Loudoun Postal Worker Shot By Special Agent Awaits Court Hearing

LOVETTSVILLE, VA — A U.S. postal worker who was shot by a special agent with the Postal Service's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) in a parking lot outside the Lovettsville Post Office on Dec. 4 is scheduled to appear in court in Leesburg on Monday, Jan. 6. Loudoun County District Court records show 32-year-old Nelson Clark Jr. was shot once in the arm after crashing his car into the special agent's vehicle, according to reports. Clark was under investigation for allegedly stealing packages.

Postal investigators filed a charge of felony embezzlement on Dec. 6. against Clark after he had been taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound to his arm, according to reports. Clark, who lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia, was released on bond Dec. 12 pending a preliminary hearing scheduled for Jan. 27. Clark also is scheduled to appear in court Jan. 6 on his request to have an attorney appointed to represent him.

The special agent reportedly fired one shot when Clark allegedly tried to ram his car into the agent's vehicle while trying to flee the scene. The shooting occurred just after 9 a.m. on Dec. 4 in the post office's parking lot on North Church Street next to an Exxon gas station and 7-Eleven.

The Postal Service's OIG investigates waste, fraud and misconduct. Special agents are sworn federal law enforcement officers who carry firearms and can make arrests.

The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office and the inspector general's office told Patch they are still investigating the shooting. Police have not released the name of the special agent with the OIG's office who allegedly shot Clark.

Lovettsville, located in northwestern Loudoun County, has a population of about 2,000 people.