{Beckley, West Virginia}...After two days of testimony and six hours of deliberations, a jury in Beckley convicted 60 year old Hughie Elbert Stover, former Chief of Security at the Upper Big Branch Mine, Wednesday of impeding the investigation into the April 5, 2010 explosion at the mine that killed 29 miners and injured two others. Stover, who was accused of lying to investigators and ordering a subordinate to destroy thousands of security related documents following the explosion, testified that he did not know he was committing a crime when he ordered documents be thrown out. Assistant U.S. Attorney Blaire Malkin said the evidence clearly showed Stover falsely told investigators that his guards did not announce the arrival of government inspectors at the mine. U.S. District Judge Irene C. Berger scheduled sentencing for Stover for February 29th. Stover was the first person criminally prosecuted in the worst U.S. coal mining disaster in decades. Prosecutors painted Stover as an obstructionist, but defense attorneys claimed he was a scapegoat.Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Former UBB Chief Of Security Convicted
{Beckley, West Virginia}...After two days of testimony and six hours of deliberations, a jury in Beckley convicted 60 year old Hughie Elbert Stover, former Chief of Security at the Upper Big Branch Mine, Wednesday of impeding the investigation into the April 5, 2010 explosion at the mine that killed 29 miners and injured two others. Stover, who was accused of lying to investigators and ordering a subordinate to destroy thousands of security related documents following the explosion, testified that he did not know he was committing a crime when he ordered documents be thrown out. Assistant U.S. Attorney Blaire Malkin said the evidence clearly showed Stover falsely told investigators that his guards did not announce the arrival of government inspectors at the mine. U.S. District Judge Irene C. Berger scheduled sentencing for Stover for February 29th. Stover was the first person criminally prosecuted in the worst U.S. coal mining disaster in decades. Prosecutors painted Stover as an obstructionist, but defense attorneys claimed he was a scapegoat.