CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Three Logan County residents have abandoned their federal lawsuit alleging sexual assault, excessive force and other illegal actions by sheriff's deputies.

U.S. District Judge John Copenhaver dismissed the case Tuesday, citing the plaintiffs' failure to pursue it.

The woman and two men who filed suit last year were not identified in it, nor were the three deputies whom they said accosted them outside a Logan club in September 2008.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Two Charleston residents were arrested Wednesday for allegedly attempting to distribute OxyContin pills.

William Reese, 37, and Norman Reese, 60, were arrested at their home on Walker Drive by State Police troopers, according to a news release.

Troopers L.W. Price III and P.T. Kelly of the South Charleston detachment also found 68 OxyContin pills and $8,148 in cash.

Both men were arraigned in Kanawha County Magistrate Court on charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, according to the release.

STICKNEY, W.Va. -- One man has been arrested and warrants for two more issued after a home invasion on Saturday where the three men allegedly stole money and medication from a home in Stickney.

Joseph C. Spence, 32, of Beckley, allegedly forced himself into the residence on Coal River Road and demanded pain medication from the resident, according to State Police.

While in the house, Spence, along with Joshua M. Scott, 29, of Beckley and Robert R. Cook, 29, of Arnett, also demanded money from someone visiting the victim, according to police.

Spence was arrested Tuesday and warrants have been issued for both Scott and Cook.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A woman was robbed at knifepoint on Hale Street in downtown Charleston Thursday afternoon.

According to a Kanawha County Metro 911 dispatcher, a woman reported being robbed near the Good News Mountaineer Garage office at about 1:30 p.m.

Police were looking for an older, balding white man wearing dark pants. He was last seen fleeing on Lee Street. He had not been located as of Thursday evening.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A serial bank robber who led police on a high-speed chase on Charleston's East End last spring has been charged by a federal grand jury with robbing two West Virginia banks.

Anthony Ray Artrip, 37, of Ashland, Ky., allegedly took almost $53,000 from the City National Bank in Marmet just before he was spotted at the Stop-N-Go at the corner of Ruffner Avenue and Washington Street East in Charleston.

Along with two other men, Artrip had escaped from the Edgecombe County Detention Center in North Carolina and stolen a pickup truck before heading to West Virginia, police said at the time.

ELK KNOB, W.Va. -- Twenty-two of 23 dogs taken from a Summers County home over animal cruelty charges were euthanized on veterinarians' recommendations.

Choya Adkins faces five counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty. The 34-year-old Elk Knob resident isn't facing felony charges because none of the dogs were starved or physically abused.

Summers County Sheriff Ed Dolphin says the animals were living in disgusting conditions and suffering from a variety of diseases and parasites.

Veterinarians who examined the animals said 22 were too far gone to be saved.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A sticker on the back of Velda Miller's car reads:

"Justice for Chace

In memory of Chace Miller

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- A man captured in West Virginia after talking his way out of prison has agreed to be sent back to Maryland.

Raymond T. Taylor was serving three life terms for attempted murder when he escaped Feb. 25 from the Maryland Correctional Adjustment Center. He escaped after swapping photo identification cards with his cellmate.

Taylor was captured the following morning in West Virginia.

During a Berkeley County Circuit Court hearing Monday, the 26-year-old Taylor of New York waived his right to challenge his extradition from West Virginia.

NITRO, W.Va. -- A 56-year-old Putnam County man has been arrested on first-degree robbery charges after he allegedly stole $30 from the 7-Eleven in Nitro on Wednesday.

Ranson Bailey Ward, of Hurricane allegedly entered the store and handed the clerk a note demanding $50, according to the Nitro Police Department. Witnesses told the police the clerk handed Ward about $30 and Ward left the store.

Ward was arrested at his home on Mill Creek Road in Hurricane on Saturday. He was being held Monday in the Western Regional Jail.

GLASGOW, W.Va. -- Officials have released the name of the Glasgow firefighter swept away while attempting a water rescue early Saturday morning in Raleigh County.

Donald "Donnie" Adkins, 32, was in a rescue boat with Glasgow Volunteer Fire Department Chief Marty Blankenship and another firefighter when the boat tipped over about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, Blankenship said.

More than 100 people continued to search for Adkins' body on Monday. The area being searched has expanded, he said.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- The couch-burning tradition continues in Morgantown, but on a smaller scale than in years past.

Authorities say a series of small fires set to celebrate West Virginia University's Big East championship victory did no serious damage, and only two people were arrested.

