way because Roanoke County Police are on patrol in that area every single day – I know I drove it for 12 years. He was wrong in the actions he took by not following law enforcement criteria and that can be said without JUDGING ANYONE!
From Jorge Valencia’s story this morning:
“The recording helps show how the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office responded to a phone warning from Deputy Jonathan Agee’s ex-wife, Jennifer Agee of Salem, that he had left his Boones Mill home with an assault rifle, intending to kill her.”
Say what? Jennifer Agee made a 911 call to FCSD herself?
Imagine the RT and liberal response if Hunt had done something similar and had been a black Democrat Roanoke City law enforcement chief. Would they be actively campaigning against him like this?
KL, Kristen, Rocky Mount Girl, HDM: KISS MY A**. I don’t care about my spelling! Did you watch the channel 10 news last night? They at least have got it right and you all have got it wrong. The facts are he never canceled a BOL, never told dispatch not to tell other law enforcement about the problem, and with the information that was given to him from Steve Agee and Agee’s wife was that he was going to SALEM. So he did everything he could with the information given to him!!!!! Sounds like to me dispatch did not do their job with putting out a BOL once the call came in which is what she gets paid for. I never blamed the victim, the wife or anyone else. I said that DISPATCH did not do their job but you just want to point the finger at HUNT and call him all kinds of childish names. How old are you people?? I am not Ashley, I am not HUNT, I am just a person voicing my opionion just like you all are but I am stating the facts which is something you all lack! Truth hurts some times so get over it. That is what you are all pissed about anyway, facts are coming out and the finger is not on HUNT but you all want to make dang sure it is!
Wow the hits just keep on coming with this guy. It’s clearly obvious Hunt was trying to keep this thing from going public. Not so much to protect Agee but more than likely to protect his reputation and the reputation of the department. That decision likely cost Jennifer her life.
But as others have already noted, Hunt will not resign. His lawyer I’m sure as advised him against doing so. If Hunt were to resign it would be used against him in the civil trial that will surely follow once this has settled down. A resignation would be admitting guilt and would make him financially liable.
From the Roanoke Times, a quote by Sheriff Hunt:
“Both I and other members of my office attempted to contact Mr. Agee by every possible means in order to prevent the tragic events from occurring this past Monday,”
My question is this, WHEN DID THE AUTHORITIES START CONTACTING THE THREATENING PERSON/CRIMINAL INSTEAD OF THE OTHER POLICE DEPARTMENTS INVOLVED? NEXT TIME THEY GET A CALL ABOUT SOMEONE ON THE RUN, BETTER GET THEIR CELL NUMBER SO THEY CAN BE CALLED AND TALKED OUT OF THEIR BAD BEHAVIOR??!! Whaaaaat?? I sure hope if someone is threatening me they call the Police, not the person AFTER me!!
I find it VERY odd that WSLS10 reports that no time stamps are available on the recordings, and that there are no time stamps on the cell phone calls made between Sheriff Hunt and another deputy. This is digital evidence, and there must be timestamps to find.
NO ONE CALLED JENNY TO WARN HER, GUILTY.
#458 “I don’t care about my spelling!”
TRANSLATION: I don;t care about the people attempting to read my posts, even the ones who might agree with me.
Guess what, native, we no longer care about your posts. I will cease trying to read them, as will others.
#457 As usual, it’s all about race and political party for suzie.
@#456 Art Hill: This is either a story error or a misread. It was Jonathan Agee’s *current* wife that call Franklin County 911. The story reads currently: “The recording helps show how the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office responded to a phone warning from Deputy Jonathan Agee’s wife that he had left their Boones Mill home with an assault rifle, intending to kill his ex-wife, Jennifer Agee, of Salem.”
Re: #457
Just more of your shallow black and white thinking — plus unsupported assumptions.
But, congratulations on forming it as imaginary and as a question — not your typical deflationary pronouncements.
#458- “The facts are he never canceled a BOL”.
native, of course he never canceled a BOL, in order to do that you have to have sent one out to begin with. The dispatcher asked the sheriff about sending one out, but he said not to because he would handle it himself.
And BTW, if you would like people to actually believe that you have a law degree, then you may want to read some books or at the very least watch some law shows. They may not be very accurate and do tend to over-dramatize, but at least they come across more realistically than you have been. Also when you listed that time line, all it did was reinforce the sheriff’s inept handling of this situation. Even a first year law student would know to avoid that misstep.
You and “God’s Army Buddy” may want to stop trying to protect or speak up for Sheriff Hunt, because I’m sorry but that adage really does apply here- with friends like this…
1. Suzie has no concept of why this story is so important.
2. I still can’t believe Sheriff Hunt is still in office today.
native et al
Why have you not answered my questions at #447 & #448?
Fear of facing the truth and the underlying issue?
—– —– —– —–
native
You say you are an Attorney-at-Law. Might that be a Criminal Defense practice? You seem to have mastered the art-form of blaming the victim, distracting and/or misdirecting, avoiding direct questions, making alternative explanations appear to have some creditability/bearing, etc.
In skimming through this massive thread, I haven’t seen anything about the poor Franklin County dispatcher who has been thrown under the bus by the sheriff. I’m sure she wanted to do the right thing when she received the 911 calls about the threats, but was over-ruled by her boss. Now her boss is doing a major public cover-his-butt campaign and claiming he never told anyone to withhold details from anyone other than the public, never canceled any BOLOs (not that it appears any were issued), and otherwise is making it look like his dispatcher is the one who screwed up by not telling the Roanoke dispatcher, the State Police, and others what was going on when they called. Anyone who is in law enforcement or public safety (fire or EMS) or spends any time listening to a scanner knows that the people who answer the phones and handle the radios deal with quite a bit of stress, put up with some “interesting” people, have to be masters at multitasking, and are often overlooked for the role they play when a big event (like the Memorial Day shooting) is over and done. That Sheriff’s Department dispatcher is probably laying low but should eventually have a chance to tell her side of the story and collect the praise and support for the job she did and does, day in and day out.
gdad AND Magpie- My law degree is real and I really do not care what you think of me. That time line showed you the proof that he did what he could and I am sorry that you are too blind or to stupid to see that. Also the dispatcher never asked if he wanted her to send out a BOL, he thought she had already done so with the supervisor on duty telling her to! That was the dispatchers fault. The dispatcher is lying to save her own butt. Hunt is telling the truth and once again “did what he could with the information given.” And I will post as long as I want to gdad!
Daveh-what the heck is you question? I am not going through all this above to find it so ask it now or leave it be!
Whether or not the victim’s death could have been prevented by a proper response, Hunt’s failure to follow the most basic of law enforcement procedures during a serious incident is inexcusable. For that failure alone, he needs to be removed from office.
He chose to take responsibility for “handling” the situation, I can only guess because he wanted to keep it on the low-down and try to defuse it without the public he allegedly serves being any the wiser. He screwed up, big time, and now is trying to clear himself of the responsibility HE CHOSE to take on.
To the scant few Hunt apologists on here: are you really sure you want this man being responsible for the operation of your Sheriff’s department? This and other incidents have shown his judgement to be suspect.
To those making a party political issue of this: someone is dead, gunned down in broad daylight in front of her child by a man sworn to protect and serve, and your response is to play party politics? Disgraceful! You ought to be ashamed of yourself, but like Hunt, you have no shame.
Fraud is a crime, just FYI.
“In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual;”
#471 Gosh, native, I never suggested that you stop posting. I simply suggested that people tend to skip over the posts of folks who don’t care about spelling, punctuation, syntax, sentence structure and so on. Not that all of that needs to be perfect — I make more than my own share of typos — but when you purposely make something harder to read or you claim not to care that it’s harder to read, people don’t want to struggle with it.
“Native” sure is putting up a spirited defense of Sheriff Hunt and doing everything possible to shift blame for Hunt’s failure to follow protocol onto anyone but Hunt. Makes me have to ask just what “Native” has at stake here. Or who “Native” really is.
“Native” also has a law degree. I’m sure it’s very real. I wonder does “Native” happen to work in a law office up on the hill on the corner of 122 and 616 near the Westlake Kroger?
Just something for you all to think about.
Native (aka- Ashley), I’m with DaveH…answer his questions! What if it was your family member? Would you want good ole Hunt to “handle it himself”?
Now, you need to go back and review the FACTS….ohh you are probably fine with just “hearing from the jackass’s mouth on TV last night” Duh!
And for the last time….ordering uniforms, issuing new patrol cars (to undeserving officers that you admire), running the Sheriff’s office for your incompetent daddy, carrying an illegal gun, and riding with a lunatic cop on drug busts…….does NOT MEAN YOU HAVE A LAW DEGREE!!!!!! You have to go to LAW SCHOOL to get one…..did daddy issue you that law degree? Wake up honey!
#471- Yes, I can see how your type of “debating” would go over very well in a courtroom. “Your honor! This big ‘idot’ keeps giving factual information to dispute my inaccurate viewpoints.”
Or to a client… “Well what’s it to you, stupid? What if I don’t present myself well and this contract is all misspelled. You see that online, laminated degree next to the hanging Franklin County uniform my dad gave me? Yeah, that one. That says I’m a lawyer! Well, no I haven’t actually passed the bar. You just ignore everything else and sign this here document.”
Also, anyone who has even a modicum of intelligence and sanity can see that the time line doesn’t help the sheriff’s case. There are plenty of sources that have already pointed that out, some even on this thread.
I don’t know what the law is regarding removing this sheriff from office, however, he should do the decent thing and step down.
Anyone in law enforcement knows, emotions rarely run higher than in a domestic situations. People do things in that situation they would never do in any circumstance. The sheriff should have erred on the side of caution and put out a BOLO and had all hands on deck notifying every surrounding law enforcement. There is simply no excuse not to do so.
He can apologize until the cows come home, but Jennifer Agee will still be dead.
I don’t hardly know where to begin, seems like most people swallow everything you hear. But just how do explain why the “organizer of” the recall is none other than a known liberal paid by the Democrat party? HMMMM. You don’t even care I guess is the answer. I’ll tell you right now, this whole thing’s just a conspiracy to tear down a GOOD man, and you people are doing the work for them. It’s so clear but you don’t want to see it. Unlike most of you, I can assure you that Sheriff Hunt is known as a friend to many in FC. As for the past, well he was found to have done nothing wrong, or Ashley either. She was given permision to help, and if she helped a deputy with his stakeout that’s her business not yours. Proven fact! Let the man do his job he’s elected for, and stop letting yourself be used by the liberals and criminals (same thing).
native reads about as likely to be an attorney as my lovebird.
