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Post by Critique on Feb 27, 2007 2:24:04 GMT -5
February 26, 2007 BOTETOURT COUNTY, VIRGINIA – Virginia State Police will investigate an incident in which a Botetourt County sheriff’s deputy is accused of causing a scare by sneaking into the bedroom of a 10-year-old girl in the middle of the night. Commonwealth’s Attorney Joel Branscom said today that he asked state police to investigate the matter, which first became public last week in a lawsuit filed against the Sheriff’s Office by Mark and Cheryl Hunsberger. The Hunsbergers’ lawsuit accuses Deputy J.A. Wood and a second unidentified man of entering their home near Cloverdale the night of Feb. 1 without a search warrant. According to the suit, the Hunsbergers’ 10-year-old daughter was terrified to find Wood shining a flashlight in her bedroom while the second man tried to pull the covers off her bed. Sheriff Ronnie Sprinkle said last week that his deputy had a legitimate reason to be in the home, but declined to comment further. Branscom said that because some of the lawsuit’s allegations differ from his understanding of what happened, he decided to call for an outside investigation. “I believe that public confidence in the sheriff’s department will be best served by an independent investigation of the incident,” he said. www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/106322
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