The former Commonwealth’s Attorney in Buckingham County received a warrant of arrest last year for a Class 1 Misdemeanor, court records indicating a Driving While Impaired (DWI) charge. But the charge had been amended to a reckless driving charge when the case was finalized in July, according to county records.

The offense date was Oct. 20, 2017. A warrant of arrest was filed listing James C. Bell as the accused, according to court records. Virginia State Police Trooper C.S. Thackston was listed as providing sworn statements in relation to the warrant.

The warrant cited that Bell received a Class 1 Misdemeanor.

The initial charge was of a DWI, first offense, with a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) between 0.15-0.20 percent, according to court records. In Virginia, according to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, the BAC has to exceed 0.08 percent to be considered above the legal limit.

The finalized hearing, according to court records, was July 20.

The charge had been amended to reckless driving, a misdemeanor.

According to court documents, the hearing was continued on Dec. 15, 2017, March 2, April 6 and June 15.

Court records indicate that Bell received 12 months of supervised probation with 90 days of sentence time suspended.

Buckingham County Administrator Rebecca Carter confirmed that Bell worked for the Commonwealth’s Attorney Office as part time assistant commonwealth’s attorney, and said that he is no longer the assistant commonwealth’s attorney. It is not known when the post was vacated or if the charge was a factor.

Bell, when contacted, declined to comment on the case.