Re: #472
Just scroll back to the comments’ numbers.
Or use your computers “find word” capacity to look at just my comments.
There is no reason to repeat them just for you and waste others time and bandwidth.
Give up all your distracting and/or misdirecting, avoiding direct questions, etc and deal honestly with the substantive points being raised by most of the folk posting here.
Native,
The fact is, most are uneducated in here. I find they are very hostile to those of us who are. Keep on plugging, friend!
Someone mentioned that in Virginia, the Sheriff, an elected Constitutional Officer is NOT REQUIRED TO BE A CERTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER! Is that the case? So a “civilian” can be elected to the position of Sheriff never having spent a day in a police academy?
If this is the case, then why would THE SHERIFF, who is not a sworn Law Enforcement Officer decide to respond personally and alone to a 911 call? IN ANOTHER JURISDICTION ! ! ! ! Huh? Am I missing something here?
Does that make ANY sense? I mean does a Commonwealth’s Attorney, who is supposedly the CHIEF law enforcement person in a jurisdiction PERSONALLY go out and play cops and robbers or respond to emergency calls? Would THAT make any sense? I could understand ACCOMPANYING law enforcement officers on a special case, but SOLO? Would never happen. Why did THIS happen? You can’t fix stupid. This guy has got to be removed, since he is digging in his heels and pretending he did nothing wrong. Maybe he can bring a dead girl back to life. Maybe he can pay for the lifetime of therapy her daughter will need, having been there as daddy killed mommy. Maybe he can add a few years to the lives of Sgt. Brannock’s family members that they LOST when they learned he WAS SHOT.
Good luck with all THAT. But he did NOTHING WRONG.
Re: #483
Do you have any evidence to backup that assertion?
Opinions are opinions.
Statements posted in a declaratory manner should be supportable, IMHO.
“The fact is, most are uneducated in here. I find they are very hostile to those of us who are. Keep on plugging, friend!”
Bwhahahahah…
If your husband’s successful business ever needs legal representation, you should find out who native is and use him as your primary legal counsel.
@ 480 “Hunt’s army bubby” (your God)
Quote 1: “conspiracy to tear down a GOOD man” He may be a “good man” in your book…..but he SUCKS at being a Sheriff, this is what it’s all about.
Quote 2: “She was given permission (I fixed your spelling error)to help, and if she helped a deputy with his stakeout that’s her business not yours. Correct, it is her business (whatever she was doing). But, she was given permission by her incompetent daddy (the so-called SHERIFF). That right there shows he has about as much sense as You, Suzie, and Native.
Quote 3: “Let the man do his job he’s elected for” We wish he could….but HE CAN’T DO IT…HE DOESN’T EVEN KNOW THE PROPER PROCEDURES!
Again, that’s what this is all about!
BTW- is this Mrs. Hunt?
I’m not surprised our Suzie feels a special bond with “native”.
#483 I’m betting suzie is so impressed with native she’s working on hiring him or her as her personal attorney.
Yes I have a law degree and for those who keep ragging me about it, your just jealous! My typing when I am agury at stupid people and their dumb posts makes me type fast and yes I mispell. I God lock me up now and throw away the key! I guess I should be arrested for mistyping!!!!
I am not Ashley who by the way I do not know but I do know she was cleared and if you want to ask why she was doing what she was doing you might want to contact Quincy Overton on that one! And no I am not his wife, I am sure she is not reading this BS that you people are saying nor is HUNT. Now to DaveH I think it was, yes I would want Hunt to take care of anything in my family or with myself. In fact he has in the past and did a fine job and I respect the man. As God’s Army Buddy put it: He is a Good man and you all are just so jealous of the fact that he has supporters and that the real truth is coming out any you all look like IDIOTS (did I spell it right jacka**!? And thank you Suzie, these people do not know up from down do they. I think there is a word for that oh yeah HYPOCRITES! (c a n y o u r e a d t h i s g d a d)
“Yes I have a law degree and for those who keep ragging me about it, your just jealous”
Yes it must b reelly rellly hard two grajuat law skool theez days. Koler me impresst.
#490 native, if you were to read back you would see that I have not called for Hunt to be fired or to resign. I haven’t called him incompetent or criminal. I haven’t blamed him for the shootings. I haven’t accused you of being Ashley or Hunt’s wife. I haven’t insinuated anything about Ashley and the suspect. I wasn’t the one who originally said anything about your spelling.
That said, your writing, spelling, and punctuation are truly abysmal. I’ve never seen anybody with an advanced degree write like this. Suzie is sitting at her computer shaking her head at the awfulness of your posts, but she’s expressing fake support for you because you’re (notice how the contraction for “you are” is “you’re” not “your”) fighting with some of the folks she argues with.
#490: Pitiful. No other word fits.
Suzie – I am very well eeducated, hold a MS degree from that samll school in Charlottesville — what does that have to do with the fact that Hunt did not follow procedures and now a women is dead! You can not tell me that if anyone else was armed and going to kill his ex a BOLO would not have been issued! Fine try to contact him yourself – but put out the BOLO to protect everyone — what if a roanoke cop pulled him over for speeding and he shot that cop — would you still say he did everything to protect the public and other cops
#451 Thank you for putting some light on this terrible day. I am hoping the truth will come out soon and more importantly in the future this kind of thing never happens again.
Native,
I’ve called for Hunt to resign. He should do that. He may be a good man. But he’s not a good sheriff, IMHO.
Chris, you can’t impress Suzie with degrees. She believes most of them are worthless, except for engineering (which she apparently used to do but does no longer).
“I’m not surprised our Suzie feels a special bond with “native”.”
Two fools collide.
“I’ve called for Hunt to resign”
What Mr Casey calls for means nothing unless it’s pizza. Hunt will NOT resign and may well get reelected.
Native – (Ashley – sounds like you have a temper tantrum when you get mad and type….we’ve all heard about it from the REAL police officers that daddy fired) Now, I’ll give you the Overton hiring of you…
But please do read the facts: February 14th 2010 The Roanoke Times…Overton had been Hunt’s best man, and bowed to Hunt’s request to hire Ashley. Later, Overton said he tried to get Hunt to control his daughter’s intrusions.
“When he told me in my office that she wouldn’t listen to him, I knew I had a problem,” Overton said.
So you are correct….so if you won’t listen to him (his own daughter) why would dumda$$ daddy think that Agee would listen to him?
Now for your Quote: “Now to DaveH I think it was, yes I would want Hunt to take care of anything in my family or with myself. In fact he has in the past and did a fine job and I respect the man.”
Don’t get upset….I’ve just been kidding with you! I figured out who you are…you DO have a law degree if you are who I think you are….you’ve (you have) got to be either Judge Alexander? Judge Strauss? or CW (that stands for Commonwealth) Attorney Hapgood? CW Attorney Grimes?
And please do tell us about that FINE job Hunt sweep under the rug for one of your “Army Buddies”
The initiation of a BOLO by Sheriff Hunt could have increased the likelihood of but not guarantee a positive outcome in this situation.
But should we not hold the sheriff accountable for not making the possibility of a postitive outcome as high as possible — I understand that he did this b/c he wanted to keep it as quite as possible but he had a very angry man with a weapon who was not answering his calls– he did not follow procedure and people get fired for that everyday and most times it does not cost someone their life!
Yes I have a law degree and for those who keep ragging me about it, your just jealous”
Yes it must b reelly rellly hard two grajuat law skool theez days. Koler me impresst. Kristen
That is the funniest reply – spot on!!!!!
Not trying to impress her — I think a 5th grader could figure out he did not do his job if told this is what you do with a report of a man with a gun and this is what Hunt did
I cant believe this, but I actually think I may know who Suzie is.
I actually know a Suzie who used to be involved in engineering (but only as a secretary) and her husband has a semi-successful engineering company here in town. They are quite well-to-do, both are quite right-wing but her husband is about to lose a good chunk of his employees due to poor business decisions. That whole notion of tax breaks for businesses equals more hiring failed him…. all his money went to buy things like second homes, boats, big fancy new offices, rather than his employees. If I’m correct, and I very well may not be, our little Suzie might have to get a job quite soon to help pay for all their stuff!
Native@490
Did you go to Bob’s Upstairs law school?
Native, I hope you have a good paralegal/secretary who types your pleadings and letters before they leave your office.
Re: #504
Scott,
But do/did they own a private jet?
475.#471 Gosh, native, I never suggested that you stop posting. I simply suggested that people tend to skip over the posts of folks who don’t care about spelling, punctuation, syntax, sentence structure and so on. Not that all of that needs to be perfect — I make more than my own share of typos — but when you purposely make something harder to read or you claim not to care that it’s harder to read, people don’t want to struggle with it.
Comment by gdad — June 7, 2011 @ 11:08 am
yes you did GDAD!
KL- I for the last time am not Ashely and as far as what quote was made by Overton, HE ALWAYS WHEN IN OFFICE WAS ALL ABOUT YOU WERE AND HOW MUCH MONEY YOU HAD. HE WAS COVERING FOR THE 2 OFFICERS THAT GOT THEIR A** FIRED BECAUSE HUNT CAUGHT THEM TAKING THE DRUGS FROM THE BUST AND RESELLING THEM FOR MONEY IN THEIR POCKETS. THAT IS WHY THEY ARE SO PISSED AT HUNT. THEY GOT CAUGHT WITH THEIR HAND IN THE COOKIE JAR!
Dan Casey-I don’t care what you asked for because you ain’t getting it.
Charlie- Yeah she is so funny my sides are hurting!
and I can’t remember who said I worked at Westlake but whoever it was, wrong again!
KL- I for the last time am not Ashely and as far as what quote was made by Overton, HE ALWAYS WHEN IN OFFICE WAS ALL ABOUT YOU WERE AND HOW MUCH MONEY YOU HAD. HE WAS COVERING FOR THE 2 OFFICERS THAT GOT THEIR A** FIRED BECAUSE HUNT CAUGHT THEM TAKING THE DRUGS FROM THE BUST AND RESELLING THEM FOR MONEY IN THEIR POCKETS. THAT IS WHY THEY ARE SO PISSED AT HUNT. THEY GOT CAUGHT WITH THEIR HAND IN THE COOKIE JAR!
