Accused Murderer Held Without Bond

{Charleston, West Virginia}...The suspect in a homicide that took place Monday in Kanawha County is being held without bond after being arraigned on murder charges. Kanawha County Sheriff's Deputies say John Edward Hudson was arrested Monday night for the shooting death of 39 year old Michelle Lynn Gillispie. Deputies say Hudson had been staying with Gillispie and her boyfriend, Mark Southern, at a home in Winifriede the last few days. Southern returned from work and found Gillispie was dead from a gunshot wound to the head, and Hudson and Gillispie's car were gone. Police contacted Hudson, and he agreed to turn himself in. Hudson's preliminary hearing will be February 7th.

Man Dies At Holiday Inn Express

{Charleston, West Virginia}...South Charleston Police were called to the Holiday Inn Express and Suites at Corridor G around 10:00 A.M. Tuesday morning after one man was found dead and another unresponsive in their beds. The men were part of a group of construction workers, and, when they did not show up for a morning meeting, two oyjer workers were sent to check on them. The two workers were also overcome by carbon monoxide. Police say a swimming pool heater apparently caused a carbon monoxide leak. Tuesday evening, Charleston Police identified the dead man as William J. Moran, 44, of Rhode Island. The critically injured man was taken to CAMC General Hospital, while the two others were sent to Saint Francis Hospital. Later Tuesday, eight other men of the crew complainrf of being ill and were taken to a hospital in a KRT bus. South Charleston Fire Chief Greg Petry says carbon monoxide readings at the hotel reached 500 and 600 parts per million, and any reading over 30 parts per million is cause for concern.

Teen Fatally Struck By Train

{Hurricane, West Virginia}...A Hurricane High School student was struck and killed by a train Tuesday afternoon in Putnam County. Police say Jacob Ball, 16, was walking along the tracks near Teays Valley Road around 3:50 P.M. when he was struck.

Murder Trial Delayed

• {Charleston, West Virginia}...Garland Murray was in court Monday charged with murder, kidnapping and burglary, but the judge in the case delayed his trial until April 2nd after Murray's lawyers said they needed more time to interview witnesses, and their trial preparation efforts had been stalled because Murray was behind bars at a prison. Deshawne Taylor and Garland Murray are accused of fatally shooting Gregory Poole in North Charleston in April 2010. Contractors found Poole's body in front of a home along 2nd Avenue. Taylor has plead guilty to conspiracy to kidnapping in exchange for dropping the murder charge.

Taylor says the plan was to rob Poole of drugs and money.

Another Arrest In Boone County Kidnapping/Arson

• {Morrisvale, West Virginia}...A third person has been arrested in connection with a kidnapping and arson case in Boone County. Saturday, deputies arrested Darrell McNeely of Julian and charged him with being an accessory to kidnapping. Investigators believe McNeely was involved when Barry Clark allegedly held five people hostage and raped his estranged wife, Chandra Clark, last Tuesday, then forced them to set the house on fire. Clark was charged with arson, rape and kidnapping and is being held on a $200,000 bond. Melissa Breedlove, 39, who allegedly helped plan the attack, was arrested last week.

Lester Pleads Guilty To Firearms Charges

• {Charleston, West Virginia}...Shawn Lester, the man accused in the 2003 Kanawha County sniper-style killings of Jeannie Patton, Okey Meadows, Jr. and Gary Carrier Jr., pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Charleston to two federal firearms charges, admitting to being a felon in possession of a firearm and an habitual drug user in possession of a firearm. The charges stem from various charges against Lester from 1994, 2001 and 2005. He faces up to 20 years in prison when sentenced May 1st.

Armenian Citizen Sentenced In West Virginia

{Charleston, West Virginia}...Monday, U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver in Charleston sentenced 42 year old Sargis Tadevosyan, an Armenian citizen, to six years in prison after he was found guilty in November on felony charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and aggravated identity theft. According to the government, Tadevosyan took part in a health care scheme intended to defraud more than $4 million from Medicare. The scheme involved "false front providers." That involves a company posing as a Medicare health care provider and unlawfully billing Medicare as a legitimate service. Investigators say they discovered false front providers established in and around Charleston.

