Civil rights trial in W.Va. is delayed

Bell's trial was rescheduled for Jan. 23.

Bell was indicted earlier this year on three counts of wanton endangerment involving a firearm and three counts of violation of the civil rights of another person, according to Circuit Court records.

Bell, 56, of Route 1, was indicted after three African-American men were allegedly threatened while hunting in a field near the intersection of Wiltshire Road and Leetown Pike just west of Charles Town Nov. 25, 1998, according to court records.

A man approached Clyde M. Eggleton and his two sons and told them he was the owner of the property, according to a criminal complaint filed by West Virginia State Police.

The man pointed a rifle at the three men and threatened to shoot them if they came back to the property again, the criminal complaint said.

The men also allege that the man used racial slurs when he talked to them.

Eggleton told police that he believed the land was owned by someone else.

In March, Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Michael D. Thompson told Steptoe that he orginally believed that the three had permission to hunt on the land. But Thompson said he later learned they did not have permission to hunt there.

At Thompson's request, Steptoe agreed to dismiss the indictment against Bell without prejudice, which means Thompson could present the case to a grand jury again.

In April, Bell was indicted again. The only difference in the charges on the second indictment is that they did not include charges of impeding any person engaged in lawful hunting of wildlife. The original indictment against Bell included three counts of that violation, according to court records.