The Mountaineers beat Georgetown 60-58 with a shot by Da'Sean Butler in the final seconds late Saturday. The victory helped WVU secure a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Local 911 dispatchers say they sent firefighters to 15 blazes Saturday night and Sunday morning. Most were in Sunnyside, an area dominated by student housing.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- For more than eight hours on Monday, dozens of attorneys argued scores of motions in the federal racketeering case against members and associates of the Pagans Motorcycle Club.

Defense lawyers tried to get their clients separate trials, asked to have counts against them dismissed and complained that prosecutors hadn't turned over all of the information required by law.

So far, 19 of 55 defendants have entered into plea deals with prosecutors, meaning more than 30 defendants could have charges still pending when the case goes to trial on May 4.

CORRECTION:

In the story titled "Young suspects, victims connected" in the March 14 edition of The Sunday Gazette-Mail, the Rev. Lloyd Hill was misidentified as the pastor of Liberty Baptist Church in the East End. He is the former pastor of that church.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The president of the state Board of Optometry was arrested early Friday and charged with aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol.

According to a criminal complaint on file in Kanawha County Magistrate Court, Charleston police spotted 50-year-old Gregory S. Moore, of Charleston, driving erratically on the South Side Bridge. According to the complaint, Moore drove his 2008 Ford Expedition across the center line several times while crossing the bridge, and nearly hit the bridge itself while turning off.

Moore was pulled over on MacCorkle Avenue and given a field sobriety test, according to the complaint. Before the test, police noticed that Moore had something in his mouth and asked him to remove it.

GRETNA, La. -- A West Virginia woman accused with her boyfriend of strangling her grandfather in Louisiana and driving the body to her home state has pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice.

Thirty-nine-year-old Mary Crawford of Gerrardstown, pleaded guilty Thursday after the Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office dismissed a charge of second-degree murder. She had been accused with her then-boyfriend 34-year-old Shawn Cole of killing 81-year-old Henry Ramirez on Jan. 6, 2005.

In approving the plea deal, a judge sentenced Crawford to 25 years in prison. She had been scheduled to be tried next week and faced a mandatory life sentence if convicted of the murder charge.

Cole pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Dec. 9. He is scheduled to be sentenced to 30 years in prison on Monday.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- More than 2 1/2 years after Leland Chace Miller was shot and killed outside of 1423 Lewis St., Charleston police have arrested a man in connection with the homicide.

Police arrested Marcus Dewayne "Money" Wesley, 24, of Charleston, and charged him with Miller's slaying Thursday evening, said Sgt. Steve Cooper, chief of detectives for the Charleston police.

Police continue to search for another man, who also will be charged with first-degree murder in Miller's death, Cooper said. The man, then a juvenile, was first arrested and charged with Miller's death three days after Miller was killed, Cooper said.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- Two men sought by Martinsburg police as persons of interest in a string of suspicious fires have been cleared.

Martinsburg police Detective Cpl. S.F. Doyle said Thursday both men provided statements that were corroborated.

An investigation of the fires continues. Eight suspicious fires involving a mixture of businesses and homes have occurred since the beginning of the year.

All the fires haven't been linked. But fire officials say the same method was used to set at least three fires, stuffing flammable materials through mail slots.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The bond was upped to $50,000 for the lawyer accused of beating his client with a baseball bat on Charleston's East End, and he was charged with another felony for failing to appear on Monday.

Robinson appeared for a "return on capias" hearing with his counsel Chuck Hamilton on Thursday in front of Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Duke Bloom, said Kanawha County Senior Assistant Prosecutor Fred Giggenbach Jr.

There was testimony in the courtroom about Robinson's prior bond not being met, Giggenbach said.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. --  Kanawha County authorities allegedly uncovered an indoor marijuana farm Wednesday while searching for evidence of child pornography.

Lt. Bryan Stover of the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department said officers with the Kanawha Bureau of Investigation and state Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force went to the Dunbar home of 19-year-old Curtis Scott Feezel on Wednesday as part of a child pornography investigation.

Once at the house on Dutch Hollow Road, Stover said, officers found an indoor marijuana farm. Authorities removed several marijuana plants from the house with an estimated value of $8,000, Stover said.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- Two men are being sought in the investigation of a series of arsons in Martinsburg.

Eight arsons involving a mixture of businesses and residences have occurred since the beginning of the year. Fire officials say the same method was used to set at least three fires, stuffing flammable materials through mail slots.

The latest fire occurred Wednesday at a business.

Martinsburg police released surveillance footage of two men described as "persons of interest.''

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Wal-Mart in Southridge Centre is reopen after receiving a bomb threat earlier this morning, according to a Kanawha County 911 dispatcher.

