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Deputies confer Monday after apprehending shooting suspect Jerry Stone (far left). Contributed photo

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Area man charged in shooting

By JEFFREY SIMMONS/Staff

Matthew Justus was cutting down a tree on Monday afternoon when he saw the dust fly up at his feet, police said.
Investigators believe that the miniature explosion of dirt in eastern Bland County came from a .22-caliber bullet hitting the ground.
The man accused of firing the round was behind bars on Tuesday following a more than five-hour search that ended Monday evening in a field along Walkers Creek.
Jerry Lavail Stone, 48, who has both Pulaski and Richmond addresses, was charged with three felonies related to the shooting, which police said stemmed from a land dispute. No one was hurt in the shooting or the search, police said.
According to Bland County Sheriff Jerry Thompson, Justus was cutting wood Monday afternoon on the Mount Zion Road property of his girlfriend, who is Stone’s niece, when he saw the dirt fly and encountered the suspect.
Thompson said Stone put the rifle to the back of Justus’ neck and began leading him down the mountain.
“(They were) walking down the mountain at which point he broke and ran and made it to the house to call us,” Thompson said. Police got the report at 1:23 p.m. and started searching for Stone, who had apparently been dropped off in the area by a family member earlier on Monday. Police said Stone had apparently been staying off and on in the woods and had supplies to sustain him for a few days.
With the assistance of Bland Correctional Center Officer Terry L. Neal and his bloodhound, Larry, deputies began trying to track Stone at approximately 2:30 p.m.
At one point, the dog led officers to a .22-caliber rifle tied up in a tree, the sheriff said, but the hunt for Stone continued until approximately 7:51 p.m.
Police said the dog found Stone lying in a field about two miles from where the shooting occurred.
He was arrested without any problems.
“It turned out good; nobody got hurt,” Thompson said, adding that Bland County officers were helped out by Giles County deputies. The area is near the Giles line.
Stone was charged with using a firearm in commission of a felony, abduction and being a felon in possession of a firearm. More charges are pending, police said.
On Tuesday morning, investigators returned to the crime scene looking for more evidence in the case.
According to court records, in 2003, Stone was convicted of using profane or threatening language over a public airway in Pulaski County. That charge had been amended from threatening to bomb or damage a building. He also has a 2006 second offense driving while intoxicated conviction, according to court records.
Being held without bond in the New River Valley Regional Jail in Dublin, Stone will likely be arraigned on the new charges either today or next Wednesday.
Jeffrey Simmons can be reached at 1-800-655-1406 or .