Then he committed a felony — ask the ex sheriff from Henry Co about knowing of a crime and not reporting it –
Native – “HE ALWAYS WHEN IN OFFICE WAS ALL ABOUT YOU WERE AND HOW MUCH MONEY YOU HAD.”
What?
PLEASE tell us when and where your next court case is….I’d give my left nut and mortgage on my right to come see you in action…..it’s got to be hilarious!
native,
Let me get this straight.
You are saying that you, your spouse, daughter, or son was the target of a potential deadly attack by a man alleged to be armed, in route, and driving an easily identifiable vehicle and the Sheriff’s response was the same level of the actions and/or inaction that Hunt took in the Agee case.
Right?
How did that work out?
Or is #490 just more of your slight-of-hand distraction and/or misdirection, avoiding direct answers to direct questions, etc
Put that law degree to work — Misprision of a Felony — look it up Explain to us that it is Common Law but because we are a Commonwealth the law still applies — Show us you did not waste 3 years in Law school
However, I was incorrect to call it a felony 00 only a misdemeator — only a year in jail and a fine
Native, I’m interested in what law school you graduated from. You told us that you graduated from high school and have a law degree. No mention of any university at all.
Mike Scott- I went a Da** good law school and passed the bar examine in 1982 but that does not mean anything to you childish people. you are just the kids on the playground that pointed the finger at the people who picked on you for not knowing how to cross the money bars.
If “native” graduated from law school in 1982 he (or she) may very well not know how to type — which may be the root of all the typos and misspellings. I know lots of people of that age who can’t type worth a darn. I made good money typing their papers in college.
Re: #515
“money bars”?
Huh?
Overton was all about your last name and how much money you had! Does that make it clearer for you kids!
I dont are if you are a lawyer or NOT — please explain how Hunt did everything he could do to protect Jennifer and the rest of the cops and public by not issueing the BOLO — a very angry man with a weapon and HE TOLD NO ONE — listen to the call to Salem — did not tell dispatch what was going on –ASK FOR A SUPERVISOR — why? to keep it as quiet as possible and that is not his job — and people get fired for not doing their job!
btw he stated he passed the bar in 82 — might have finished in 62
native, if you’re a criminal defense attorney or worse yet a malpractice attorney, don’t count on Suzie’s support for long. She considers them among the lowest life forms on earth.
Bill Overton for Sheriff in November!
@515
I did fine on the monkey bars, thank you. In fact, I excelled on the monkey bars.
Look, I have no problem with your assertion that Mr. Hunt is a decent person. I suspect that in a County with a well documented history of corruption, he actually might have disrupted some cozy old time relationships. That, in itself, would be enough to put him at odds with a large part of citizenry.
But I have have a real hard time accepting his handling of this particular situation because it appears by all accounts that this was not handled in a standard way. How often has the sheriff intervened when credible threats of violence were relayed to the department? I wager not often, and most of the time such credible calls were handled in a standard and professional manner. My own experience with one call to the department was handled professionally and a thief was apprehended while inside a neighbor’s home.
I also can’t imagine any defense of his his daughter’s involvement in the affairs of the department. This is simply unacceptable for any public workplace. The people of Franklin County deserve better.
I do not blame Mr Hunt for the tragedy. His only transgressions are lapses in judgement clouded by personal relationships. That’s the commonality here. Loyalty to a fault is still a fault and sometimes that can contribute to a tragedy.
As for law degree, I’m sure your successful practice allows you to find competent help to help you avoid problems associated with communicating through a keyboard. As a lowly educator, jealous of your lofty standing , I am forced to use my own intellect and resources to communicate clearly in this forum.
But I gotta say, it sure would mean a lot to embattled Hunt if his most strident public defender on this blog was….. well, public. Gosh it would mean so much to have a person of your stature in his corner. Yet here you are defending him only vaguest references to your real persona.
Native,
I think Mike Scott is gently suggesting that you you dictate your comments to your secretary and let her post them. Kind of like you do with the legal letters you send.
Thank you for posting here. I don’t know about you, but disagreeing was a sport in my family. It’s fun!
#516- Dan, that should only put this person in their mid to late fifties. My great-aunt, who passed away recently, was 98. She was very proficient on the computer. My parents are in their 70′s and my dad texts me all the time. My mom doesn’t like doing that, but she does e-mail me a couple of times a week. I also have a friend in his 90′s, and he too loves his computer. He was a lawyer in Boston, and he would be appalled. He’s always bemoaning the lack of manners, proper elocution and writing skills in the world today.
Also, we have quite a few real lawyers on my mom’s side of the family. They are not easily flustered or erratic like this, otherwise they wouldn’t have been successful. Also, the written and spoken word is a very important tool in this field.
I did fine on the monkey bars, thank you. In fact, I excelled on the monkey bars.
I bet 0bama did really REALLY well on them.
Virginia Tech got busted for not warning students of a gunman on the loose. They made more of an effort to warn people then Hunt did.
Being the dishonorable character he is it does not surprise me that Hunt would put the blame on his employee who was only following orders. I don’t understand how anyone in the sheriffs dept would stand behind Hunt, he might sell them out next.
Native, a $5 dollar mail order “law degree” from Nigeria really doesn’t count.
I say forget the gently approach; he’s kind of a slow learner for a lawyer and would thus benefit from a bit more stick than carrot. Native, Mike Scott is right; you may come across far better in the court room but your online persona ain’t exactly winning the jury over. If you are really trying to make a cogent point, do yourself a favor and have your legal secretary finish up your drafts for you.
I do not need anyone to type for me. I see a lot of typos in all the list above so it is not just me. You all think you have everything figured out and what to “press charges” and “boot out” a man who did what he could for just your own personal opinions. That is not how the law works. All the facts are that he did what he could do and that is what matters. When another Sheriff calls another Sheriff, that itself is an alert that it is an emergancy! If he was just calling to chat, he would have not called dispatch, he would have called his cell.
As far as my typing skills, I could care less what you all think. My typing skills mean nothing in this case and Dan you look to be in your late 50′s early 60′s per your photo up top so don’t talk about age. As far as debating with your family when you where younger, I bet mom always won!
As for the rest of you with bad or ill comments for me (I find it a waste of time to look for your names again) I really do not care what you say. As the old saying goes, words can’t hurt me. The facts are the facts and you all can not stand the fact that your jumping to “hang the man” with everything that has came out now, you all are wrong and are embarassed to take it back so you just want to keep doing the foolish thing and bad mouth a man you don’t even know. You will not win with the petitions, ill comments, or protests. He might not be re-elected in Nov (but she as hell am voting for him) but he will be there till Dec and I am glad to know that a man is there that doesn’t go with people who can just pay their way out of what they have done or care about last names! He is fine mad with great composure and I feel sorry for him to have to go through this just because people want to place blame on someone in office. He was not protecting his butt or anyone in his department. He doesn’t have to. A police officer in uniform is no different then me or you. They have problems too! Agee was the one who shot Jenny and he will pay for that! Hunt was just his boss. Do you all blame the boss when they fire someone and then they come back on a shoting spree like has happened many times in the past? Do you point the finger at them for starting it because they fired them? No you don’t.
And I bet half of these post are the same person over and over again using a different name each time. I even bet 2 of them are the ones who have civial suits against Hunt because he fired their ass. Hello boys! Are you upset that your selling on the side got cut out or just that you got caught???
@native – Dan has a really good point. If you don’t want to keep making yourself the laughing stock of this blog, have someone proof read your posts. I don’t like what you are saying but I believe in carrying on an intelligent debate.
@Suzie – Really?! Please tell me you are some sort of “character” that someone has created to mess with posters on this blog and do not really exist. No actual human being says thing like that and means it.
“515.Mike Scott- I went a Da** good law school and passed the bar examine in 1982…”
The bar “examine”?? You’re illiterate…seriously, just stop. You’re embarrassing yourself.
@ Native – I finally will have to agree with you on one thing.
“All the facts are that he did what he could do and that is what matters.”
You are right on point there…”he did what HE could do” But a REAL Sheriff would have followed proper procedure and used ALL his resources to alert and stop this man.
Here’s a quote from you that I have a question about concerning Overton vs. Hunt: “I am glad to know that a man is there that doesn’t go with people who can just pay their way out of what they have done or care about last names!”
Don’t care about last names…..hummmm….can you say “A G E E” ???? It would’ve (would have) been different had it not been one of his own boyz(period)
There’s a difference between typos and the abuse of the English language that is happening in native’s posts. native’s typing skills are not the problem with his/her posts, it’s more the blatant misunderstanding of how basic grammar should be used. I’m not sure that anyone is believing the “I have a degree in law” bit either.
Native-
Please answer this one question for all of us. Do you think Hunt would change how he handled this situation if he could go back in time?
again don’t care what you think of my grammer, spelling or anything else. The problem is you all are starting to figure out that Hunt was not to blame for this and you have to just keep going on and on just to make it look good for you. KL- I can say Agee and he was by no means protecting him. Why would anyone thing Hunt was protecting him or his department? FC has a good group of officers and the only embarssement is that all of you are bringing down the county because of Agee by using Hunt. That is a shame. As for my degree, I know I have it, I did the work and I really could care less what you people think about it! Start from the beginning and read everyone’s posts and I am not the only one that can not type well or use proper grammer all the time. I say what is on my mine and that is that. Read or don’t read, doesn’t matter to me!
native,
I don’t give a hoot whether you are an attorney-at-law or not.
I don’t care about you typing of language skills. I make a fair number of typos / proofos, myself. Some result in auto spellchecker road-kill. Some just lack of attention, although I know better.
I don’t care how good a friend Hunt is to your family.
Nor do I care about any prior Sheriff — which BTW, is a “Red Herring” fallacy of debate.
Comparing a series of incompetent whatevers (coaches, quarterback, etc) doesn’t mean one was actual good — just the better in the series of incompetence. Changing an incompetent whatever doesn’t guarantee that the replacement will be competent. But keeping an incompetent is just perpetuating incompetence.
