Friday, May 24, 2013 at 9:45 pm
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Inmates at seven minimum- and medium-security prisons in West Virginia will be sowing seeds this spring and tending plants this summer as part of a new program to grow produce for the state's largest food bank.

Planting on small prison-owned plots will begin soon for the Harvest Now program, and the Division of Corrections will donate its produce to the Mountaineer Food Bank near Gassaway, Corrections Commissioner Jim Rubenstein said Friday.

Mountaineer serves 48 of West Virginia's 55 counties, distributing food to local pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, youth programs, day-care centers, senior programs and after-school nutrition programs.

"There's just such a negative connotation of corrections," Rubenstein said. "I've always just had the philosophy and desire to be good neighbors through community service and, when possible, to give back to the community."

Police say adoptive stepfather failed in murder-suicide attempt
Friday, May 24, 2013 at 7:42 pm

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A teenage girl is dead, another teen is wounded and an elderly man is seriously hurt after an apparently botched murder-suicide on Keystone Drive, just south of Yeager Airport, at about 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Roy Roger Pittman, 69, killed his 15-year-old adopted stepdaughter with a shotgun blast to the chest and shot his 18-year-old adopted stepson in the upper leg Friday evening after a family dispute, according to Kanawha County Chief Deputy Mike Rutherford.

When police arrived at the scene and ordered Pittman to put his weapon down, he turned the 12-gauge shotgun on himself and "shot himself in the face," Rutherford said.

Friday, May 24, 2013 at 11:24 am

SCARBRO, W.Va. -- A man and woman were arrested Thursday in Fayette County on drug trafficking charges after members of the Central West Virginia Drug Task Force seized several prescriptions, including Xanax and Roxicodone, and thousands of dollars in cash from a Scarbro residence.

Kenna Sue Bass, 36, of Robson, was arrested and charged with delivery of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and conspiracy to commit a felony after undercover officers bought prescription medication at the residence, according to a news release from Fayette County Sheriff Steve Kessler.

Andre Lamarian Riley, 51, of Detroit, also was arrested and charged with delivery of a controlled substance, conspiracy to commit a felony and transportation of controlled substances into the state.

Friday, May 24, 2013 at 8:42 am

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Two men who tried to flee police during a traffic stop in Charleston have been sentenced to federal prison on heroin-related charges.

U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin said Stephen Michael Hopkins, 36, of Huntington, was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Charleston to 12 years and seven months in prison. A co-defendant, Eddie Daivon Morgan, 32, of Beckley, received a four-year prison term Wednesday.

Goodwin said Hopkins and Morgan were inside a parked car in March 2011. After an officer ordered them to step out of the vehicle, Hopkins drove off but eventually crashed. Both suspects were arrested a short time later. A search found more than $10,920 in cash, heroin, marijuana and a cellphone belonging to Morgan.

Friday, May 24, 2013 at 8:33 am
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Charleston police are still looking for clues a year after a man's body was found in the Elk River.

Police Lt. Steve Cooper says 55-year-old Robert Snow of Charleston never showed up for a scheduled job interview on May 23, 2012. His body, partially bound with duct tape, was found by boaters in the Elk River a few days later. His vehicle and cell phone were found in a nearby parking lot.

Investigators don't have enough evidence to charge anyone with a crime. They're asking anyone with information to step forward.

 

Thursday, May 23, 2013 at 4:29 pm

BECKLEY, W.Va. -- A Raleigh County man was arrested Wednesday after allegedly threatening to "relive the Newtown shooting" at a Boone County High School.

David Henry Linville, 26, of Shady Spring, allegedly sent a social media message to a Sherman High School student Monday evening threatening to "relive the Newtown shooting," according to Boone County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Chad Barker.

"The communications took place on a social media site and were very specific and disturbing," Barker said. He said Linville allegedly targeted Sherman High School by name.

Thursday, May 23, 2013 at 9:03 am
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- A West Virginia State Police trooper faces charges of obtaining leave pay for military training that he didn't attend.

Media outlets report that a Berkeley County Circuit Court grand jury indicted 25-year-old Johnathan Brand on Wednesday on one count of fraudulent scheme.

Brand is assigned to the Martinsburg detachment.