South Charleston police and Kanawha County sheriff's deputies cleared the scene about 10:30 a.m. Bomb squad deputies went through the building after a note was found in a women's bathroom. Police got the call about 9 a.m., he said.

There was no bomb.

MARLINTON, W.Va. -- A 60-year-old Pocahontas County man was lodged in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on Wednesday, facing murder charges following Tuesday's shooting death of his brother.

The two men shared a home in the Marlinton area.

John B. Boggs faces a charge of first-degree murder in the shotgun slaying of Danny L. Boggs, 51.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A police chase through the streets of Charleston early Wednesday hit 90 mph before the driver crashed and was arrested.

A spokesman for the South Charleston State Police detachment said the chase began about 12:45 a.m., after Trooper M.J. Napier spotted a Nissan Pathfinder driving erratically on Interstate 77. Napier ran the vehicle's license plate and discovered it was registered to a Toyota Corolla, not a Nissan.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Wal-Mart in Southridge Centre was evacuated and surrounding traffic lanes closed Wednesday morning following a bomb threat, according to a Kanawha County 911 dispatcher.

South Charleston police and Kanawha County sheriff's deputies cleared the scene at about 10:30 a.m.

Bomb squad deputies went through the building after a note was found in a women's bathroom. Police got the call at about 9 a.m., he said.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. --  About a year and a half ago, Nitro Police Chief Jack Jordan quietly retired.

He then went back to work as head of the police department, drawing a $39,000 pension on top of his $50,000 annual salary.

"He's just doing what's legal," said Nitro Mayor Rusty Casto.

CHARLESTON -- A routine traffic stop sent a Gallagher man to jail last week on drug charges.

Lt. Sean Crosier of the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department said Deputy C.M. Morgan was patrolling in the Paint Creek area on Friday when he saw a car speeding on W.Va. 61. Morgan pulled over the car, which was driven by 63-year-old Vernon Eugene Doss of Gallagher.

Crosier said Doss was nervous, so Morgan searched the car and found 283 grams of marijuana hidden in the passenger door. Police said a search of Doss' home later turned up weapons, cash, more marijuana and instruments used for drug sales.

Doss was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to deliver. Crosier said the marijuana recovered had a value of about $6,700.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Charleston police plan a sobriety checkpoint from 4 p.m. to midnight Wednesday in the 1500 block of Kanawha Boulevard East.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The lawyer accused of beating his client with a baseball bat on Charleston's East End started the day being arraigned on four charges stemming from the incident and ended it being arrested by Charleston police when he failed to make bond on those charges.

Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Duke Bloom set Joshua Robinson's bond at $25,000 or 10 percent cash at the 8:30 a.m. hearing and gave him until 4 p.m. to come up with the money.

When Robinson failed to appear, Bloom responded by signing a capias arrest warrant for Robinson Monday afternoon.

At 9:30 p.m. Monday, several Charleston police cruisers lined Lee Street in the area near Robinson's home. An officer on the scene said he could not reveal why police were in the area.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Fayette County sheriff's deputy is charged with two counts of felony fraudulent schemes for allegedly embezzling more than $375,000 from the Oak Hill Volunteer Fire Department, said West Virginia State Police Sgt. J.L. Cahill.

Deputy Micha Feltner, 40, posted $50,000 bond after being arrested on the charges Monday, Cahill said.

In July 2009, Oak Hill officials changed the way volunteer firefighters were paid for their services, Cahill said. Previously, firefighters were paid in cash, and the treasurer of the fire department -- Feltner -- would withdraw a lump sum from the bank to pay the firefighters.

"The Oak Hill fire department actually pays its firemen $12 a call, which is perfectly legal," Cahill said.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. --  A Kanawha County couple was in jail Monday after authorities allegedly found chemicals for making methamphetamine in their truck.

Nicholas County sheriff's deputies found a truck stranded in the road in Holcomb about 9 a.m. Saturday, according to a news release. Deputies discovered that the driver, Christopher Michael Whittington, 34, of St. Albans, did not have a valid license.

Deputies searched the truck and found a large quantity of Sudafed pills and drug paraphernalia, according to the news release. Deputies then obtained a search warrant and discovered chemicals and items used to make methamphetamine.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Police do not suspect foul play in a car fire that left a Charleston man dead over the weekend.

The body of 26-year-old Darrell "DJ" Wattie Jr. was found in the driver's seat of a burning SUV at about 4:30 a.m. on Saturday. The car was found on Mountain Road, on the hill south of the Patrick Street Bridge.

