A Franklin County Circuit Court judge has ordered the assembly of a special grand jury to investigate employee compensation and evidence handling in the Franklin County Sheriff's Office.

Unsealed Thursday, the order signed May 8 by Judge William Alexander orders the grand jury empaneled at the request of a special prosecutor to determine whether there has been any criminal activity and whether any indictments are warranted.

A West Virginia search warrant filed last month shows that Virginia State Police have investigated whether Sheriff Ewell Hunt's teenage daughter, who was employed by the sheriff's office, was paid for hours she didn't actually work.

The judge's order does not detail what specific incidents the grand jury's inquiry will probe.

In a statement released Thursday afternoon, the sheriff said he welcomed the grand jury inquest. "I am pleased that Judge Alexander has chosen this method to resolve the allegations made against myself, my daughter and to a larger extent the Franklin County Sheriff's Office. I am confident that once all the evidence is presented to an independent fact finder that these allegations will be determined to be unfounded and without merit."

He declined to comment further.

According to the document, on Oct. 7, Alexander appointed Pittsylvania County Commonwealth's Attorney David Grimes as special prosecutor in the investigation at the request of Franklin County Commonwealth's Attorney Cliff Hapgood.

Grimes was asked "to conduct an investigation into certain possible improprieties in the maintenance of time sheets" at the Franklin County Sheriff's Office.

The order states that when Grimes finished his investigation, he asked for the special grand jury "to investigate and report on any condition related to personnel compensation and evidence management" in the sheriff's office.

It's unclear when the special grand jury will convene or how long its inquiry will take. Hapgood has repeatedly declined to comment on the investigation. Grimes did not return phone calls seeking comment Thursday.

According to a search warrant filed April 9 in Mercer County, W.Va., two Virginia State Police investigators traveled to Concord University and seized a personal laptop computer and a pair of flash drives belonging to Ashley Hunt, Ewell Hunt's daughter, who worked for the sheriff's office as an administrative assistant.

The search warrant states that Ashley Hunt handled inventory and supplies and also sometimes did surveillance for drug buys. The document cites one of the state police investigators as having said Hunt had claimed hours on the job at the sheriff's office "that he did not believe it was possible for her to have actually worked."

According to the document, Maj. Josh Carter, the sheriff's former second in command, told investigators that the sheriff had presented him with time sheets for his daughter. When Carter asked his boss what the time sheets were for, "Sheriff Hunt told Chief Carter to not ask any questions and just sign the time sheets," the warrant states.

The warrant says Ashley Hunt kept her time sheet data on her laptop. According to the document, investigators were trying to determine whether any evidence exists to support a charge of obtaining money by false pretenses.

Carter and former Lt. Allan Arrington both said that they were fired from the sheriff's office on May 4. Hunt has said their dismissal had nothing to do with the time sheet allegations.

Staff writer Janelle Rucker contributed to this report.