However, again, I ask you for conformation of your implications at #490.
You are saying that you, your spouse, daughter, or son was the target of a potential deadly attack by a man alleged to be armed, in route, and driving an easily identifiable vehicle and that Sheriff Hunt’s response was at the same level of the actions and/or inaction that Hunt took in the Agee case?
How did that work out?
Or, OTOH, was #490 just more slight-of-hand distraction and/or misdirection, avoiding direct answers to direct questions, etc.
I think a FC man said it best in a letter to the editor in FC News Post:
Regarding the Memorial Day tragedy in the death of Jennifer Agee, my heart goes out to all the families involved. When tragedy strikes, few of us are prepared. In the aftermath through the eyes of grief, we look for answers to many questions. One of the five steps of grief is anger. We are human, all of us make mistakes and even poor judgment calls. We lash out, make accusations and try to make sense of it all. Unfortunately, tragedy is often senseless and blame can’t find a base while misplaced blame damages people, further compounding the tragedy.
Reading the local paper accounts of Monday’s events, I find the “other paper” guilty of a lot of “Monday morning quarterbacking.” The News-Post is much more generous in its reporting on Roanoke problems of which there have been many. I’m not aware of our editors advising Roanoke how to run their town in hiring and firing elected officials.
That said, some observations and questions seem pertinent. If any of us could tell the future, no tragedies would occur. If any of us could do the difficult job of sheriff, we’d run for office. We’d still have problems because people are unpredictable.
I like the county supervisor’s position, to wait, for all the facts to come in.
I have read that the deputy didn’t/wouldn’t answer his squad car radio. The GPS unit was disabled, so nobody could’ve easily found him or cut his car off.
Did the Salem dispatcher consider a county sheriff calling her county sheriff or supervisor anything less than important? We’ve all heard 9-1-1 tapes on TV. Would we want to hear Sheriff Ewell Hunt upset or “out of control,” during that call? Nobody can tell for sure if Sheriff Hunt had issued a “be on the lookout” that it would have helped. The facts show that minutes were involved.
Like the sheriff or not, Hunt has served the county with distinction and cleared conclusively of any former charges that dated prior to his election. Fault-finding is so easy, but I’d hope, if you or I daily put our lives on the line, we’d be given the benefit of doubt. Emergencies are just that, you can’t preplan but to a point.
Condolences should be offered all around.
HDM- I think he would have made himself more clear with his dispatcher. And made sure she understood her job better. What everyone is doing is blaming Hunt for not doing the BOL but that is what the dispatcher is suppose to do as soon as the call comes in. Why did she not do that? She says because Hunt said not to but no where in the logs, taped phone calls or anywhere is it ever said to her not to send out a BOL nor is she told to “keep it under wraps”. In fact the supervisor told her to call everyone needed and Hunt said he would call Salem personally because that is where the wife and dad said he was going.
Native,
Regarding the BOL Here’s how the Sheriff’s department own log reads. The parentheses are mine for the sake of clarity:
DISPATCHER” 8040@05/30/2011 11:15:09
CAR 22 (a FC shift supervisor) ADV TO CALL ROA CO AND SALEM TO GET THEM TO BOL AND PULL HIM (Agee) OVER AND STOP HIM IF FOUND, CAR 1 (Hunt), ADV NOT TO CALL THAT HE WILL TAKE CARE OF IT.
I don’t know any way other to interpret that than this: One Franklin County officer suggested dispatch call Roanoke County and Salem police to have them issue a lookout, and Hunt replied NOT to do that.
Regarding the call to Salem: Nobody is suggesting that Hunt should have called Salem dispatch shouting and screaming. But the message he left was anything but urgent. He could have told the dispatcher, “this is urgent, I need to speak to the shift supervisor right now” but he did not.
Regarding the FC dispatch officer’s statement (immediately after the shooting) to Roanoke dispatch that “”Our sheriff is telling us . . . not to mention anything so that’s why I’m sorta stuck in the middle of this and everything.”
Hunt, through his lawyer, has said this: “At no time did Sheriff Hunt say not to mention anything to law enforcement. His only advisement was not to disseminate it to the public.”
The lawyer went further and advised that there is no record of any communication from Hunt advising not to disseminate the information to law enforcement. In that case, I would like to see the record of what the lawyer says Hunt DID advise, regarding the dissemination of information to the public.
Because there’s another record in the dispatch logs concerning that point that come about 20 minutes after the shooting. And here it is:
DISPATCHER: 8040@05/30/2011 11:59:05
PER CAR 1 (Hunt) WE CAN TELL LAW ENFORCEMENT WHAT HAS HAPPENED AT REQUEST.
That sounds like an order that’s saying, “If other police call in, and if they ask what has happened, you can tell them — now.”
@ Native #537 – We all know you wrote that….I’d just like to know who corrected it and sent it in for you?
Why would they not also contact Roanoke County and City police departments too? After all, Agee had to drive through both in order to reach Salem.
Just Saying.
He screwed up. One person died, and another got shot. It may be that had he agreed with issuing the BOLO that nothing would have changed, but no one would be questioning him nearly as hard had he done so.
And besides, he still could have worked to make the personal contacts while the FCSD dispatchers worked to get the BOLO out to neighboring departments.
The only reason not to issue one was because Hunt wanted to control the situation himself and end it himself, without it getting out to the public. That’s the only reason for his actions that makes a lick of sense.
My two cents….
I get the hesitancy to issue a regional BOL. The FCSO would have looked mighty foolish if Agee had been just venting a lot of hot air and the office triggered a frantic multi-agency search for a rogue cop for nothing (and maybe that’s what Hunt was hoping was going on—just an officer running his mouth). But your mission is to protect the innocent, and when in doubt you have to issue the BOL. And in any event Hunt agrees he took the threat seriously enough to call it in to Salem personally, so he tells us he treated it as a real emergency.
The dispatch log shows that whoever “car 22” is told dispatch that he/she was en route to 220N to look for Agee personally. More importantly, “car 22” told the dispatcher to call Roanoke County and Salem PD (both jurisdictions Agee would be driving through) to put out the BOL to “pull him over and stop him if found.” The log then shows “car 1 advised not to call that he will take care of it.”
Like many people, I have a problem with the BOL not being announced. If that had been done, then every on-duty unit in both Roanoke County and Salem would have quickly received the word of the problem over the radio from their dispatchers—within seconds of the FCSO dispatcher calling it in to them—and all likely while Agee was still northbound on 220 in a highly visible marked police cruiser. (And, if the BOL had also gone out to the State Police, then every on duty VSP unit in the Salem region would have been quickly informed of the problem as well.) Hunt has been in law enforcement long enough to have known this.
I agree there is no guarantee this would have allowed Roanoke County or Salem officers to intercept Agee before the shooting. But the BOL request of “car 22”—if it had not been aborted by Hunt—would have dramatically increased the chances of stopping this shooting before it happened. It would be an impeachment of the common sense of mankind to assume otherwise.
Consider for a moment what Hunt knew at this point….Hunt knew he had a credible report that one of his officers was committing the felony offense of unauthorized use of his police cruiser, that he was heavily armed, that he was in a rage, and that he was going north headed into Roanoke County en route to an unknown location in Salem with the expressed intention of killing his ex-wife.
This is the information Hunt knows when he tells his dispatchers “not to call [the BOL] that he will take care of it.” This is the point in which Hunt decided to own the notice of this emergency. He has, in effect, told his dispatchers “I’m the Man and I’ve got control of it. You don’t have to do another thing.”
So what notice did Roanoke County or Salem PD get?
Although Agee was likely still driving through Roanoke County when Hunt assumes command of the notification, Roanoke County remained blissfully ignorant of the emergency because Hunt never bothered to call that agency at all.
Hunt did call Salem PD—which is the right thing to do—but his call was wholly inadequate to address the emergency. Hunt said he called personally because he believed it would be the “quickest method possible” to get the word to them. I dispute this. The quickest way possible to spread the word is to call the agency’s dispatcher and have them immediately radio it out to all on-duty units as a BOL. However, Hunt’s press release tells us that he believed (correctly) that he had a real emergency in which every second counted. Here is my problem with squaring what Hunt said he was trying to do with what he did do.…
When you know every second counts, you don’t call an agency that is clueless of the emergency and leave a message giving that agency no information but simply asks for a call back. You cannot play the game of phone “tag, you’re it” with another law enforcement agency that does not even know the game is a real emergency yet. When you have already aborted a BOL, and you know that you own the only knowledge of the impending disaster, then you cannot seek to restrict and control the flow of embarrassing information by putting the burden on another agency to guess that your call might just be important. Yet this is exactly what Hunt did, and this is the mistake he admits he made.
Hunt has spent a lifetime dealing with police agency bureaucracy, and he knows better. He knows that if you have a real emergency and you can’t reach the person you need, then you immediately demand to speak to someone else. And, if he believed it was a real emergency, then he knew that when you are told no one is in the office you have to say “that’s not good enough, I’ve got an emergency situation requiring an immediate response—get somebody on their cell phone for me now and/or get me your dispatcher.”
That’s what Hunt’s call should have been to Salem—and there should have been an identical one to Roanoke County. And before any call was made “car 1” should have immediately backed up the request of “car 22” for a BOL.
It might not have saved Jennifer Agee’s life, but she deserved the increased chance that this kind of decisive action would have provided.
That’s my two cents. Agree or disagree as you will.
Dan Casey:DISPATCHER: 8040@05/30/2011 11:59:05
PER CAR 1 (Hunt) WE CAN TELL LAW ENFORCEMENT WHAT HAS HAPPENED AT REQUEST
you wrote it that-he told her to tell others when ask and she did not do so, she lied!
also these logs are not time correct and when Hunt said I will take care of it he meant calling Salem.
Never canceled a BOL that was suppose to have already been done when the superviser told dispatch to do so! THINK
Native – Get out from underneath Sheriff Hunt’s desk and go read the whole time line. Better yet, get your paralegal to read and explain it to you!
