{West Virginia}...Samuel Ranson, 39, of Marmet, one of the key witnesses in the 2003 sniper shootings of Jeanie Patton, Okey Meadows Jr. and Gary Carrier, was arrested Tuesday on charges of breaking and entering into storage units as part of a copper theft ring in Kanawha County. Ranson, “long-time friend of Shawn Lester, told police Lester admitted to him that he killed Patton in retaliation for the theft of a truck motor containing meth. He was expected to testify against Lester. During a hearing Tuesday, Ranson said he would no longer testify in the case, and going to jail was his "death warrant." Ranson, who is in jail on $100,000 bond, has been placed in protective custody.