Sgt. Eric Hodges of the Charleston Police Department said Monday that the investigation has been turned over to the police department's traffic division. "At this time, it appears there was no foul play," Hodges said.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Fayette County teenager has been arrested after allegedly sexually assaulting a juvenile female in 2009, then fleeing the state.

Jamie Ray Criser, 19, of Fayetteville, was arrested at 5 p.m. Friday after a citizen tip informed deputies that Criser would be in Oak Hill City Park that evening. Criser was apprehended without incident, according to the Fayette County Sheriffs Department.

In mid-November, 2009, an investigation started after a juvenile female told deputies about an alleged sexual assault by Criser. Criminal charges were filed against Criser, but the suspect fled the state, according to deputies.

Criser is being charged with one count of second-degree sexual assault. He is being held in the Southern Regional Jail in lieu of a $25,000 bond.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A man's body was found in a burned car early Saturday in Charleston.

Police and fire crews were called to a vehicle fire on Mountain Road at about 4:30 a.m. Saturday. They found the body in the driver's seat.

Mountain Road is located on the hill, south of the Patrick Street Bridge and near the South Charleston/Charleston border.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Kanawha County woman says she was raped by a West Virginia state trooper and that the troopers' internal affairs unit told her not to tell anyone about it.

The woman, who asked that her name not be used because of the alleged sexual assault, said the trooper told her he was going to drive her to her job at a strip club in Jefferson but instead took her up a winding country road nearby and raped her.

She says the incident happened Feb. 9.

This is the second allegation of rape made by a woman against a South Charleston-based trooper in the past 18 months.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The owner of a medical clinic in southern West Virginia has pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining $289,000 from Medicare.

Cameron J. Justice of Crum also pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to conspiracy to misuse a federal registration number to distribute controlled substances.

The charges stem from an investigation of the Justice Medical Center Complex in Kermit.

Federal prosecutors say Justice and employees of the clinic used another person's Medicare provider number to distribute hydrocodone and other controlled substances. Justice also allowed the clinic to bill for services performed by physicians that the physicians didn't perform.

WINFIELD, W.Va. -- A St. Albans man has been charged with kidnapping his grandmother and forcing her to withdraw nearly $4,000 from her bank account.

David Joseph Boggess, 31, was arrested and charged Monday in Putnam County Magistrate Court with kidnapping his grandmother, Ruth McClanahan.

According to the complaint, Boggess intimidated his grandmother on several occasions into going to the bank with him to withdraw a total of $3,926 from her account at the Rock Branch Community Bank.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Charleston man fought back when attacked by a would-be robber early Wednesday morning, sending the man fleeing empty-handed.

John Clements, 45, of Charleston, was walking along the 700 block of Virginia Street East about 12:45 a.m. Wednesday when he says he was attacked and knocked to the ground.

Clements told police the attacker was a 30- to 40-year-old black male wearing all dark clothing.

Clements fought back, kicking and hitting the man, who then fled without robbing him.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Police are looking for a man who robbed a St. Albans man near the Clendenin Street entrance of the Charleston Town Center Mall Tuesday evening, said Sgt. Eric Hodges of Charleston police.

Brett Sullins, 19, was going into the mall when a black man wearing a red bandana approached him and asked him for a dollar, Hodges said. As Sullin reached in his pocket to get a dollar the man punched him in the face and knocked him to the ground. The suspect hit him several times in the head and then took Sullin's money and ran, Hodges said. Sullin, who called the Charleston Gazette newsroom on Wednesday, said the man stole more than $200.

Sullin told police he'd seen the man at the mall before and that he'd asked him for cigarettes in the past. Sullin was treated for his injuries at the scene, Hodges said.

 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Kanawha County man was charged with first-degree murder in connection with a fatal stabbing in North Charleston on Tuesday.

Sgt. Steve Cooper, chief of detectives for the Charleston Police Department, said Zane Michael Fletcher, 23, of Charleston was fatally stabbed about 4:30 a.m. in the 100 block of 32nd Street, after an argument on Blaine Boulevard spilled outside and into the street.

According to a criminal complaint on file in Kanawha Magistrate Court, Fletcher and Ronald Thomas Sutton, 37, of Charleston got into an argument at 3106 Blaine Blvd. Sutton told police he stabbed Fletcher outside.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Police are asking for the public's help to solve an assault in front of a nightclub on the 1300 block of 4th Avenue.

James Grafton Padgett, 19, was assaulted outside of the club about 1 a.m. on Feb. 21. Padgett, who is white, was wearing gray sweatpants and a black sweatshirt at the time.

Huntington police are looking for a young female they say helped Padgett before EMS arrived.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Mullins with the Huntington Police Department at 304-696-4420.