I do agree that Hunt’s actions and decisions leading up to this shooting were not appropriate for this situation, and I agree that his choices were poor enough that I question whether or not he is capable of being an effective Sheriff. I do think that the idea of keeping the spotlight off of a negative in his department did effect his decision making process, and that’s wrong. But other than that, I do think that in his own mind, whether it’s right or wrong to the rest of us, I think that in his own mind that he believed he was handling this as quickly and efficiently as possible with the information that was available at the time, all the while keeping it hush-hush. But no matter how well intentioned that it may or may not have been, there was more that he could have done to give Jennifer Agee a better chance of avoiding this attack. There wasn’t anything he could have done to 100% guarantee her safety, but following standard protocol would have given Jennifer Agee her best chance of survival. If I had to guess, I would guess that Hunt never believed that Agee would follow through on his threats. Again, an obviously wrong choice, but a choice that could only be known to be wrong in hindsight. The threat should have been taken more seriously, and should always be taken seriously no matter who makes the threat. That alone should be enough for voters to know that Hunt needs to go in November, and it will be.
I think the petitions and all of that are a waste of time. The fastest way for the folks in Franklin County to be heard and remove him from office will be to vote him out in November’s elections. I’d be surprised if any other method of removal, outside of his own resignation, would be any faster.
But even though I do think that Hunt dropped the ball as Sheriff on this one, I think that the Roanoke Times should be ashamed of themselves for trying to make Hunt the villain in this story. Even worse, most people who read the RT knows that Hunt wouldn’t have gotten this type of attention if his political party were different, and that’s a real shame. This should have never become a political thing, but the RT tried to turn it into one. Yes, Hunt screwed up, and yes, if it were up to me, I would say that his decisions show that he is unfit for the job he was elected to do. But ask yourself this… if Hunt would have done things differently, could he have 100% guaranteed that Jennifer Agee would be alive? He could have given her a better chance… but not a 100% chance, so the answer is no. Now, ask yourself if Jonathan Agee had decided to do things differently, could he have 100% guaranteed that Jennifer Agee would be alive? The answer is yes.
I think that Franklin County will make the right choice and elect a new Sheriff this winter. Hopefully, when it’s time to go after Jonathan Agee, folks will be just as intent to lay blame on him and punish him and make him the villain, since he is actually the one and only cause of this attack, and the one and only person that could have, without a doubt, prevented it from happening.
#542- There are a ton of comments on this thread, with some of it covering what you noted in your post, but you summed it up perfectly. Thanks, Leonidas.
Of course there will still be those few people who will try to dispute it, even now. I’m pretty sure almost everyone can see why they’re still doing it though. With one, it’s their usual mode of vying for attention. In the other cases, I think it’s just blind loyalty. And then we have that one other person, but I think they need help (And that was not meant in a snide way. I really think they do.)
#545- hokie24,
I agree with many of your posts, but I disagree here. I don’t think that the RT covered it so extensively for political reasons. It’s a big story, and they are a NEWSpaper. I think the reason it continues to be so “big” though, is because of the Sheriff’s actions (or lack of) that have come to light. Also it was a horrifying crime that has for whatever reason stayed with many of us.
Also, I don’t think anyone is trying to make Hunt the villain instead of Jonathan Agee. A couple of people have noted why there’s such a focus on Hunt. I did in comment #290. Basically it’s this… Agee has already been arrested and charged. There’s not much to mull over in his case. The sheriff was not the one who pulled the trigger, but he did take away any chance (no matter how slim) of Jennifer being alive today. And that was due to the things the RT reported.
Native,
Hunt’s own lawyer said that before the shooting, he had issued a no-dissemination order. Much later, the lawyer said the order did not apply to law enforcement, that it meant merely no information to the general public. The lawyer offered as proof that there was no record that Hunt had issued a no-dissemination-to-law enforcement order, and that there necessarily would be one if that had happened.
Then later, 2 minutes after the shooting, Roanoke dispatch calls FC dispatch and the FC dispatcher explains the sheriff had more or less issued a gag order. The Roanoke dispatcher said, more or less, “tell your sheriff to call our sergeant, pronto.” This was around 11:33 a.m.
At 11:59 a.m. Sheriff Hunt tells his dispatchers that they can talk about the incident to other law enforcement, if they call and ask about it.
Of course, by then, Roanoke had issued the BOL that resulted in Agee’s apprehension.
Question: Is there a record whatever dissemination order that Hunt gave before the shooting? The lawyers statement seems to imply there would be.
Question: Why did Hunt feel the need to issue another order, at 1 minute before noon, that FC dispatchers could talk to other law enforcement “at request?”
“But even though I do think that Hunt dropped the ball as Sheriff on this one, I think that the Roanoke Times should be ashamed of themselves for trying to make Hunt the villain in this story. Even worse, most people who read the RT knows that Hunt wouldn’t have gotten this type of attention if his political party were different, and that’s a real shame. This should have never become a political thing, but the RT tried to turn it into one. Yes, Hunt screwed up, and yes, if it were up to me, I would say that his decisions show that he is unfit for the job he was elected to do. But ask yourself this… if Hunt would have done things differently, could he have 100% guaranteed that Jennifer Agee would be alive? He could have given her a better chance… but not a 100% chance, so the answer is no. Now, ask yourself if Jonathan Agee had decided to do things differently, could he have 100% guaranteed that Jennifer Agee would be alive? The answer is yes.”
And Dave Casey I think you should be ashammed too for being so blind. He told them 2 times to release info to make himself clear!
KL-you are the one under the desk not me! Who ever it is you are trying to impress, they need to move on
Hunt’s an elected official with professional obligations and responsibilies. That he so completely fouled up his job – resulting in one death and thankfully only one injury – makes this story newsworthy. It doesn’t take the RT for people to figure out there’s something very wrong in the FC sheriff’s office.
I don’t really buy that the reason that there appears to be more focus on Hunt than there is on Agee is because Agee has already been arrested and charged… if you think about it, hasn’t Hunt basically been arrested and charged by the public in his own way too? He didn’t commit a crime, so of course he won’t be arrested and charged in the same way as Agee, but he will be blamed in some way in the eyes of many voters who will arrest and charge him in the form of voting against him in the upcoming election. If Hunt’s punishment for his lack of actions on Memorial Day is to lose his job (as it should be), that probably won’t happen until the November elections. Will Agee’s trial, conviction, and sentencing happen before Hunt loses his job? If anything, I would say that Agee’s future is much more uncertain than Hunt’s at this point. I think that we’re all pretty sure that Hunt will be losing his job at the first opportunity for citizens to make it happen. His result from this situation is pretty cut and dry. But Agee’s future, depending on his final list of charges and convictions, is still kinda up in the air as far as certainty for what’s going to happen to him.
Hunt was definitely in the wrong, don’t misunderstand me there. I just don’t think he was as much in the wrong as Agee. Hunt is being portrayed by many to be the one and only person responsible for Jennifer Agee’s death, when in reality, he had extremely little, if any control over the outcome of the situation no matter what actions he had taken… especially compared to the level of control over the situation that Jonathan Agee had.
Why on earth is it “political” as opposed to newsworthy and so what if it is both? Should the newspaper have ignored it? Kept mum for weeks, months? If he resigns, who is then Sheriff? If his party does not nominate him to run, they will still nominate some Republican (of course they can risk running him). I just do not see local issues like this as a big Right – Left, Dem – Repb kind of thing. Is that ALL some of you live for?
karen aka KL??
Kristen-there is nothing wrong with the FC Sheriff’s office!
@ Native – DAWG! You’re (you are) correct again! Not about me being Karen (capital K when writing names). You are correct about not being under his desk….. Because you’re under his chair with your nose so far up his “you know what” that you’re blind! Do us a favor and remember this….if it smells like crap….it’s most likely….crap!
#551- hokie24,
I could care less what party Hunt was a candidate of, and it sounds like that’s the way it is with most folks that have been commenting here. Only a couple of people have tried to make it into a political issue, and those are the ones that seem to be doing it just to steer the focus away from Hunt. (BTW, I don’t think that’s what you’re doing.) Notice how “native” only quoted part of your post? He even posted some comments insinuating that Jennifer brought this on herself #208 & 289.
I honestly don’t think Hunt would have been getting this much outcry if he had taken responsibility for his actions up front and apologized for the mistakes he made. Maybe he didn’t do that, because he doesn’t feel he did anything wrong. Maybe he’s trying to protect himself from a civil suit. Either way, I think that just rubbed many people the wrong way.
This is 100% on Jonathan Agee’s head, and he deserves the harshest sentence(s) they can give him. I don’t think anyone disagrees with that. I also don’t think Hunt is an accomplice at all. I do think he made some very bad decisions, and they may have been done to protect his own skin or Agee’s or both. I know he didn’t think his actions would get Jennifer harmed, let alone killed, but that’s the problem… he didn’t think. And he didn’t follow procedure. He proved that he shouldn’t be in a position like this where he is in charge of making life or death decisions. He just doesn’t seem to have the leadership skills for it.
to hokie24, why do you say Hunt won’t be relected? He WILL be the Republican name for sheriff, AND HE WILL WIN. Because conservatives know what Reagan said: don’t talk about another Republican. Right now liberals are trying to put things on Hunt just like they did on George Allen, but come the election BOTH OF THEM are going to kick liberals ass no mercy, and then in FC AND IN VA people will know who protects freedom.
Call yourself hokie, well then you should know liberals don’t want you to protect yourself. They want you to bring a knife to a gunfight, well wake up buddy boy, that ain’t going to happen. Why do you think nobody ever hurt Asley, well maybe she could handle a gun pretty good, think about that. So “hokie24″ if you don’t care if liberals tax all your money and ban God from being taught, then instead of voting do us a favor and go live to Mexico, down there you can be liberal as you want to be. Hunt in 11, Allen in 11, and anybody but Nomama in 12!!!
There’s a GOP mass meeting in Rocky Mount on July 9, 1-4 p.m. at the Christian Heritage Academy.
Hunt is not the only candidate. Another is Salem police officer, and Franklin County resident, Greg Austin.
Time will tell whether Hunt will be the GOP nominee.
Only conservatives are saying that people are speaking out against Hunt because he’s a Republican. It has nothing to do with political affiliation and everything to do with not following proper procedure. I might as well be telling that to the wall, of course.
Are you suggesting that this is a “Come to Jesus” moment for Republicans in Franklin County???