Man Dies In Mercer County Stand-Off

{Bluewell, West Virginia}...West Virginia State Police say 34 year old Jackie Spalding Jr. of Colorado was fatally shot Sunday at Woodlawn Cemetery in Bluewell, in Mercer County, during a stand-off with police. The Mercer County 911 Center received a call at 6:15 P.M. about Spalding holding a deer rifle to his chest at the cemetery. When officers with the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department and the West Virginia State Police Princeton Detachment arrived on the scene, Spalding initially fled from the officers, but he was located a short time later on a service road behind the cemetery’s mausoleum. Sgt. M.T. Baylous says, as one of the troopers and a deputy approached the vehicle, they instructed Spalding to show his hands, but  he failed to comply with their repeated commands, and instead reached down to grab the weapon. At that time, the trooper fatally wounded him.

Charleston Man Released On Probation

{Charleston, West Virginia}...In May 2010, a jury convicted 21 year old James Usher of Charleston of child abuse after he used duct tape to bind the feet, wrists and mouth of an infant. Monday, Kanawha County Circuit Judge Charles E. King approved Usher's release on probation after he underwent a rehabilitation program for youthful offenders at the Anthony Correctional Center and completed his graduate equivalency degree with honors.  

Man Indicted On Voluntary Manslaughter

{Charleston, West Virginia}...Donald Raines, 36, of Charleston, is set to be in court Tuesday after being indicted on a charge of voluntary manslaughter. Police say he fatally shot Jerry Baldwin following a heated argument outside Raines' home on Mary Street last November. Police say Raines and Baldwin were arguing over a girlfriend, when Baldwin threatened Raines. Baldwin's family says they're outraged that a man originally arrested and charged with murder has only been indicted on a manslaughter charge, and they want the justice they deserve in a case of murder versus self-defense. Prosecutor Mark Plants says evidence in the case is that the defendant was in fact in fear of serious bodily injury. The prosecutor's office says it did present the evidence to the Grand Jury and it decided there wasn't enough evidence to support the first degree murder charge.

Elkview Man Dies In Hit And Run

{Elkview, West Virginia}...Kanawha County Sheriff's Deputies seeking information in a fatal hit and run after 47 year old Dennis Glen James of Elkview was struck by a car late Friday night while crossing Elk River Road. His family found him lying face down on the road, bleeding and unable to breathe. He was pronounced dead at Charleston Area Medical Center. Investigators are looking for a small car, thought to be dark in color with front end damage, specifically to the headlight. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department at 304-357-0169. Callers can remain anonymous.

Buffalo Residents Oppose Rehab Center

{Buffalo, West Virginia}...Saturday morning, Buffalo residents packed Buffalo High School cafeteria to voice their concerns to a group which has plans to a drug rehabilitation center called Rock House on 18 Mile Creek Road. The Rock House would be a faith based treatment center for Putnam County residents battling addiction. The center would have in and out patient care and would have supervision for any trips off campus for those in the program, which would include community service projects. Buffalo residents weren't sold on the idea, saying the center would bring in addicts to the community who would commit crimes, and, with the children and elderly in the area, they just don't need it. Dr. Michael Robie, one of the founders of the proposed rehab center told the crowd that those problems already exist in Buffalo, and the center would work to combat it. Robie said they are looking at several locations around Putnam County but haven't yet made a decision where the center would be built.

Man Pleads Guilty To Murder

• {Bluefield, West Virginia}...Seventy-one year old Gerald Allison of Lindside has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for the 2011 shooting death of his wife, 65 year old Dorothy Masters, and second-degree murder for the death of his step-daughter, 42 year old Melissa Burks-Wills. Allison will be sentenced next month.

Lawsuit Filed Against Patriot Coal Corp.

• {Morgantown, West Virginia}...John Renner, 41, of Granville, a former mine foreman who admitted faking safety inspection reports, is suing St. Louis-based Patriot Coal Corp., subsidiary Eastern Associated Coal LLC, and several employees, alleging mine management pressured him to fake methane gas readings on sealed sections of  the Federal No. 2 mine near Fairview to avoid a shutdown that would have stopped coal production. Though he recorded numbers for methane and oxygen levels, Renner later acknowledged he didn't do the inspection. Renner faces as much as five years in prison and a $10,000 fine for making false statements and certifications.

Dr. Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Dies

{Charleston, West Virginia}...Dr. Mildred Mitchell-Bateman died Wednesday evening at Charleston Area Medical Center's General Hospital at the age of 89. Her daughter, Donna Taylor of Charleston, says she had recently developed pneumonia. In 1962, Mitchell-Bateman became the first black woman to head a state agency when she was name director of the former state Department of Mental Health, a position she held for 15 years. Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital in Huntington is named after her. A celebration of her life will be held at 2:00 P.M. February 4th at Bream Memorial Church in Charleston.