Brand is accused of submitting leave requests to attend military training when he no longer was a member of the U.S. Army Reserve. The indictment says he received more than $4,400 in leave pay between April 2012 and March 2013.

Thursday, May 23, 2013 at 8:26 am
SUMMERSVILLE, W.Va. -- A man charged with killing two adults and two children in Nicholas County is scheduled to stand trial in August.

James Roy Belknap is being held without bond in the Central Regional Jail on four counts of first-degree murder.

The 27-year-old Leivasy resident is charged with fatally shooting Steven Leroy Hendix, Amber Martin and Hendrix's two young children. The victims' bodies were found on May 26, 2012. Police said the victims had been stripped and their bodies were dumped down a mountainside.

Belknap was arrested two days later at a police roadblock.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 1:00 pm
ST. ALBANS, W.Va.-- A Kanawha County man who was high on methamphetamine was arrested Tuesday after allegedly breaking into a home in St. Albans, police say.

Capt. James Agee of the St. Albans Police Department said a resident of the 2000 block of Seventh Avenue, near St. Albans High School, called police at about 5 p.m. to say a man had broken into her basement and was beating on the back door of her house.

When officers arrived, they were allegedly met by David A. Pettry, 28, of Miami, who allegedly had a hatchet and a large hunting knife in his hands.

Pettry allegedly told officers he was high on methamphetamine and was just trying to get some help, Agee said. He was told to put the weapons down and was arrested without further incident.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 6:45 pm

NEWARK, N.J. — He was a gregarious, spontaneous child, his father said, a handful at times who loved music and playing the guitar.

As an adult he became famous as Kai, the hatchet-wielding hitchhiker, his celebrity taking a turn toward notoriety when he was arrested in Philadelphia last week and charged with killing a New Jersey lawyer.

Caleb McGillivary, his real name, claimed that he was "home free" rather than homeless, a traveler by choice with roots in Sophia, in Raleigh County.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 6:19 pm

MOUNT LOOKOUT, W.Va. -- A volunteer firefighter and his son face charges of setting a string of fires in Nicholas County.

Media outlets report that West Virginia State Police arrested Charles Fillmore Barnett and his son, Charles Lindell Barnett, on Tuesday. Each is charged with arson.

State police say the charges stem from several building and brush fires set in the Mount Lookout area between December 2011 and the spring of 2012.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 8:18 am
WAYNE, W.Va. -- A former employee is repaying nearly $62,000 embezzled from the Northern Wayne Public Service District.

Wayne County prosecutor Tom Plymale tells WSAZ-TV that 28-year-old Tiffani Petry of Kenova agreed to repay the money if she received probation. She has repaid $28,000 so far.

Plymale says Petry pleaded guilty last week to four embezzlement counts. She was indicted on 22 counts in March.

According to the indictment, more than 34,000 was embezzled from the PSD between July 5, 2011, and July 13, 2012. Plymale says a follow-up audit found that the total was nearly $62,000.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 8:15 am
LEWISBURG, W.Va. -- Greenbrier County's prosecutor is seeking a life sentence for a man convicted of torching several vehicles at a West Virginia State Police barracks.

Prosecutor Patrick Via says in a court filing that 48-year-old David Clayton White of Meadow Bridge has two prior felony convictions.

West Virginia's recividism law allows prosecutors to seek a sentence enhancement against people convicted of repeated felonies.

The Register-Herald reports that a hearing is scheduled today in Greenbrier County Circuit Court to determine whether White is a recividist.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 7:31 pm
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Summers County man was killed after another driver hit his car head-on near Camp Branch Road on W.Va. 61 in Fayette County.

The 69-year-old driver was pronounced dead at the scene after Jeffery Hilewitz, 53, of Cannelton, crossed into the unidentified man's lane and struck his vehicle at 2:23 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said.

Fayette County Sheriff's deputies are not releasing the name of the other driver until his family is notified. His body was taken to Tyree Funeral Home in Oak Hill.

Healthnet Air Ambulance Service transported Hilewitz to Charleston Area Medical Center, where his condition remains unknown.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 10:24 am

FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. -- National Park Service rangers and CSX railroad detectives are trying to determine the identity of a woman who was struck and killed by a freight train as she walked along CSX mainline tracks in the New River Gorge National River on Monday.

