PARKERSBURG - More than a month after it was released, the report concerning the March 18 shooting of a Lubeck man has not been presented to a county grand jury.
In July, when the report was completed, Wood County Prosecutor Jason Wharton said he would present the findings to the grand jury to determine if any further action is required but declined to say when he planned to present the case. A special session of the grand jury took place July 18.
In an email response Wednesday to a call from The Parkersburg News and Sentinel made on Tuesday, Wharton said the investigation will be presented to a grand jury, but he did not commit to a firm date for the presentation.
"I do plan on presenting the investigation of the Jody Wilson shooting to the grand jury," Wharton wrote. "The next Grand Jury meets the second week of September."
Wood County Sheriff Jeff Sandy said he would not be notified of any planned action to review the investigation.
"I have not, and would not, since it's my office involved," he said. "This office and the prosecutor are independent of each other."
Sandy said it would not be up to him to release the names of the three deputies involved in the shooting.
"It's not up to me to release the names; it's up to the prosecutor," he said. "From that standpoint it may not be good to release the names until after the grand jury meets so as to not taint the jury."
Sandy said he wants to see the case brought to a conclusion.
"I want it over as much as the public does," he said.
Judy Wilson, mother of Jody Wilson, did not return a call seeking comment.
On March 18 the Wood County Sheriff's Department reported Wilson was shot by sheriff's deputies around 1 a.m. at his parents' home on Dyes Drive in Lubeck after allegedly firing at officers.
At about 9:45 p.m. Saturday, March 17, officers with the Wood County Sheriff's Department, West Virginia Department of Natural Resources and West Virginia State Police responded to a 911 call about an individual who was possibly high on bath salts and who was armed, Sandy said after the incident in March.
Officers arrived on the scene and began talking to the individual. The standoff lasted into the evening.
Wilson allegedly disobeyed the command, exited the residence with a firearm and fired upon officers while Wood County sheriff's deputies returned fire, reports stated.
No law enforcement officers were injured in the incident.
The three Wood County deputies involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave. On April 24 an internal investigation by the Wood County Sheriff's Office found that the three deputies involved in the shooting did not violate department policies.
Wharton said the deputies were not completely cleared and called for an investigation by the state police.
