Louisa County, Virginia

From the Charlottesville Daily Progress of September 12, 2007

Murder charges dropped against Louisa man

Charges have been dropped against a Louisa County man accused of murdering his brother-in-law.

A grand jury on Monday found that there was insufficient evidence to bring 40-year-old James E. Ward to trial on second-degree murder and firearms charges.

Authorities said Ward shot 36-year-old David Wayne Martin, his wife’s brother, after a June 18 domestic dispute.

“There was a strong indication from the very beginning that it could very well have been a self-defense case,” said Maj. Donald A. Lowe of the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office.

Martin went to Ward’s home that evening and assaulted several people, including his sister and Ward, during an argument over a grill, Lowe said.

While Martin was struggling with another occupant in the house, Ward retrieved a .22-caliber pistol and shot him in the chest, authorities said.

Martin died at the scene.

Louisa County Common-wealth’s Attorney R. Don Short said he would talk to the investigator in the case to determine if other charges are appropriate. “That would be to make sure we’ve covered all the bases, and that there isn’t some piece of evidence that we may have overlooked,” Short said.