God’s Army Buddy…I am a staunch Republican, but I believe that if other localities had been made aware of the situation with Agee,my niece may have had a chance…you cannot convince me otherwise. Knowing the history Agee had with Hunt, I believe that he was attempting to protect either himself or Agee or his department…I’m not sure, I only know that any other police official who had been warned of such a situation would have issued a BOLO immediately…
God’s Army Buddy,
Sounds like you’re not too fond of this democracy you live in…
If a whole bunch of pieces don’t fall exactly into place, this isn’t a story. That’s what everyone’s missing.
Okay, so what is it about loud mouth males from FC who also happen to be illiterate? Are you guys still making ‘shine in car radiators or something? Seriously, if you two are really trying to defend Hunt you should just quit now; I hardly think he wants a bunch of slack jawed yokels like you two making his job that much tougher for him.
God’s Army Buddy@557
“So “hokie24″ if you don’t care if liberals tax all your money and ban God from being taught….”
head desk
head desk
head desk
head desk
I thought God already knew EVERYTHING and come to find out liberals preventing God from learning more. Who knew? Just out of curiosity, is there anything in particular that liberals refuse to teach to God? I’m thinking anger management because the old school God was one irritable son of gun.
I think you mean that liberals won’t allow the teaching of the nature of a Christian God in pubic school school classrooms. But you know what? There are these places called churches where people worship that are completely free of government involvement. They are everywhere. Why you couldn’t swing a dead cat without hitting one in my neighborhood. And guess what, there are over 30,000 denominations of these church things so you have wide range of theologies to from which to choose if you do decide to check one out. Seriously, you can all the way back to Shooting Creek and find several, and that’s half way to no where.
Best of luck with your Army Buddy’s education though.
God’sArmyBuddy
Show your ignorance. That’s ok with us. Just for your information, you may have a VERY difficult time getting Allen in 11 since the doggone election isn’t until’12. What a crock!
Ron,
The mass meeting is the mass meeting. The date and time are facts. I’m not suggesting anybody should do anything with that information.
Except: Sheriff Hunt should resign.
Where else would Franklin Co. Republicans hold a mass meeting if not in a church or at Christian Heritage Academy?
As a resident of Franklin County ,I wonder if someone called 911 and told the sheriff that I was doing something wrong how fast would there be an officer at my door to see what was going on . As I see it the sheriff just screwed up big time this time . It’s bad enough to have a daughter that wears the pant’s in the sheriff’s house , but to think that he is so good that all he has to do is take of thing’s himself when he knows that one of his boy’s is getting ready to kill someone is just wrong . That is why we have 911 , so we can be protected from idot’s like Agee . The sheriff need’s to look at his on daughter and think about how he would feel if this were to happen to her . Hunt need’s to step down and let someone else do the job like it is supposed to be done .
Kenny-BS
KL-just a supporter not a A** sniffer, that must be u!
HUNT 2012!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
should be from which to choose… too much head bang’n
native,
Might want to clean your keyboard. It looks like your shift key and the number 1 got stuck for a few seconds.
Or you just unnecessarily typed 218 exclamation points where two or three would suffice if you just wanted to emphasize your point.
Native, if the dispatcher is to blame. HAS THE SHERIFF FIRED HER. I don’t think so.
@556 – Magpie – I agree 100% with what you wrote in this post. I also don’t think that very many folks tried to turn it into a political thing, but the ones that are trying to add a political slant are really loud!
@557 – Gods Army Buddy – What in the hell are you even talking about? I lost a few brain cells trying to decipher that gibberish that you wrote to me in post 557. Why you connected any of that crap that you’re talking about as if it should have been any sort of response to any of my posts is beyond me.
@570- Good luck with that native. Let us know how your “Re-elect Hunt” campaign goes. I’m sure we’ll all be waiting on pins and needles.
@557- Gods Army Buddy – Are you completely out of your mind? Please explain the line of thought that brought the teaching of religion in schools into this conversation. Gun control I can maybe see…it’s a stretch but maybe. This morning, now that you are sober perhaps, I’d love to hear your reasoning before you hit the moonshine again.
“Native” is the same as “boosgirl” for anyone who keeps up with WSLS story comments. We’ve all determined it’s actually Ashley Hunt.
Troubled- If he fired her now, then you all would have something to say about that too- “that he was firing her to cover his butt” or some DA thing like that. So no he will not, I feel sure. But reguardless, he did what he could and she did not do what she was told before even talking to HUNT.
SO AGAIN HUNT FOR 2012!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(THAT WAS FOR YOU AARON)
Can anyone actually verify that the stories about the Sheriff’s daughter illegally carrying a weapon and accompanying deputies (or at least ONE deputy) on stakeouts, busts, etc. are true?
How could a person under 21 be permitted to even HAVE a handgun, let alone carry one?
Did you people miss what they said about the meeting? It’s a Salem cop going against Sheriff Hunt, so that explains why they were trying to put something on him, so their guy could get in. Just the same as why that recall meeting was put on by a liberal. I’ll spell it out for you C-O-N-S-P-I-R-A-C-Y. Some of you people are so brainwashed it’s plum pitiful. As for it being held at Christian Academy, well Republicans know the true word and can go where liberals are too afraid, and that means a CHRISTIAN church, if it was a Democrat meeting it would probably be at a Muslim church. Remember when liberals got upset at LU for not allowing their meetings, same exact thing, where FC Republicans want to meet is their business. And if you want to insult FC Republicans by saying moonshine and things like that, well that’s the Senator, the Sheriff, the Supervisor and judges you’re insulting. They have been the ones willing to support Sheriff Hunt, and according to the law they’re in charge. That’s why “hokie24′ you were wrong, no matter when the election is Hunt will go back as sheriff, and same thing for George Allen, because he’s a TRUE conservative too. Then liberals will see how conservatives are tired of total socialism and having God denied and our freedom robbed. Pay Attention.
Native
Why not answer the direct question?
Was #490 just more slight-of-hand distraction and/or misdirection, avoiding direct answers to direct questions, etc?
If not, then answer the question, “Are you saying that you, your spouse, daughter, or son was the target of a potential deadly attack by a man alleged to be armed, in route, and driving an easily identifiable vehicle and that Sheriff Hunt’s response was at the same level of the actions and/or inaction that Hunt took in the Agee case?”
Or if your post at #490 was a double evasion / misdirection, answer the original question, which was in the hypothetical form, “If the target of a future potential deadly attack by a man alleged to be armed, in route, and driving an easily identifiable vehicle were you, your spouse, daughter, or son would you want the Sheriff’s actions to be the actions and/or inaction Hunt took in the Agee case?”
Please answer w/o any assumptions of party affiliation of the Sheriff at the time of your hypothetical need for help to protect yourself or family from potential eminent attack by a man alleged to be armed, in route, and driving an easily identifiable vehicle.
578.Can anyone actually verify that the stories about the Sheriff’s daughter illegally carrying a weapon and accompanying deputies (or at least ONE deputy) on stakeouts, busts, etc. are true?
How could a person under 21 be permitted to even HAVE a handgun, let alone carry one?
Comment by Inquiring Mind — June 9, 2011 @ 1:08 pm
Inquiring Mind – those facts are all spelled out in the grand jury indicment on Sheriff Hunt, which is available online for anyone to read.
@578
Inquiring Mind… just google roanoke times stories about Sheriff Hunt. They talked covered this story not too long ago in regard to allegations against Sheriff Hunt indicating that he was running the department poorly.
God’s Army Buddy has been watching CSI or XFiles for too long.
Franklin County won’t make the mistake of re-electing Hunt, he’s got too many strikes against him. Whether anyone found him not liable for the mess with his daughter in the past or not… everyone still considers that another example of his poor decision making.
And it doesn’t matter how “TRUE” of a conservative he is… whatever that’s supposed to mean.
#578- Inquiring Mind, I posted that link in comment #317. Just click on “Oops, wrong again” in my post.
Re: #581 & #582
See:
http://tinyurl.com/3p8rea7
and
http://www.roanoke.com/pdfs/1221_franklinco.pdf
Why does Sheriff Hunt still have a job today?
Back in the day in Berkeley County we had a sheriff that couldn’t carry a gun because of a conviction of running moonshine, eventually he was elected out of office and the change has put the dept into a professional dept. It takes educated people to run a dept. From the point where your command staff are afraid of dealing with his daughter that should have been a sign. Ewell obviously was trying to cover up a very deadly situation with a Deputy that apparently had issues prior to this deadly situation As I stated in a earlier post on Facebook hopefully your community will be successful in removing him from office. I don’t Ewell being brought up on charges but expect it to affect him and the county in civil court. Good luck on removing him from office.
No Native….
From Sheriff Hunt’s press release: “I can assure you that both myself and members of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office did everything possible, with the information we had at the time, to alert the appropriate authorities.”
Native: “He (Hunt) did what he could and she (the dispatcher) did not do what she was told before even talking to Hunt.”
Come on Native, you know this is not true.
No BOL was ever issued by the FCSO. This failure to issue a BOL alone renders the above quote from Hunt’s press release patently untrue. The first critical failure here is no BOL being issued, and I know supporters of Sheriff Hunt like you are trying to throw the dispatcher under the bus over this. But look at the Sheriff’s own press release discussing the “leaked” (his word) CAD sheet. He does dispute the exact time stamps in the Dispatch log….
But nowhere in his press release does he dispute accuracy of the actual information the dispatchers entered.
For example, where in his press release does he deny the truthfulness of “car 22” asking for a BOL to be called to Roanoke County and Salem PD to “pull him over and stop him if found,” only to have immediately following “car 1 advised not to call that he will take care of it”?
That is Sheriff Hunt directing a subordinate not to call in a BOL. You are entitled to your own opinion, Native, but you are not entitled to your own facts.
Overriding a BOL request is not doing everything possible, Native.
And did he in fact “take care of it” Native? No.
Does anyone really believe that a single “have someone call me back” phone message—one that gives no one any information whatsoever—one that does not state or even imply any urgency—is doing “everything possible” to spread the word? The Sheriff obviously does, because he admits this is all that was done.
Did what he could, Native? Look again at the Sheriff’s own press release….
Does his press release show that he ever called the jurisdiction (Roanoke County) that Agee was actually driving through when he learned of the problem? No.
Does it show that he ever called the Virginia State Police to warn them before the shooting? No.