Crewmembers of the train told investigators that the black woman, believed to be about 50 years old, had her head covered by a blanket at the time of the incident, which took place during a heavy rainstorm.

Although the train's horn was sounded and the locomotive's brakes were applied, the woman did not react in time to avoid being struck by the lead locomotive, according to a spokeswoman for the New River Gorge National River.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 8:21 am
WAYNE, W.Va. -- About 20 Wayne High School students are barred from the school's graduation ceremony because of a senior prank that damaged the building.

Media outlets report that the Wayne County Board of Education suspended the students from school property at a special meeting Monday night. The graduation ceremony will be held at the school Wednesday evening.

Board member Vickey Boyd said the students will receive their diplomas.

"I hope the kids who want to do pranks set out to have fun but they know not to destroy school property,'' Boyd told The Herald-Dispatch. "I was like a lot of people with the question, 'There's always a prank. Why did they decide to call the cops this year?' I think we all learned that the damage was severe, and a lot of lessons have been learned.''

Investigators treating it as a potential homicide
Monday, May 20, 2013 at 4:18 pm

ELKVIEW, W.Va. -- Police, who suspect a potential homicide, have identified the man found in a mobile home in northern Kanawha County on Monday afternoon.

David Lemons, 28, of 7 Darlington Lane in Elkview, was found dead around 1:45 p.m., according to Kanawha County Sheriff's Cpl. Brian Humphreys.

Lemons' death is being treated as a potential homicide, according to Humphreys. Investigators were still at the scene at 9 p.m. Monday.

Monday, May 20, 2013 at 2:39 pm

CLENDENIN, W.Va. -- A 19-year-old Clendenin area man who fell out of a raft in the Elk River near Queen Shoals on Monday and went missing for more than two hours was found safe walking along railroad tracks on the outskirts of Clendenin.

Clendenin Volunteer Fire Department Chief Kevin Clendenin said rescue personnel in boats searched the area downstream from the site where the raft capsized early Monday afternoon, after receiving reports that one of two men on the raft had not been seen emerging from the river.

The missing man, who emergency officials were told was autistic, was found about four miles downriver from the point where his brother --, the other man riding the raft -- had last seen him. The brother swam to shore immediately after the incident.

Monday, May 20, 2013 at 2:36 pm

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Charleston police are trying to find out who shot a man on the city's West Side early Sunday.

Sgt. Tony Hazelett of the Charleston Police Department said Danny Dickerson, 21, of Charleston, was at the intersection of Glenwood Avenue and Grant Street at about 12:15 a.m. Sunday when he was shot in the leg, shattering his femur.

Hazelett said there were witnesses to the shooting, but neither witnesses nor Dickerson are cooperating with police.

Monday, May 20, 2013 at 8:58 am
RIDGELEY, W.Va. -- Ridgeley Mayor Jim Twigg faces charges of misusing the city's purchase card.

Media outlets report that a Mineral County grand jury indicted Twigg on eight felony counts of fraudulent or unauthorized use of a government-issued purchase card. Twigg is accused of making about $415 in unauthorized purchases with the card.

Twigg tells The Times-News of Cumberland, Md., that he has reimbursed the city. He says there wasn't any criminal wrongdoing.

Some City Council members had questioned Twigg's use of the purchase card last October. They alleged that he had paid for unauthorized meals and other items.

Monday, May 20, 2013 at 8:40 am
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. -- An attorney and a private investigator face charges of conspiring to interfere with a witness in a criminal case against a former Shinnston policeman.

Media outlets report that Wheeling attorney Paul J. Harris and Barbour County private investigator Franklin D. Streets Jr. are scheduled to be arraigned Monday morning in Harrison County Circuit Court.

Harrison County prosecutor Joe Shaffer says a county grand jury indicted the men on Friday. The charges include conspiracy to commit threats in official and political matters, and conspiracy to commit witness intimidation.

Shaffer says Harris represents former Shinnston police Kevin Junkins Jr. Junkins is awaiting trial on charges of drug possession, burglary, and embezzlement.

