Mercer deputy who shot man with toy gun found not at fault

PRINCETON, W.Va. – Authorities have cleared of wrongdoing a West Virginia deputy who fatally shot a man wielding a toy pistol.

Mercer County prosecutor George Sitler tells the Charleston Gazette-Mail (http://bit.ly/2kM6d1q) that the man who was killed, 69-year-old Dennis Stanley, was drunk and using other substances at the time of the September shooting.

Deputy Adam Ballard shot and killed Stanley on Sept. 10 in the middle of West Virginia Route 71 in Montcalm.

Sitler says a resident had called 911 because Stanley was waving the pistol around and acting erratically. He says that from a short distance, it looked like a real gun.

Ballard is still employed by the sheriff's department. Sitler says the investigation is complete, and he has no plans to present the case to the grand jury.

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Information from: The Charleston Gazette-Mail, http://wvgazettemail.com.