A judge found a Smith Mountain Lake bar's co-owner not guilty of violating Franklin County's year-old noise ordinance Wednesday, in a test case that also may make it more difficult for county nightspots to attract bands that want to crank their amplifiers.

Franklin County General District Judge George Jones said that in July, when county law enforcement officials found that noise coming from Mango's Bar & Grill exceeded the county limits, they should have charged the band or sound technician instead of Tim Reith, a co-owner of Mango's.

"Who is making the noise is the one you're supposed to go after," Jones said. "I assume it's the band making the noise where they are. Why not go after them?

"If we can't find the real criminal, let's just pick on someone else -- that's what it boils down to," Jones said, then added, "Not guilty."

County officials said afterward that they'll change the way they prosecute the noise ordinance, which was passed by the board of supervisors in May 2006 on a 4-3 vote.

"The judge's preference is that we charge the band or the person causing the amplified noise to exceed the limit, as opposed to the owner in charge of the establishment," said Franklin County Administrator Rick Huff. "We'll follow his direction."

But Gills Creek Supervisor Russell Johnson, who represents the north side of the lake, said he has some issues with that approach. Charging bands may discourage them from coming to play, and while that may cheer residents who don't want the noise, it could hurt businesses, he said.

"I care as much about the success of a business at the lake as I care about the citizens," Johnson said. "If we're going to tell bands they might be ticketed, I'm not sure Mango's will have any bands. While one side might be happy with that, I don't think it's best for the other side."

Steve Prusak plays keyboards in the Worx, a Roanoke band that has played Mango's numerous times, including an August 2005 gig. The Worx was playing for about 600 people when more than 15 law enforcement agents arrived as part of a three-month investigation by the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. The raid yielded nine arrests -- seven for public intoxication, one for disorderly conduct and one for driving while intoxicated.

The incident also resulted in 13 administrative charges against Mango's. The ABC board eventually found the bar guilty of 10 of those charges and fined it $9,250.

Shortly after the investigation, a group of lake residents who live just across a cove from Mango's collected 77 signatures of residents requesting the noise ordinance and submitted them to the county in the fall of 2005. The board passed the ordinance the following spring.

Prusak said that if county law officials target bands, the Worx will have to scale back its Franklin County shows to small, private affairs.

"There are two points people in Franklin County need to decide on," Prusak said. "First off, is Smith Mountain Lake a recreation area or is it a retirement community? Second, are the people in Franklin County, who didn't get a chance to vote on this, are they going to let 70 people who signed a petition dictate that law in the county?"

The ordinance sets limits of 67 decibels from 7 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., and 62 decibels from 11:31 p.m. to 6:59 a.m. A normal conversation is considered to be about 60 decibels, and the noise from an interstate is about 70 decibels.

Reith's lawyer, Bill Stanley, has argued the ordinance is vague on several points, including the spot from which the noise should be measured. He said it also violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution and puts the burden of proof on the accused.

"I believe the law as written is unconstitutional, and the board of supervisors should take another look at it," Stanley said.

During the court hearing, Jones said he would rule on those points at an appropriate time in the case. But he never got to that point, instead making his ruling on the basis of Deputy Ken Holland's decision to charge Reith.

Holland testified that he was trained to use a decimeter, which measures noise, and he demonstrated how the device is calibrated. He said that on the night of July 29, after receiving the noise complaint, he arrived at a house across the cove from Mango's and proceeded to take readings from two different places on the property. He measured the noise during a performance of "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy," and took another reading during "On the Dark Side."

He then visited Mango's, spoke to Reith and filed the charges against him.

If he had been convicted, Reith faced a maximum fine of $500.

Several of the lake residents across the cove from Mango's attended the hearing but were disappointed by the ruling. Alice Sell was among those who helped push for the ordinance, and she was the one who called the sheriff's office in July.

"I'm a little frustrated with the system," Sell said.

Her husband, Bob Sell, said bands have been ending their sets a little earlier this year, but that on some nights the noise is as bad as ever.

"Friday night was awful," he said.