Robert Snow was killed in May 2012
Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 9:15 pm
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Annette Snow has no doubt that Charleston police will solve the slaying of her ex-husband, a likable 7-Eleven district manager with no enemies that she knew of.

Next week will mark the one-year anniversary of the date boaters found the body of Robert Snow, 55, of 103 Arlington Ave., in the Elk River. Police and Snow's family are holding out hope for a break in the case, while his former employer is renewing a $10,000 reward for information in his death.

"We went out to the cemetery on his birthday and we are going back out on the date of his death," Annette Snow said Saturday. "We just went the other day, and my eldest son made sure his headstone is clean. We just beg him to tell us something."

Robert Snow was last seen at about 5:30 p.m. May 23, 2012, inside the 7-Eleven on Bigley Avenue. He was supposed to attend a district manager's meeting that night in Kanawha City, but he never arrived.

Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 7:32 pm

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A man was shot in the leg early Sunday morning on the West Side, according to Kanawha County Metro 911 dispatchers.

The shooting occurred at about midnight near the intersection of Glenwood Avenue and Grant Street, dispatchers said.

The man was taken to CAMC General. Charleston police are investigating.

Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 7:22 pm
Courtesy photo
Police are looking for two men in connection to a purse theft in Dunbar on Saturday.
DUNBAR, W.Va. -- Police are looking for two men who allegedly stole a woman's purse inside a Dunbar fast food restaurant earlier this month.

Just before 9 a.m. May 5, a woman left her purse inside the McDonalds on Dunbar Avenue and a clerk found it. One suspect witnessed this and went outside for a moment. He then came back and told the staff he was there to get his mother's lost purse. The manager gave him the purse and he fled in a red Chevrolet Impala, Dunbar Police Chief Earl Whittington said in a news release Saturday.

Security cameras captured the suspects inside the restaurant before the theft. One suspect had dark colored hair and wore blue jeans and a striped shirt. The second suspect had long, dark colored hair and wore blue jeans, a checkered shirt and a cowboy hat.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Dunbar Police Department at 304-766-0204.

Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 5:11 pm
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Rand man accused of gunning down his friend in the street in February is among 78 people indicted by a Kanawha County grand jury this week.

Tremale Leon Straughter, 29, of Bluefield Avenue, was indicted on charges of murder and wanton endangerment in connection with the shooting death of Harold Donovan "Don Don" Taylor Jr., 29, on Feb. 14. Kanawha County sheriff's deputies alleged Straughter shot Taylor at least 25 times with an AK-47 rifle and a pistol following an argument.

Multiple witnesses told deputies Straughter opened fire on Taylor with multiple weapons as Taylor was in a car on Emory Avenue. The witnesses said Straughter then got into his own car, circled the block and came back to shoot more rounds into the vehicle.

Neighbors said Taylor and Straughter grew up together in Rand and were lifelong friends. Both were allegedly involved in drug dealing.

Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 3:56 pm

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Kanawha County judge wants police to continue looking for a former Logan County jail guard who has avoided sentencing for almost a year.

Rafael Beatty, 60, pleaded guilty in 2011 to a fraudulent schemes charge. According to his indictment, he obtained more than $1,000 under false pretenses from Kelly Services Inc.

Circuit Judge Duke Bloom sentenced him to one to 10 years in prison, but later, after Beatty had served several months in jail, Bloom reconsidered the sentence and gave him three years of probation.

Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 10:00 pm
Chris Dorst
Charleston police officers Cpl. Jeff Setser (left) and Sgt. Nick Null were both called to active duty in Iraq while working for the city. The Charleston Police Department is one of three state employers picked as a semifinalist for a national award that recognizes employers that go above and beyond in supporting employees who are in the National Guard or military reserves.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Charleston Police Department Cpl. Jeff Setser was driving down the road when he was told he'd been called to active duty with the West Virginia National Guard.

"It was a week before Thanksgiving when I found out," said Setser, who is also a major in the Army National Guard.

He would spend the next year in Iraq, putting his police job on hold.

Although federal law requires employers to make accommodations for National Guard members and military reserve personnel who are called up for active duty, some employers balk when their workers are called to serve their country.

Friday, May 17, 2013 at 6:37 pm
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A federal jury found a Clay County man guilty of selling more than 50 grams of methamphetamine on Thursday, according to U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin.

