WYTHEVILLE -- The widow of a man fatally shot by a neighbor during a 2008 rampage has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the town of Wytheville, Wythe County, the state and two members of the commonwealth's attorney's office.

Sharon Bane and her father, Jerry Covey, filed the civil suit early this month in Wythe County Circuit Court, seeking $25 million in damages.

Sharon Bane's husband, Joseph Bane, and Covey were shot by Douglas Albert Jaccard, a neighbor on Dyer Road in the Barren Springs community.

Joe Bane died of his injuries. Covey was shot in the arm.

Jaccard was out of jail on bond awaiting trial when the Dec. 16, 2008, shootings occurred. The lawsuit claims the defendants erred in allowing Jaccard to post bond after he had originally been ordered held without bond.

"The defendants in the case ought to be held accountable for their actions, which essentially caused the death of Joseph Bane and the permanent injury to Jerry Covey," their attorney, David Steidle, said Tuesday.

After he shot Joe Bane and Covey, Jaccard burned down the Banes' house. During a manhunt for him, he shot at deputies.

In March, Jaccard was sentenced to five life terms and 48 years in prison -- one life term each for first-degree murder, burglary, arson and two counts of attempted capital murder; 20 years for malicious wounding; three years for each of four counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony; five years for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon; five years for possessing explosive materials as a convicted felon; and three years each for two counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor for propositioning a teenage boy.

Jaccard's rampage came two days before he was scheduled for a hearing on the indecent liberties charges, on which he had been arrested in March 2008. He was held without bond after a magistrate wrote on a bail determination form that Jaccard was angry and paranoid and likely to attempt to obstruct justice or threaten, injure or intimidate a witness, juror or victim.

The suit claims that "Joseph and Sharon Bane were assured by the Wythe County Commonwealth's Attorney's office that Douglas Albert Jaccard would not be released on bond," that no agreements would be made regarding bond and that they would be notified if there was a request for bond.

However, on Aug. 18, 2008, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Frank Slavin, who is named in the lawsuit, agreed to a $10,000 bond.

The suit claims the Banes were not notified. Also, it claims, Slavin "did not impose sufficient conditions upon that bond, specifically a condition preventing Jaccard from contacting the victim's family."

Jaccard was court-ordered not to leave the state and to have no contact with minors.

At a hearing on Sept. 2, 2008, Commonwealth's Attorney Gerald Mabe, who is also named in the suit, requested that Jaccard's bond be revoked. According to the suit, Jaccard had used abusive language and made a hand gesture toward neighbor Conley Hicks and assaulted him with the handle of a gardening tool.

A judge denied the request, though, and Jaccard remained free until the shootings.

"The commonwealth tried to fix their mistake, I guess, by trying to revoke his bond, but the judge decided he hadn't violated any of the conditions set forth in it," Steidle said.

"What the family is looking for is accountability," he said. "No one can give them back what was taken. And even though Jaccard is spending life-plus time in prison, they still will never be whole."

Two of the defendants, the town of Wytheville and Wythe County, have filed responses to the lawsuit, asking that it be dismissed.

The complaint doesn't state any alleged act or omission on the part of the town, attorney Robert Kaase wrote, and the town is protected from the suit by sovereign immunity.

Jim Guynn, attorney for Wythe County, wrote that there is no allegation that the county took any action or violated any duty that caused injury to the plaintiffs. Also, he wrote, the commonwealth's attorney is a constitutional officer, not a county employee.

Mabe and Slavin haven't responded to the suit, but their attorney, Kevin Barnard, said Tuesday, "We don't believe the case has any merit."