PSC Lowering Dominion Gas Rates

{Charleston, West Virginia}...The Public Service Commission has announced it is lowering the price of residential gas for Dominion Hope customers by nearly 4 percent, beginning Wednesday. Rates issued by commissioners in October 2011 were less than the amount requested by Dominion.  Friday's order means Dominion will have to drop rates by 25 cents per 1000 cubic feet. Purchased gas adjustment proceedings allow rate adjustments based on an estimate of future costs utilities will pay for their gas. Those estimated future costs run from November 1st to October 30th of the next year. Every year, commissioners adjust gas rates to account for those differences in the cost of gas. Final rates are expected to be set in May.

Officials Investigating Mingo County Gas Spill

{Williamson, West Virginia}...Environmental officials are investigating a liquid natural gas spill that contaminated a creek in Mingo County Thursday evening. Petroleum Development Corp. owns the gas tank which leaked the fuel into the Paw Paw's Branch Creek. Friday, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection investigators determined the gas contaminated about a half-mile of the creek.  Paw Paw's Branch Creek feeds into nearby Laurel Lake.

Father Of Convicted Killer Goes To Jail

{Huntington, West Virginia}...The father of a convicted killer was put in jail after a murder trial concluded Thursday in Huntington. Dwayne Blevins, the father of Jesse Blevins, was asked to leave the courtroom for a field hearing that was private to the public. At that time, Dwayne Blevins made a remark laced with cuss words. Judge Alfred Ferguson held him in contempt of court and gave him a 10-day stay in the Western Regional Jail.

Mining Symposium Set

{Charleston, West Virginia}...The West Virginia Coal Mining Symposium in Charleston is set for Wednesday, February 1st, through Friday,February 3rd. More than 500 people are registered for the three-day event. Guest speakers include Joe Main, head of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, and C.A. Phillips, director of the state Office of Miners Health, Safety and Training. Wednesday focuses on regulatory and technical issues, and includes a discussion about MSHA enforcement with coal administrator Kevin Stricklin. Lawyers will discuss proposed federal safety laws and criminal liability issues in the wake of the Upper Big Branch mine disaster, which killed 29 West Virginia miners in 2010. Thursday's lineup features Main and Governor Earl Ray Tomblin. Friday's lineup includes U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, state Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Randy Huffman and a panel discussion called "Obama's No Job Zone.''

Blevins Convicted Of Voluntary Manslaughter

• {Huntington, West Virginia}...Around noon Thursday, a jury returned a guilty verdict convicting 25 year old Jesse Blevins of Huntington of voluntary manslaughter and concealment of a deceased human body for the July 2009 fatal stabbing of his girlfriend, Elizabeth Cotton. Blevins had testified that he stabbed Cotton in self-defense, arguing she pulled a knife on him after he told her he had a new girlfriend. Blevins testified that his and Cotton's romantic relationship that had been filed with years of violence and arguments.

Two Sentenced For Robbery And Beating

{Charleston, West Virginia}...Kanawha County Judge Duke Bloom has sentenced 18 year old Alexander Lanham to 15 years in prison and 20 year old Kalom White to 10 years in prison on first-degree robbery and malicious wounding charges. Prosecutors say Lanham's sister, Brittany, 19, targeted and flirted with Joshua Unrue at a South Charleston gas station, and lured him to a secluded park area where Alexander Lanham and White beat and robbed him. Last week, Bloom sentenced Brittany Lanham to 10 years in prison for her part in the crime.

Man Charged With First-Degree Robbery

• {Charleston, West Virginia}...Charleston Police have charged Dasean Saunders, 19, of Hurricane, with first-degree robbery after Saunders attempted to rob a Husson's Pizza driver in Hurricane last week. Police say, on January 20th, Saunders ordered a pizza to be delivered to an apartment at Sable Point Apartments in Hurricane and lured the driver, Morgan Vandergriff, behind a stairwell, told Vandergriff to put down the pizza and empty his pockets. Saunders acted like he had a gun inside his jacket and was going to shoot Vandergriff if he did not comply. Vandergriff then pulled out a .38 caliber handgun and shot Saunders. Saunders has also been charged for his alleged involvement in two pizza delivery driver robberies reported in Kanawha County in November.

Coleman Dismissed From Marshall's Basketball Team

{Huntington, West Virginia}...Marshall University basketball coach Tom Herrion said Thursday that freshman guard Justin Coleman has been dismissed from the team for conduct detrimental to the program and not upholding its standards and expectations. Coleman had been suspended following Marshall's loss at Belmont on December 29th and was reinstated to the team a week later. Coach Herrion didn't provide specifics.