Raymond Hersman, 47, of Wallback, faces a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.

On Sept. 22, 2012, Hersman intended to distribute more than 400 grams of meth near Gauley Bridge in Fayette County, Goodwin said in a news release issued Friday.

During a three-day trial, it was revealed that police had been investigating Hersman for a month. He was found guilty of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of meth. He was previously convicted in April 1993 of federal meth charges.

Friday, May 17, 2013 at 6:27 pm

FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. -- The former chief of the Smithers Volunteer Fire Department and his wife were indicted by a Fayette County grand jury this week.

On Wednesday, former Chief Timothy M. Whittington was indicted on one count of felony embezzlement. His wife, Patricia A. Whittington, was indicted on one count of felony fraudulent schemes.

The indictments followed a yearlong investigation by State Police into who used a government-issued credit card for personal use.

Friday, May 17, 2013 at 8:39 am

MCGRAWS, W.Va. -- Police in Wyoming County say they've confiscated 100 firearms, $580,000 in cash and hundreds of pills from the home of a drug suspect.

Sheriff Randall Aliff told media outlets that officers on Thursday found 30 firearms and $570,000 inside a safe that was seized last week from the home of Delbert Lester, 55.

Aliff said the safe was taken during a May 9 search of Lester's home in the McGraws area. At the time, no one at the home could remember the safe's combination. During that initial search, officers confiscated 400 illegal pills, $10,000 in cash and 70 weapons.

Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 9:11 pm
Courtesy photo
Caleb Lawrence McGillvary
CLARK, N.J. -- A homeless drifter who says he is from Raleigh County and who gained national attention after police said he stopped an attacker in California, has been arrested and charged with murder over the death of a New Jersey lawyer.

Authorities issued an arrest warrant for Caleb Lawrence McGillvary, 24, in connection to the fatal beating of Joseph Galfy Jr. in Clark, N.J., on May 13. Various news outlets reported Friday that McGillvary was arrested at a Philadelphia bus station.

McGillvary, also known as Caleb Kai Lawrence and Kai Nicodemus, became famous when a Fresno County, Calif., TV reporter's interview with him went viral on the Internet.

In the video, McGillvary described how he hit a man on the head with a hatchet after the man attacked a group of people at a construction site.

Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 9:02 pm
Terreque Alj Gray
FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. -- A man accused of fatally shooting his cousin was indicted by a Fayette County grand jury Wednesday.

Terreque Alj Gray, 23, of Oak Hill, was indicted on one count of murder and one count of wanton endangerment with a firearm.

Police say Gray fired one shot at Maurice McCain, 26, inside a house in Oak Hill on Jan. 17.

Gray told police the shooting was accidental. Gray said he was sitting down when he placed the gun on his left leg and it went off, striking McCain just below the left eye, according to a criminal complaint filed in Fayette County.

Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 8:59 pm
Eugene J. Lobaugh
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- An Ohio man who police say possessed prescription pills and marijuana was arrested Thursday morning in Marmet.

Eugene J. Lobaugh, 27, of Cleveland, was pulled over by Kanawha County sheriff's deputies and charged with two counts of possession with intent to deliver controlled substances, according to a news release from deputies.

Police say they found 291 oxycodone pills and more than two pounds of marijuana in his vehicle.

Lobaugh was being held Wednesday in the South Central Regional Jail.

Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 8:42 pm

ASHLAND, Ky. -- An Ashland man has been charged in connection to a murder case involving a man whose remains were found last month.

The Kentucky State Police said Thursday that James E. Mcwain, 54, was arrested Monday in Charleston, and is awaiting extradition. He is charged in Kentucky with third-degree arson and tampering with evidence.

Police believe Mcwain was involved in trying to dispose of evidence related to the death of Christopher M. Frazier of Westwood, Ky.

Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 5:53 pm
OAK HILL, W.Va. -- An Oak Hill woman was arrested Thursday after her child was found wandering near a busy street.

Fayette County sheriff's deputies went to Terry Avenue at about 10 a.m. Thursday after getting calls about a toddler wandering in the street, according to Fayette County Sheriff Steve Kessler.

