Grand Jury indicts Nester

By Doug Thompson

A Floyd County Grand Jury last week indicted Animal Control Officer Garland D. “Bucky” Nester on charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless handling of a firearm in the May shooting of a neighbor.
Paul Belcher, 75, died of a gunshot wound from a stray bullet from Nester’s service weapon as the county employee was attempting to put down one of his own cows. Virginia State Police investigators said Belcher was apparently approaching the situation and trying to help when he was killed.
The indictments came on Tuesday of last week after a rare, day-long grand jury session in Circuit Court.  The case is being handled by Franklin County Commonwealth’s Attorney Cliff Hapgood and State Police because Nester is a Floyd County employee.
At one point during the grand jury session, jurors were led from the courtroom and gone for more than a hour, leading to speculation that they were visiting the scene of the shooting on Connor Grove Road.
The indictments were sealed following the session until Nester could be arrested by State Troopers and were unsealed early this week. Nester is scheduled to appear before Circuit Judge Ray W. Grubbs on Nov. 18 for a preliminary hearing.
Nester has been on administrative leave with pay from his job since the shooting five months ago, but his status is currently “under review” according to County Administrator Dan Campbell.
As part of their long investigation into the shooting, State Police investigators probed into citizen complaints involving Nester’s role as the county animal control officer and also reviewed past incidents with county residents. A number of county residents were called as witnesses to the grand jury investigation.
Hapgood did not return phone calls from The Floyd Press seeking comment. Floyd County Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie Murray Shortt said Hapgood will continue to handle prosecution of the case to avoid any appearances of conflict of interest.
Involuntary manslaughter is a felony and carries a sentence of one to 10 years under Virginia’s sentencing guidelines. Reckless handling of a firearm is a misdemeanor.
Besides his role as animal control officer, Nester also once served as the hunting safety instructor for Floyd County.