When seconds counted, does his press release show that he gave the person he did talk to in Salem any information at all to let them know the call was urgent? No.
Does his press release claim he believed that no supervisory level officer in the Salem PD had a cell phone he could call? No.
Does his press release show that he asked the person he did talk to on the phone to give him the supervisor’s cell number? No.
Does his press release show he asked to speak to someone else in the office? No.
Does his press release show that he asked to be transferred to the Salem Dispatcher after he could not reach anyone? No.
Assume for a moment that he did not cancel the BOL and that he wanted one to be issued. Does his press release show that he wondered why no one from Roanoke County or Salem started blowing up his cell phone saying “Hey Sheriff, what’s going on with this BOL for one of your deputies?” No.
Did he use his own radio to monitor the frequencies of the surrounding law enforcement agencies to listen for the BOL going out from their dispatchers–and to see if any officer had found and stopped Agee? No, because he knew those agencies remained ignorant of Agee and his murderous intent.
Does his press release show that after he failed to alert anyone in Salem he even thought to call his own dispatch back to say “I can’t get anyone on the phone up there, have you issued the BOL to them yet as ‘car 22’ asked”? No.
That’s not doing everything possible to contact other agencies.
What does his press release show? He spent far more time and energy trying to make direct contact with Agee BEFORE other agencies learned he had a problem than with worrying about warning others of what Agee was doing. During the critical minutes before the shooting, he makes only one phone call to one other agency in which he leaves a message asking for a call back. In that same time frame his press release shows he makes no less than 4 different phone attempts to reach Agee—of which all four were unsuccessful.
There is no logical reason for telling the dispatcher “not to call that he will take care of it” except this: He wanted to control the flow of embarrassing information to other agencies, and based upon his repeated attempts to directly contact Agee he hoped he could reach him and talk him down before too many people outside the FCSO learned of this potential problem. That explains why he only left one message for a call back with Salem PD. When he told his subordinate “not to call” and “I’ll take care of it” he made a determination that no information about this potential disaster would reach any other law enforcement agency unless it flowed through and could therefore be spun by him. That explains why he did not call his dispatcher back to say “I can’t get anyone on the phone has the BOL gone out yet?” He could not control the flow of information once a BOL went out.
Sheriff Hunt has known Agee and his family for years, and he tried his best to talk Agee out of doing what he had said he was going to do before anyone else learned about it. I have no problem with Sheriff Hunt trying to talk Agee down off the cliff. But as Agee continued to ignore his repeated attempts to contact him, Sheriff Hunt also knew that Roanoke County and Salem PD remained blissfully ignorant of the disaster he was coming to realize he could not quietly prevent by himself.
And he did nothing else to warn them.
It is patently false to say “he did all that he could do,” Native.
I believe that when Hunt called Salem to get a supervisor, he was really thinking he was having Andy calling Sarah to get Mt. Pilot to call him back. I just don’t think he is that bright.
Leonidas, you need to read more closly! He did do everything with what infor he was given and never did he anywhere cancel the BOL that the supervisor had already told her to put out before talking to HUNT.
To all others, for the last time I am not Ashley, the last time I looked down! All the junk about what was going on with her were just “allegied” and nothing came out of it as you all know if you would remember!
Look I do not care what you all think, I vote Hunt 2012!
native, obviously you believe Hunt will emerge from the July 9 mass meeting with the GOP nomination.
I wouldn’t bet on that one.
Native: I feel bad for you. Actually if you are Hunt’s daughter I feel even worse for you. Have you been able to see Agee yet? Not sure when you can visit. Maybe you should tho.
I just listened to the audio recordings again. The call from Roanoke City to Franklin County just moments after the shooting took place amazes me. I am very well aware that dispatchers work under a tremendous amount of pressure. But, like air traffic controllers, you need to stay cool and focused even in a crisis. If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen. If you’re incapable of remaining objective, unbiased, calm and focused, maybe a job change is in order.
Listen to the tapes yourself. The Roanoke dispatcher stays cool and calm, even though someone has just been shot and is down. The Franklin dispatcher sounds like she is coming unglued. After being told that a Franklin County marked K-9 unit was at the Sheetz station and the driver apparently shot someone and had taken off, the Franklin County dispatcher says “Then he actually has done something then.” (Yes, hearing impaired person. He actually DID something….LIKE SHOT SOMEONE, which is what she just told you. ) Duh….
Ironically, when the Franklin County dispatcher gropes for words it is the Roanoke City dispatcher who fills in the blanks by saying “He [the sheriff] told you not to mention anything?”
This fiasco and breakdown in communication led to the death of a citizen. Ewell Hunt and his band of merry men….and women need to be packed off to security guard school. Maybe they’ll do better protecting a mall than a county. Maybe.
http://roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/289209
Native, (or anyone else that supports Hunt)
One more time……..Please answer this one question for all of us. Do you think Hunt would change how he handled this situation if he could go back in time?
Native, you seriously need to get out of the “Hunt Box” you have put yourself in. I think Leonidas has hit all of the questions that need answering right on the head. “did all he could with the information he had”…..a man is in a car with a rifle having told his wife he is going to go and kill his ex-wife. What part of this sounds casual to you??? If anyone else had called 911 to tell of a dangerous man on the road with a rifle stating he was going to kill someone, every law enforcement officer within a 50 mile radius would know about it and be looking for this man. I can understand calling Salem because that is where Jenny resided, but what about the long drive through Roanoke County to get to Salem?? When someone from Salem did not DIRECTLY call back, why didn’t Hunt double check on a BOL, call someone in Roanoke County, do something besides keep calling Agee, who clearly was NOT going to pick up his phone? While Hunt did not directly pull the trigger that killed Jenny, he didn’t do everything he could, not by a long shot. And sadly we will never know if other actions on Hunt’s part would have saved Jenny’s life.
Native,
Sheriff Hunt says in his press release “I contacted local authorities by the quickest method possible (by phone) in order to alert them to what was occurring….”
This makes no sense. The authorities who needed immediate information were the men and women on patrol in these areas. The quickest way to get the word out to them is to contact the dispatchers directly with an urgent BOL. The problem is as soon as this happened Hunt would have lost what little control he believed he had over a rapidly deteriorating situation. We all know the BOL call was not made. Instead, Hunt calls a supervisor who, if he had been reached, would have then in turn have had to relay the information to his dispatcher. When seconds count, why does he stop a direct dispatch to dispatch BOL call, just so he can then call a supervisor who will then have to relay the information to the same dispatcher?
Argue all you want that “car 22” had already told the dispatcher to call in the BOL. Assuming (as is probably the case) that “car 22” had authority over the dispatcher to order her to do this, that order is then countermanded by the man who has authority over both of them. And this is not a trivial distinction.
When the citizens voted for Hunt to be their sheriff, they put their trust in his ability to act decisively in a crisis and his capacity to dispel confusion by issuing clear orders. Hunt in turn is entitled to expect (especially in an emergency) that every subordinate will follow his orders, and that when his order conflicts with the order of a subordinate that his order will be followed. And that is exactly what the dispatcher seems to have done here. You lead from the top, Native. Confusion and lack of direction from the top has the ability to paralyze everyone under you.
But I know you argue that Sheriff Hunt did not cancel the BOL, and you asked me to look more closely again. I did, Native, and this is what I find:
Sheriff Hunt in his press release says the information on the CAD sheet is an “incomplete summary”—but he never says that anything listed on the CAD sheet “summary” is untrue.
Here is what the CAD sheet shows:
“CAR 22 ADV TO CALL ROA CO AND SALEM TO GET THEM TO BOL AND PULL HIM OVER AND STOP HIM IF FOUND, CAR 1 ADV NOT TO CALL THAT HE WILL TAKE CARE OF IT”
Follow the facts, Native. Is it merely a coincidence that right after this CAD sheet entry where the dispatcher records “not to call that he will take care of it” that “car 1” gets on the phone to Salem PD to do just that? Is anyone suggesting the dispatcher is a prophet? No. The only way she can accurately type in that Hunt “will take care of it” before he actually does it is because she is accurately summarizing what Hunt is telling her he is about to do—and therefore also accurately typing in what he is telling her NOT to do.
And then, as we all know, the Sheriff’s “hey call me back” method did not take care of it.
Now Native, I’ll grant you that Sheriff Hunt says the CAD sheet summary is “incomplete.” If he is not cancelling the BOL because he wants to handle all the notification himself, then what other call does Sheriff Hunt believe he told the dispatchers not to make?
Is it possible there is another, less important call he is telling them not to make, or that this entry itself is false? Yes. But is it probable? Not from what we are seeing.
The bottom line here, Native, is this:
If this entry can be explained as something different from what it obviously appears to be, then don’t you think the citizens who depend on Sheriff Hunt’s judgment when a crisis erupts are owed an explanation?
Tell me Native, can you explain the CAD entry for him?
Leoniadas you said:
1-The quickest way to get the word out to them is to contact the dispatchers directly with an urgent BOL.
WRONG-they have already said many times that this takes 10 min, Hunt called directly over to Salem, and when a Sheriff calls another Sheriff, that itself should be a “wow this is important” sign!
2nd-Argue all you want that “car 22” had already told the dispatcher to call in the BOL. Assuming (as is probably the case) that “car 22” had authority over the dispatcher to order her to do this, that order is then countermanded by the man who has authority over both of them. And this is not a trivial distinction.
Wrong again! The supervisor there told her to call which is car 22, dispatch should have done what she was told right then! No question or arguement about it!
3-When the citizens voted for Hunt to be their sheriff, they put their trust in his ability to act decisively in a crisis and his capacity to dispel confusion by issuing clear orders. Hunt in turn is entitled to expect (especially in an emergency) that every subordinate will follow his orders, and that when his order conflicts with the order of a subordinate that his order will be followed. And that is exactly what the dispatcher seems to have done here. You lead from the top, Native. Confusion and lack of direction from the top has the ability to paralyze everyone under you.
-the dispatcher did not follow orders and then lied to cover her butt, not the Sheriff. FCSO is house with a great deal of great workers but that dispatcher is not one of them in my opinion and more and more people her in FC are seeing that as the truth comes out.