Evaluation Ordered For Sex Offender

{Charleston, West Virginia}...Thirty-one year old Melissa Sigman of Charleston was scheduled for sentencing Thursday after being convicted of having sex with an eleven year old boy in October 2010. The judge granted her request for a sex offender evaluation before being sentenced. The evaluation at Lakin prison is expected to take 60 days and will determine if she is likely to be a repeat offender. Sigman faces a possible five to 25 year prison term, but a favorable evaluation could make her eligible for a lesser sentence or alternative sentence and help the judge determine how much time she will spend on supervised release.

Kanawha County Dispatcher On Paid Leave

{Charleston, West Virginia}...Fifty-one year old Joseph Coen of Charleston, a Kanawha County 911 dispatcher, has been placed on paid administrative leave after he was arrested on sexual abuse charges. Coen is accused of sexually abusing a teenage girl on September 5, 2011. The girl was15 years old at the time. Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper says an internal investigation has been launched. If convicted, Coen could face 10 to 20 years in prison.

Second Arrest In Boone County Case

• {Morrisvale, West Virginia}...A second arrest has been made in a hostage situation that started Monday night at a home in Morrisvale in Boone County. Barry Clark was arrested after deputies say he forced friends of his estranged wife, 26 year old Chandra Clark, into a bathroom and then beat and sexually assaulted her several times before burning her home and fleeing. Deputies say two neighbors found Chandra Clark and started beating her even more. Thirty-nine year old Melissa Breedlove has been charged with accessory before and after the fact, felony kidnapping and assault. Breedlove says she and Chandra Clark have been at odds for some time over an alleged incident concerning Breedlove's teenage son. Breedlove says Clark came at her, and the two exchanged blows.

Upper Big Branch Miners Memorial Underway

• {Whitesville, West Virginia}...Construction began Wednesday on the Upper Big Branch Miners Memorial being built in Whitesville to commemorate the 29 miners who died in a massive explosion on April 5, 2010. The memorial will be made of granite with a massive concrete base, to ensure long-lasting stability. Equipment and labor will be provided by a crew from Alpha Natural Resources, which bought Massey Energy, the company that operated the mine at the time of the explosion. Construction is expected to be complete by April 5, 2012. Various businesses, community groups and individuals from across the country have donated more than $700,000 to construct the memorial.

Jury Recesses In Murder Trial

• {Huntington, West Virginia}...At 4:45 P.M. Wednesday, a five-man, seven-woman jury requested a recess for the night in the trial of Jesse Blevins. Cabell Circuit Judge Alfred Ferguson told the jurors to return at 9:00 A.M. Thursday to resume deliberations. Blevins, of Huntington, is being tried on charges that he fatally stabbed and hid the body of his girlfriend, 23 year old Elizabeth Cotton, who died July 28, 2009.

Judge Rules Against Environmental Coalition

• {Charleston, West Virginia}...U.S. District Judge Robert Chambers has ruled the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition can’t introduce health studies by West Virginia University researcher Michael Hendryx as evidence in their objections in a lawsuit against Alpha Natural Resources over mountaintop removal mining permits. Hendryx found that people living near mountaintop removal mines have higher cancer and birth defect rates, but the Army Corps of Engineers said it anticipated no such effects when it issued a water pollution permit. Alpha opposed using the studies in the battle over the Reylas mine in Logan County.

Kanawha County Indictments

• {Charleston, West Virginia}...Kanawha County Prosecutor Mark Plants says the grand jury indicted 121 people Tuesday, including three separate cases of child pornography. Plants says George Anderson, 37, of St. Albans, Jeffrey Wayne Lamb, 54, of Dunbar, and 42 year old Robert Lutsy of Chesapeake face multiple charges. Among those  indicted were 17 year old James Daughtery of Charleston on two counts of first-degree murder. Police say Daughtery fatally shot Bruce Dulling and Carrie Pontier while they sat in a car in Kanawha City in February 2010. Daughtery was transferred to adult status last year. Arraignment is set for February 6th. The grand jury also indicted 35 year old Donald Raines III on voluntary manslaughter for the November 2011 shooting death of 35 year old Jerry Baldwin who was fatally shot outside Raines' home in Charleston.

