UPDATE: Former Franklin Co. Sheriff Ewell Hunt expected to be back in court by end of the year

You can expect to see former Franklin County Sheriff Ewell Hunt back in court in by the end of this year.

That's the word from his attorney, Bill Stanley.

A judge found Hunt guilty of misconduct in office on Tuesday night.

It all stems from Hunt's actions on Memorial Day 2011. That is the day Investigators say Hunt's deputy, Jonathan Agee, killed his ex-wife and then shot a Virginia State trooper.

Hunt's attorney immediately filed an appeal in circuit court.

"What you saw here is one step in a larger process," Stanley said. "Sheriff Hunt is a good man, a fair man, a honest man and he is not guilty of these charges."

The former sheriff was given a $500 fine and 30 days in jail.

That jail time was suspended.

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Former Franklin County Sheriff Ewell Hunt has been found guilty of misconduct by an elected official.

Hunt must pay a $500 fine.

He was also sentenced to 30 days in jail, but the jail sentence has been suspended.

The misconduct by an elected official charge is a misdemeanor.

The charge stemmed from Hunt's actions on May 30, 2011. That's when investigators say his former deputy, Jonathan Agee, shot and killed his ex-wife and shot Virginia State Police Sergeant Matt Brannock.

The prosecution began its case Tuesday by calling Special Agent Steve Oliver. Oliver interviewed Hunt after the shootings about his initial response.

"The sheriff said he told them not to put a look out at that point because he was waiting for a call back from a Salem PD supervisor," Oliver testified.

More than an hour's worth of 911 calls were played in court Tuesday.

Defense attorney Bill Stanley says the confusion and misinformation was because of the assumption by dispatchers.

The prosecutor said the confusion was because the sheriff never issued a be on the lookout order.

The case is now appealed automatically to circuit court.

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A former Franklin County sheriff is on the other side of the law right now.

Sheriff Ewell Hunt is on trial, charged with misconduct by an elected official.

This all stems from two shootings on Memorial Day 2011.

A former deputy is accused of killing his wife and shooting a Virginia State Trooper.

The issue here is did Ewell Hunt do everything in his power to stop his former deputy Jonathan Agee, once reports were made?
The state says no. The defense says yes.
A rundown of that day's events played out in district court Tuesday.

According to 9-1-1 tapes, Agee's wife called dispatch to report her husband left in his police cruiser, loaded with guns, threatening to kill his ex- wife, Jennifer.

From there, tapes indicate there was confusion within the department, little to no communication with other agencies and misinformation.

Hunt's attorney Bill Stanley argued the sheriff never told dispatchers not to release the information; that was something they chose to do on their own.

The state argues as sheriff, Hunt was the incident commander handling the situation and it was his duty to issue the order to put out a "be on the lookout" or announcements to other agencies.   

The Commonwealth initially had 21 witnesses, but cut five from the list.

The defense had a number of witnesses as well.

At this hour, the case continues upstairs.

The special prosecutor says they are trying to wrap this case Tuesday night.

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Former Franklin County Sheriff Ewell Hunt is in court right now.

Hunt is charged with misconduct by an elected official in last year's Memorial Day shooting involving Jonathan Agee.

The hearing started at 9 a.m. Tuesday morning.

As of 11 a.m., only two witnesses out of 21 had testified.

The first was the special agent who investigated the shootout on I-81.

The second was Brandon Russel Robinson.

He is now a Franklin County Deputy but at the time of the shooting, he was the dispatcher who took the very first call.

That call came from Jonathan Agee's wife Julia Angel.

The prosecutor, Michael Duecette, played the recording.

Robertson: "Franklin County Dispatch Robertson."

Angel: "Hi my name is Julia Angel, there's a deputy that works there Jonathan Agee he just left in his deputy car and he has guns with him he said he's on his way to kill his ex wife, Jennifer Agee."

Robertson: "Where does she live?"

Angel: "Salem."

The recording was extremely long and that was just a very small bit of what was played.

Hunt is being represented by attorney Bill Stanley.

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Former Franklin County Sheriff Ewell Hunt is in a Rocky Mount courtroom.

He's facing a misdemeanor criminial charge of misconduct by an elected official.

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Former Franklin County Sheriff Ewell Hunt is expected in court Tuesday morning.

He's been charged with misconduct by an elected official and a judge will decide whether he is guilty or not.

This is a misdemeanor criminal charge based on the failure to act.

This all stems from whether or not Hunt acted accordingly on Memorial Day of last year.

That's the day when former Franklin County deputy Jonathan Agee is accused of killing his wife Jennifer Agee at a Roanoke gas station.

Jonathan Agee is also accused of then getting into a shootout with state police on Interstate 81.

Ewell Hunt told WDBJ7 that he received a phone call prior to the shooting from Jonathan Agee's dad expressing concern about his son and another from Franklin County dispatchers, saying they took a call from Agee's current wife who indicated Jonathan Agee planned to harm his ex-wife.

Agee's dad indicated to Hunt that he might be headed to Salem.

This is the phone call Hunt made to Salem Police:

Ewell Hunt: Yeah, this is Sheriff Hunt over at Franklin County. Do you got a shift supervisor handy, or could one give me a call?
Dispatcher: Um, sure. I could have one give you a call.
Hunt: Alright. This is Sheriff Hunt, Franklin County. And the number is 540-.
Dispatcher: And what was your last name?
Hunt: Hunt, H-U-N-T. Im the sheriff of Franklin County.
Dispatcher: OK, I will have him call you.
Hunt: Thank you.

Hunt said he was trying to speed up a warning by calling Salem police directly. 

But the recording of Hunt's call, makes no mention of an emergency or potential threat.

The hearing should start around 9 o'clock Tuesday morning and they've allowed two days.

That's mainly because the prosecution has listed 21 witnesses so it will take some time to get through.