Deputies found the child and were able to identify the mother as Tara Louise Harris, 30, of Oak Hill, Kessler said. Harris was arrested and charged with a felony count of gross child neglect creating the risk of bodily injury, he said.

Harris was free on bail late Thursday. Child Protective Services took custody of the child.

Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 11:27 am
Jonathan Douglas Layne
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A St. Albans man was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in federal prison on a child pornography conviction.

Jonathan Douglas Layne, 54, also will be supervised for 20 years after his release, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin.

Layne, the release stated, pleaded guilty in January to having more than 600 pictures and videos of children having sex or performing sexual acts.

Previously, in Kanawha County Circuit Court, he was convicted in June 1989 of sexual-abuse.

Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 8:58 am
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Transcripts of a secret plea hearing show a teenager involved in the 2012 stabbing death of a Star City girl planned the slaying with an accomplice. But their motive remains unclear.

Sixteen-year-old Rachel Shoaf pleaded guilty to second-degree murder May 1 in Monongalia County Circuit Court. Authorities have a second juvenile in custody but have not released her name or the charges she faces.

Prosecutor Marcia Ashdown tells the Dominion Post that will happen only if her case moves to adult court.

Sixteen-year-old Skylar Neese's remains were found in January in Wayne Township, Pa., about 30 miles from her home.

Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 8:48 am
BELLE, W.Va. -- State police with a search warrant say they found an estimated 100 weapons at a home in Belle.

In an investigation that was still unfolding Wednesday night, media reports say the discovery also included methamphetamine, marijuana and cash.

One officer on the scene said the firearms were found throughout the home -- in the attic, beside a bed, and elsewhere.

A man was arrested in connection with the search. He told reporters at the scene he collects guns.

Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 8:38 am
BEECH BOTTOM, W.Va. -- A Beech Bottom woman is going to prison for participating in a botched robbery in which an accomplice was killed.

Melody Fisher, 41, received a 30-year sentence for first-degree robbery and a one- to five-year sentence for conspiracy. The sentences are to run concurrently.

Fisher was sentenced Wednesday in Ohio County Circuit Court in Wheeling.

She had entered an Alford plea to the charges in April. An Alford plea means a defendant doesn't admit guilt but acknowledges that there's enough evidence for conviction.

Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 8:34 am
WELCH, W.Va. -- Authorities are investigating a suspicious package discovered at a federal prison in Southern West Virginia.

Federal Correctional Institution McDowell spokesman Glenn Friss said employees of the prison's mailroom flagged the package during a routine screening Wednesday.

Friss told the Bluefield Daily Telegraph that a hazardous-material team determined that the package contained a non-hazardous material.

Friss said he wouldn't identify the package's contents or why it was suspicious because the investigation is ongoing.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 9:05 pm
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The case will remain open against an alleged Mexican drug lord with ties to the 2003 Kanawha County sniper slayings, a Kanawha judge said Wednesday.

After speaking with prosecutors, Circuit Judge Duke Bloom did not dismiss a 2011 indictment alleging that Gilberto "Tito" Lopez trafficked large amounts of methamphetamine into Kanawha County.

Kanawha County Assistant Prosecutor Don Morris told the judge that, every week, he talks about Lopez with Charleston police Lt. Steve Cooper, the lead detective in the sniper case.

"Issues have come up recently," he told Bloom, who then called Cooper and Morris to the bench to talk with him in private.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 3:07 pm
A man from Rand was arrested Tuesday after allegedly pulling a samurai sword on a Kanawha County Sheriff's deputy.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Kanawha County man was arrested late Tuesday after allegedly pulling a samurai sword on a Kanawha County sheriff's deputy.

Capt. J.S. Bailes was patrolling Raven Drive in Rand about 10 p.m. Tuesday when he saw a man walking along the road, according to Kanawha County Sheriff's Department spokesman Cpl. Brian Humphreys.

The man, later identified as Chaten Samuel Nelson, 35, of Rand, allegedly put his hand on the handle of a sword he had strapped to his back, Humphreys said. When Bailes stopped, Nelson allegedly drew a four-foot samurai sword and started walking toward the deputy, Humphreys said.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 10:27 am

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Charleston man is in jail for allegedly slashing another man with a razor blade last week on the city's West Side.

