Man accused of having a gun and suspicious bacon on neighbor's land

An Amherst County judge certified charges to a grand jury against a man from Madison Heights, Virginia, accused of wearing a camouflage mask on a neighbor’s property while carrying a gun and a suspicious bag of bacon. Evan Patrick Cater, 31, appeared in front of General District Court Judge Sam Eggleston on Tuesday.

Cater is charged with felony wearing a mask in public, misdemeanor trespassing, public intoxication and carrying a gun while intoxicated. An Amherst County grand jury is next scheduled to meet on Feb. 9. Deputies found Cater hiding behind a dog kennel on a neighbor’s property at around 10pm on Oct. 18 after the property owner heard his dogs barking and went to investigate. Deputies found Cater with a 9mm handgun and a bag of bacon covered in an unknown oily substance. Neighbor Bobby Wood, who testified at Cater’s hearing, said he first encountered a man who was face down behind the dog pen fence in his backyard after his dogs would not stop barking when he called to them. On the other side of the dog pen fence, Wood called to the man, who would not move after Wood yelled at him several times. Wood ran back to his home and called authorities. He returned to the area with two deputies, including S.S. Jackson, who also testified. The man, whom Jackson identified as Cater, had moved but was found face down with bacon and a 9mm gun.
Jackson said she smelled alcohol on Cater’s breath. When asked what he was doing, Cater responded he was just relaxing and wasn’t doing anything wrong, Jackson said. Wood testified his wife had previously reported Cater to authorities because Cater was shooting a firearm in his backyard. Jackson said she has previously talked with Cater after deputies were called to his residence after receiving reports from neighbors that Cater and his daughter were firing guns in the backyard. Cater recently spoke out at Amherst Board of Supervisors meetings against a no-shoot zone which encompasses his house.