Judge Overturns Jury’s Civil Verdict in ‘Coon Dog’ Case

ABINGDON, Va. - A federal judge today overturned a jury’s verdict in the civil chapter of the ‘Coon Dog’ corruption case, ruling that Buchanan County was not entitled to the $500,000 the jury assessed a contractor.
Jurors in June determined that Joe Stephens, as an agent of KJ Stephens & Associates, LLC and Vansant Lumber Company owed the county for charging more than a reasonable value for services. Stephens, who was convicted and served two years in prison for his role in bribing county officials for contracts, had also forfeited $700,000 to the government in the criminal case, which was handed back to the county.
In his ruling today, Judge James P. Jones found that the evidence was not sufficienct for the jury to determine how much above a reasonable value Stephens had billed the county.
Read tomorrow’s Bristol Herald Courier for details.