Archive
Moorefield cop gets new attorney, is released on bond
Moorefield cop gets new attorney, is released on bond
MOOREFIELD — The assistant chief of the Moorefield Police Department has a new attorney and is out on bond.
Galen Ray Reel, 37, of Moorefield was indicted by a Hardy County grand jury in June on five counts of sexual abuse in the first degree.
He is being accused of sexually abusing a woman after he pulled her over in a traffic stop.
Although he pleaded guilty to two lesser charges Jan. 9, he recanted that plea two days later and was incarcerated in the Potomac Highlands Regional Jail in Augusta in lieu of bond.
At that time, his attorney, Dan James of Keyser, filed a motion to withdraw as Reel’s representation, according to Randolph Prosecuting Attorney Frank Bush Jr., who is serving as the special prosecutor in the case.
This week, Reel’s new attorney, Kevin Mills of Martinsburg, asked for a continuance in the case, which Judge Donald H. Cookman granted.
“The judge also increased his bond to $50,000, which could be cash, property or surety,” Bush said.
One stipulation of his being released on bond was that he be placed under home confinement.
According to Bush, the victim of the alleged abuse said Reel pulled her over in a traffic stop and “he touched her and made her touch him” after he told her to get into his cruiser.
When the charges were filed against him, Reel was placed on administrative leave from the police department, according to Town Recorder Phyllis Sherman.
Although Police Chief Frank Vetter was unavailable Friday, a person who answered the phone at the Moorefield Town Hall said Reel remains on leave.
Bush said a hearing date has been set for late April, although Cookman is considering a change of venue due to the publicity that has surrounded the case.
Contact Liz Beavers at lbeavers@times-news.com.
