VINTON POLICE CLEARED

"I don't plan to bring any charges,' special prosecutor says

Although the investigation found the department's evidence handling was
"extremely" deficient, it didn't rise to the level of criminal charges.

The special prosecutor overseeing the investigation within the Vinton Police
Department said Monday he will not pursue charges against any members of the
force.

Neil Vener announced his decision at the Roanoke County courthouse shortly
after a special grand jury concluded its three-month investigation of
possible irregularities in handling drug and gun evidence.

"The grand jury is finished," Vener said after the jury turned in its report
just before noon Monday. "The report has been delivered to the judge. Now
it's up to her."

The contents of the 24-page report, which detail the findings and
recommendations of the nine-member panel, are sealed unless Circuit Court
Judge Diane Strickland decides otherwise. Strickland declined comment
Monday, saying through her secretary that a decision wouldn't be made before
the end of the week.

But Vener said he hopes the report will be made public.

"I can't think of any reason in the world why she wouldn't release it,"
Vener said. "The public has a right to know what happened."

The investigation began last fall after Vinton town officials were
approached by an individual concerned about possible criminal wrongdoing in
the police department. Specifically, the complaints were about Lt. Bill
Brown and irregularities in handling drug and gun evidence.

Officials asked the Virginia State Police to look into the allegations.
After being named special prosecutor, Vener also requested that a special
grand jury be impaneled. The jury first met Nov. 3 and had its last meeting
Monday morning in Roanoke County Circuit Court.

The five-woman, four-man jury met at least eight times and interviewed 53
witnesses over the course of three months.

A week after the jury's first meeting, Vinton's top two officers -- Chief
Ricky Foutz and Brown, resigned. Foutz, who served the 7,300-resident
community for nearly 27 years, said town officials gave him little choice
but to step down.

Vener would not comment on the contents of the jury's report, but he said he
agreed with their findings. Although a special grand jury can make
recommendations, it is only an investigative tool. The decision whether to
pursue charges was Vener's to make. The judge will only decide whether the
report should be made public.

"From what I've learned ... I don't plan to bring any charges," Vener said.
"The evidence did not rise to the level of criminal charges."

Vener did say, however, that the state police investigation found
irregularities in the department's handling of public funds. He declined to
say what those public funds were, saying only that they were detailed in the
grand jury's report.

But again, he said that the irregularities did not rise to a criminal level.
Rather, Vener said the department's evidence-handling system was "extremely"
deficient and followed a poor chain of custody.

"The way the state police found the system -- it did not follow accepted
proper police procedures," he said. "Not every wrong is a crime."

Foutz had said the allegations against Brown involved property missing from
the department's evidence room, including weapons taken from suspects that
later disappeared. In November, Foutz speculated that the investigation
would only find improper evidence-handling procedures and errors in
judgment. He did not return a phone call seeking comment Monday.

Vener would not say whether the grand jury recommended that the police
department change any procedures.

After Foutz's resignation, David Edwards, a retired police chief from
Martinsville, was named interim chief while the town searches for a
replacement. Edwards also did not return a phone call Monday.

Vinton Mayor Charles Hill said the police department appears to be running
smoothly with Edwards at the helm. Hill declined to comment on the lack of
criminal charges, saying it was too premature to do so.

"All along, it's been a question of not knowing," he said. "It's still a
question of knowing what's in the report."

Hill said he didn't know whether the matter would come up for discussion at
tonight's town council meeting.