LEON, W.Va. -- Mason County sheriff's deputies and State Police responded to a call near Leon Friday evening about the shooting of Michael Lee Ward of Millwood.

When they arrived, police found Ward had sustained shots to the right chest area and the right hand, but was still alive. According to Cpl. K.M. Gilley of the Mason County detachment of the State Police, police believe that David E. Maynard apparently shot Ward with a 12-gauge shotgun. No one has been arrested yet.

Gilley said the two men got into an argument. Police are still investigating.

Schools in dark about troubled students

When a school gets records automatically

 

Schools in dark about troubled students

Prosecutor won't release criminal complaint

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- There are cases where juvenile records are supposed to be sent automatically to school officials. Below is a breakdown of when that's supposed to happen.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Charleston man has been charged with misdemeanor battery after police say he allegedly knocked his boss unconscious and ran from police on Charleston's East End.

Robert Curtis Parsons Jr., 34, was at work Friday at Village Motors on Jackson Street when he became upset with his boss, Constatine Stanley, according to the criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court.

Stanley told police he asked Parsons to go home for the day because Parsons was upset. When Stanley turned around, Parsons attacked him, knocking him unconscious, according to the complaint.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- State Police have identified two Kanawha County men who led police on a 45-minute chase through three counties on Thursday before finally being stopped near Fairplain.

West Virginia State Police spokesman Sgt. Ken McCord said the chase began about 10:23 a.m. after someone interrupted Larry Edward Patton, 39, and his 19-year-old son, James Edward Rucker, both of Gallagher, as they tried to steal copper from a Wood County cell tower site.

McCord said the men fled in a red Chevrolet Blazer, at one point heading north in the southbound lanes of Interstate 77, from Wood to Jackson counties, then back into Wood and Wirt counties on a county road, before re-entering the highway and heading back south into Jackson County.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A suspicious package at the University of Charleston that police thought may have been a bomb turned out to be a very soggy coat.

Lt. H.P. Hickman of the Charleston Police Department said school staff discovered a suspicious package in a women's restroom at the Geary Student Union about 7 a.m. Friday. Hickman said the package was about the size of a shoebox and wrapped in plain brown paper.

"When we looked at it, it didn't have any labels on it," he said.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The lawyer who beat his client with a baseball bat on Charleston's East End was indicted on charges of malicious wounding, embezzlement and obstructing justice by a Kanawha County grand jury Thursday, said Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Plants.

Plants said Joshua Robinson was indicted first on a charge of embezzlement for allegedly stealing more than $1,000 from his client David Lee Gump II, then on the malicious wounding charge for beating him with a baseball bat when Gump came to his house to confront him about the missing money.

After police started looking into the beating, police said, Robinson lied to them about the incident, attempting to manipulate the testimony of a witness. Plants said that led to the indictment on obstructing justice. The embezzlement and malicious wounding charges are felonies, the obstructing justice charge is a misdemeanor, he said.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The son of a Putnam County legislator was arrested Saturday for allegedly attempting to run over a man at a Go-Mart in St. Albans.

David Vincent Schoen, 28, of Hurricane, was charged in Kanawha County Magistrate Court Saturday with driving under the influence, battery of a government representative, resisting arrest and battery after he allegedly tried to run over Zachary W. Searls.

Schoen is the son of Patti Eagloski Schoen, a Republican member of the state House of Delegates from Putnam County.

 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Thursday police chase on and off of Interstate 77 started in Wood County and ended in Jackson County with a crash, two men in custody, two officers injured and at least three police cruisers damaged.

State Police, who have taken over the investigation, have not yet released details of the chase, which ended about 11:15 a.m. near the Fairplain exit of I-77. Authorities in Jackson County said the chase apparently ended when a red Chevrolet Blazer being driven south wrecked into a Ravenswood police cruiser. Jackson authorities said two Jackson County Sheriff's Department cruisers received minor damage.

According to published reports, a Jackson County sheriff's canine that was on scene bit both Ravenswood Sgt. John Moore and State Police Sgt. S.E. Wolfe after the crash. It was unclear what caused the canine to attack the officers.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- An 18-year employee of Huntington Bank who collected vault deposits has been charged with embezzlement.

Authorities say they're not sure how much money was stolen, but it's more than $1,000.

A criminal complaint says Katina<co > Dawn Sweitzer, 36, of Fairview collected money delivered by an armored car. Authorities discovered the thefts in January when West Virginia University reported several outstanding deposits.

The complaint also says Sweitzer confessed the thefts to bank security officers and led investigators to her car, where they found bank bags containing deposit slips and checks from both WVU and Lowe's Corp.