According to a criminal complaint on file in Kanawha County Magistrate Court, Johnny Essex, 54, of 1238 1/2 Washington St., W. allegedly got into an argument with Timothy Castle on the porch of Castle's house on May 10. Castle told police Essex had accused him of flirting with his girlfriend.

"Castle stated that he does not like Essex's girlfried in any kind of matter, but that Johnny gets very jealous," the criminal complaint said. Castle was highly intoxicated at the time, the criminal complaint said.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 10:07 am

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Two people were taken to the hospital after a motorcycle hit a truck on Interstate 64 coming into Charleston on Wednesday morning.

The wreck happened near the Montrose Drive exit shortly before 9:40 a.m.

Sgt. Bob Houck of the South Charleston Police Department said a couple on a three-wheeled motorcycle apparently slammed into the back of a Frontier Communications truck in stop-and-go traffic. "The truck stopped and the motorcycle didn't," Houck said.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at 1:00 pm
CHARLESTON, W.Va.-- The man accused of fatally shooting Mingo County Sheriff Eugene Crum is expected to plead not guilty to first-degree murder during an arraignment hearing today.

Tennis Melvin Maynard, 37, of Delbarton, is scheduled for arraignment at 1:30 p.m., before Cabell Circuit Court Judge Paul Farrell.

Maynard was indicted by a Mingo County grand jury April 22 on charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder and fleeing with reckless indifference.

Although Maynard's arraignment hearing is in Cabell County, the trial would go forward in Mingo County, said Mingo Prosecutor Michael Sparks.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at 6:38 pm
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Three Kanawha County residents are in jail after being accused of running a meth lab from a home near Charleston.

According to Sgt. Larry O'Bryan of the Quincy detachment of the West Virginia State Police, troopers went to a house on Rutledge Road near Charleston at about 11:45 p.m. Monday to investigate multiple complaints about drug activity. When they got there, they were given permission to search the house and outbuildings.

Troopers allegedly found materials in the house used for making methamphetamine. They also allegedly found a loaded .30-30 rifle, a loaded SKS semi-automatic rifle, a loaded .22 caliber rifle, a loaded Soviet-era Mosin-Nagant bolt-action military rifle, .380 caliber pistol and a 12 gauge sawed-off shotgun, O'Bryan said.

In the yard, troopers allegedly found a blue Jeep Wrangler and a partly disassembled all-terrain vehicle. Both vehicles had been reported as stolen. O'Bryan said Earl Michael Myers, 33, who lived at the house, allegedly told troopers he traded drugs for the vehicles.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at 6:31 pm

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 118 will conduct its annual Police Memorial Service at noon Wednesday in front of the Fayette County Courthouse.

The FOP lodge and the Fayette County Sheriff's Department will hold a reception immediately following the ceremony on the courthouse lawn.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at 9:55 am

PHILIPPI, W.Va. -- The husband of a prosecutor in north-central West Virginia is charged with drugging his wife so he could examine her cellphone and email histories.

William Francis "Frank" Poling Jr., 42, is free on $5,000 bond, according to the Exponent Telegram.

Barbour County Prosecuting Attorney Leckta Poling didn't immediately respond to a message Tuesday about the misdemeanor domestic battery charge filed against her husband in March.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at 8:18 am
WHEELING, W.Va. -- A 35-year-old man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in a Florida-to-West Virginia pill ring.

The government says Jamie L. Joyner of Deland, Fla., entered a guilty plea in January to conspiring to distribute powerful prescription pain killers in West Virginia. Prosecutors say the illegal cargo was moved from Florida to West Virginia in rental vehicles.

At his sentencing Monday in Wheeling, U.S. District Judge Frederick P. Stamp also sentenced Joyner to three years of supervised release.

The court also ordered the forfeiture of $2,000 in drug receipts.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at 8:16 am
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- The West Virginia State Police is asking the public for help in finding whoever tampered with crypts at a Martinsburg cemetery.

State police tell The Journal that the vandalism occurred Sunday at Rosedale Funeral Home and Cemetery.

Police say multiple crypts were disturbed. Several caskets also might have been disturbed.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Trooper Z.S. Conner at the Martinsburg detachment at 304-267-0001.

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