4-CAR 22 ADV TO CALL ROA CO AND SALEM TO GET THEM TO BOL AND PULL HIM OVER AND STOP HIM IF FOUND, CAR 1 ADV NOT TO CALL THAT HE WILL TAKE CARE OF IT”
-again if a Sheriff calls then that should be a warning to them that it is important!
5-If this entry can be explained as something different from what it obviously appears to be, then don’t you think the citizens who depend on Sheriff Hunt’s judgment when a crisis erupts are owed an explanation?
Tell me Native, can you explain the CAD entry for him?
-this has done been answered a million times, the CAD sheet is not time accuarte not correct. Look at the call logs that they pull from Hunts phone and others! That is what is accurate! He did everything he could and never told them to stop the BOL that was already instructed to the dispatcher by the supervisor. That should have been done as soon as the words came out of his mouth. You do not need the Sheriffs approval to put out a BOL. Why does everyone think that? Even the Montgomery SHeriff said that was untrue.
Any more ? for me to answer to make it clearer for you? Not everyone in FC is against Hunt and yes DAN CASEY, I think he will be one to choose from on Nov!
592.Native: I feel bad for you. Actually if you are Hunt’s daughter I feel even worse for you. Have you been able to see Agee yet? Not sure when you can visit. Maybe you should tho.
Comment by Troubled — June 10, 2011 @ 9:22 am
595.Native, you seriously need to get out of the “Hunt Box” you have put yourself in
Comment by Amazed — June 10, 2011 @ 12:09 pm
***to both Amazed and Troubled, I will remain in the Hunt box! And proud of it, and I am not Ashely and no I am not an Agee fan. I hope he rots in Hell. He will pay for his actions then and only then!
native, you’re still missing the boat here. Hunt could have said ‘Yes, issue the BOL’ AND also still called Salem to try to make personal contact. Both of those could have been done. But no, he tried to handle it all himself instead and by the time his calls were returned, way too much time had passed with no information being disseminated to neighboring departments. When those departments did get the word that there was a problem and a Deputy on the run was once he had already killed someone.
I really don’t see how you keep defending Hunt so vigorously. He screwed up, and he’s not taking ownership of it. Instead he’s making excuses and trying to squirm his way out of the situation he created. Not just with the BOL, but in not removing Agee when it was noticed that his daughter was having an inappropriate relationship with him, or for letting his daughter get so involved with daily operations with the FCSD. He’s been running a very loose ship, and it’s caught up with him now, and he’s going to have a helluva time justifying his continued presences as Sheriff.
The squirm is the subject of Sunday’s column, fyi.
4-CAR 22 ADV TO CALL ROA CO AND SALEM TO GET THEM TO BOL AND PULL HIM OVER AND STOP HIM IF FOUND, CAR 1 ADV NOT TO CALL THAT HE WILL TAKE CARE OF IT”
Native, what part of CAR #1 ADV NOT TO CALL, do you not get? Car #22 advised to call and issue the BOL alert, then Car #1 (Hunt) advised not to call, that he would take care of it himself. Hunt is the one who called the shots, no pun intended, not whoever Car #22 was.
Loyalty and devotion to someone is one thing, blind loyalty and devotion is quite another.
Folks – It’s worthless (like Sheriff Hunt) to keep asking Native questions. He’s just like Hunt…..ignorant! Hopefully, he IS a lawyer with a LOT of money (I kinda doubt it though..)that he can give to Hunt when the family sues him for millions in a civil suit. Also,hopefully he will be the one to represent Hunt….that way it will be a speedy and “no-brainer” outcome!
Re: #597
“WRONG-they have already said many times that this takes 10 min,”
———-
How long did the “Is someone available….” take?
When the personal phone call failed what was Hunt’s plan “b”?
Your repetitive shoud’a, would’a, could’a sounds like way too many loser’s cop-outs.
You have get to give a direct answer to the core questions which I and others have asked.
Envision after evasion. Excuse after excuse. That also sounds like way too many loser’s cop-outs.
I just did a quick read of the 84 pages of dispatch transcripts released by the FSCO tonight.
http://media.trb.com/media/acrobat/2011-06/393701920-10172243.pdf
Aside from the chaos that must have dominated that morning, what stood out next what the blatant lack of professionalism on the part of some of the players. A dispatcher informs various law enforcement personnel what has happened, and the best some of them can come up with is LORD HAVE MERCY, OH GOD, ARE YOU SERIOUS, ARE YOU KIDDING ME, THIS IS JUST SOMETHING I TELL YA, OH MY GOD, and even one FU__IN-A. Law enforcement personnel calling in on 911 and expecting the dispatcher to read minds…never even identifying themselves! Incredible. The off duty busybodies calling in just to see “what’s going on?” God forbid they should be kept out of the loop! I wonder if it all were to happen again would they behave the same way or will any lessons be learned? Every call is recorded and can potentially be released to the public; the people the FCSO is sworn to protect and serve. It would therefore make sense to THINK before you speak. And don’t speak at all unless you really need to during a crisis.
Thank God its an election year. His days as Sheriff are numbered. Bill Overton now has a facebook page, Bill Overton for Sheriff.
Native,
Actually, your argument is still clear as mud to me. You argue that Sheriff Hunt never cancelled a dispatch BOL. Your argument is based upon your hope that the CAD sheet is not accurate.
You’re hope is misplaced, Native—and it has caused you to lie in your defense of the Sheriff. Follow me now:
On 6/10/11 I said (citing the CAD sheet entry):
“That is Sheriff Hunt directing a subordinate not to call in a BOL.”
On 6/10/11 Native responds to defend Sheriff Hunt:
“He did do everything with what infor he was given and never did he anywhere cancel the BOL that the supervisor had already told her to put out before talking to HUNT.”
AND
“the dispatcher did not follow orders and then lied to cover her butt, not the Sheriff.”
AND (when I asked you to explain the specific CAD entry)
“this has done been answered a million times, the CAD sheet is not time accuarte not correct.”
Things have changed since Friday, Native. When you said these things you had the luxury of relying upon the Sheriff’s denial in his press release. Now, however, we have the actual transcript—which Sheriff Hunt has had prepared—which contains what he actually said and did—and which he has released as the complete and accurate record of what happened.
First, look at Sgt Wimmer’s attempts to have the BOL called out….
“FCSO Dispatch: So get Roanoke County to try to stop him?
SGT WIMMER: Yeah. If he’s on, if he’s on his police car and he says he’s going to Salem to kill somebody and your information through her is correct we need to notify Roanoke County an uh, and have them try to get him stopped there somewhere – - -
FCSO DISPATCH: Okay, I’ve got – - -
SGT WIMMER: Based on, you know, the information we have.
FCSO DISPATCH: Okay, I’ve got the Sheriff on hold so I’ll let him know.
SGT WIMMER: Okay, great.
FCSO DISPATCH: All right. Thanks.”
Before we start the very next line I want to say this is where I believe the dispatcher made a serious mistake. He should have ignored the Sheriff and left him on hold while he called in the BOL. But in fairness to him, he had no way of knowing his Sheriff was about to order him not to call it in….
FCSO DISPATCH: Hey, it’s Brandon.
SHERIFF: Yes Sir.
FCSO DISPATCH: Hey, a Julia Angel I believe is her name, or Julia Angell just called and said Jonathan Agee just got in his patrol car with an assault rifle and said that he was going to Salem to kill his ex-wife. While I was on the phone with – - -
SHERIFF: Yeah, I’ve already told, told the, the family. I mean did you talk to Salem first?
FCSO DISPATCH: No. I just got it and so I wanted to tell you before I called them. He just left 125 Summer Circle and I just talked to Lewis and he said to tell Roanoke County and tell Salem to stop him if, to try to pull him over if they can find him.
SHERIFF: Alright. Uh, where is he going to in Salem?
FCSO DISPATCH: He’s supposed to be going to South Broad Street. I don’t know a numeric I just know South Broad Street.
SHERIFF: Okay. All right. Let me – - – have you got a, have a number for Salem?
FCSO DISPATCH: Uh, and you want me to go ahead and call Roanoke County and – - -
SHERIFF: No, no, let me call them. Let me call them there.
FCSO DISPATCH: Okay. It’s 540 37 – - -
SHERIFF: Uh-huh.
FCSO DISPATCH: 5 – XXXX. That’s Salem.
SHERIFF: Salem PD there?
FCSO DISPATCH: Yeah.
SHERIFF: All right. And he’s going to where, what Broad Street?
FCSO DISPATCH: He’s going to Broad Street. I don’t know – - or South Broad Street. I don’t know a numeric but going to South Broad Street.
SHERIFF: Okay. All right. Now we don’t even know her name then do we?
FCSO DISPATCH: I don’t know her name, no, sir.
SHERIFF: Okay. All right. Thanks. Bye.
So there it is, Native. No more inaccuracies, just the sordid truth—Sheriff Hunt cancels the BOL and afterwards tries to throw his employee under the bus to protect himself.
Sheriff Hunt on 6/2/11:
“At no time did I cancel a ‘be on the lookout’ order for Mr. Agee.”
Sheriff Hunt on the day it happened:
FCSO DISPATCH: Uh, and you want me to go ahead and call Roanoke County and – - -
SHERIFF: No, no, let me call them. Let me call them there.
Now who has really lied to cover his butt, Native?
Native,
Why are you dodging all of the direct questions that I and others have asked?
A recent story here in the Roanoke Times bore the headline:
“Franklin County Deputy Jonathan Agee had checkered record”
Imagine that! A deputy with a checkered past. I think its high time for a blog to be set up in which people can reveal ALL the blemishes in the pasts of members of the FCSO. It’s time for house cleaning. Corruption, coverups and the good ol’ boy system have only served to weaken credibility and weaken service. Just LOOK at how some of the people behaved during this latest episode. You can’t trust the fox to guard the hen house, and you cant trust an incompetent sheriff to vet the backgrounds of his subordinates. WE THE PEOPLE need to know the backgrounds of those who have the guns and badges, lest any of them use the very tools entrusted to them to MURDER INNOCENT CITIZENS or commit or cover up crimes. I strongly suggest you take the time to read all the 911 logs and stories. Otherwise, we will all be stuck with he very same stuff for the next 4 years.
http://roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/289618
At no time did Hunt order a ‘be on the lookout’ order for Mr. Agee.” Jenny’s life would Have been saved. How can anyone vote for such a heartless person.