LEXINGTON --  A misdemeanor assault and battery charge against the sheriff of Rockbridge County has been dropped this morning in a case stemming from an October incident in a county employee's office.
 
Tom Simons, attorney for the sheriff, said both sides decided to drop the case and that agreement was OK'd by a judge. "The parties got together and resolved their differences. I think both realized it was the best way to handle it."
 
According to the Lexington Police Department, Sheriff R.W. "Bob" Day of Fairfield allegedly assaulted Robert Foresman, coordinator of the county's office of emergency management.
 
According to a statement Foresman filed in court in October, the sheriff was upset with him after Foresman sent out an e-mail alert about a convenience store robbery. The sheriff came to Foresman's office, poked Foresman in the chest and threatened to beat him, according to Foresman's statement.
 
As a result of Foresman's complaint to police, Day was charged with assault and battery, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a fine of $2,500.
 
Neither Foresman nor the sheriff was present for today's hearing.
 
Retired judge Steve Helvin was brought in from Charlottesville to hear the case in Rockbridge County General District Court in Lexington.