Boone County Paramedic Dies

{Charleston, West Virginia}...Sarah Nodurft, 27, of Madison, a Boone County paramedic, died Wednesday afternoon on the way back to the county after taking a patient to a Charleston hospital. Boone County Ambulance Authority Director Randy Lengyel says Nodurft had stopped with her partner to get something to eat at Southridge near Charleston at around 12:30 P.M. when she collapsed. Nodurft had been working with the ambulance authority for about five years, and she became a paramedic last June.

SWAT Team Members Justified

{Charleston, West Virginia}...Kanawha County Prosecutor Mark Plants says SWAT team members were "justified" when they fatally shot 33 year old Omar R. Cowan during a November 2nd standoff at  Amandaville Court in St. Albans. Plants says evidence shows Cowan approached the officers in tight quarters with two knives. Deputies say Cowan was inside the apartment threatening to hurt his wife and their four small children and was allegedly wielding a box cutter before he barricaded himself inside his bedroom and refused to communicate with a deputy, who then called the SWAT team as backup. Deputies spent about two hours trying to establish communication with Cowan before the SWAT team broke down the apartment's front door and confronted Cowan. 

Dunbar Man Indicted For Attempted Murder

• {Charleston, West Virginia}...Lamont Van Harris, a Dunbar man currently serving prison time for being a felon in possession of a firearm, was indicted Tuesday for attempted murder, malicious wounding and wanton endangerment. Police say Harris shot Travis Bush, 30, several times on September 17th outside the West Dunbar Market. The indictment says Bush and a relative were coming out of the store when Harris began firing a 9-milimeter pistol at them, striking Bush in the leg, and, after Bush collapsed, Harris continued firing at him. A preliminary hearing is set for February 7th. 

Blevins Takes The Stand

• {Huntington, West Virginia}...Defense attorneys continued presenting evidence Tuesday in the trial of 25 year old Jesse Blevins of Huntington. Blevins is being tried on charges that he fatally stabbed and hid the body of his girlfriend, 23 year old Elizabeth Cotton, who died July 28, 2009 at the home of Blevins’ father on Jackson Avenue. Cotton's body was hidden in a basement of the house. Tuesday afternoon, Blevins took the stand to testify about his relationship with Cotton and what happened the day of her death. Blevins described his relationship with Cotton as one filled with arguments, threats and battery, saying that she was combative both verbally and physically. Blevins testified to numerous times where he called 911 asking for police to respond because Cotton had become combative. He said, the night of Cotton's death, he told her he was dating another girl, and Cotton began hitting him and grabbed a knife. Blevins testified that he ran to the bathroom and tried to barricade the door but Cotton entered the bathroom, and they fought as he tried to take the knife away from her, and then he stabbed her. Defense attorneys argue the killing was an act of self-defense, while prosecutors argue it was murder.

Huntington Mother Indicted

• {Huntington, West Virginia}...Cierra Jordan of Huntington has been indicted in connection with the January 2011 death of her 10-month old son. Jordan has been charged with child neglect causing death. The medical examiner's report concluded that the child died from starvation and dehydration. Jordan was arraigned Tuesday morning, and a $50,000 bond was set. She is scheduled to be back in court on March 8th.

Mingo County Man Indicted

• {Williamson, West Virginia}...A Mingo County Grand Jury has indicted 46 year old John Hayes on one count of first degree murder in the May 31st death of Robert Workman, his wife's uncle, whose body was found in early June about 150 to 200 yards from his home in the Beech Creek area. Hayes was arrested in Sweetwater, Tennessee after turning himself in to authorities. Trial is set for March 20th.

Five Allegedly Held At Gunpoint

• {Morrisvale, West Virginia}...Boone County Sheriff's Deputies say 61 year old Barry Wayne Clark of Morrisvale held five people hostage at gunpoint for three hours then burned a home on Rattlesnake Hollow Road. The incident started at about 9:00 P.M. Monday night when Clark's estranged wife and some friends returned to her home and found Clark waiting inside with a knife and a gun. When deputies arrived, they found Clark's estranged wife, who had been beaten, hiding at a neighbor's house. The other's who had been held hostage were hiding in the woods. Clark, who was charged with five counts of kidnapping and one count each of first-degree sexual assault, malicious wounding and arson, was out of jail on four separate bonds for incidents including domestic assault, posession with intent to deliver marijuana, violation of domestic violence petitions and other charges.

Man Convicted On Drug Charge

• {Charleston, West Virginia}...Randall Justin McGee was found guilty Tuesday of possession with intent to distribute quantities of Oxycodone and Oxymorphone. Trial evidence revealed that, on July 26, 2011, law enforcement officers searched McGee's vehicle during a traffic stop and seized a bag which contained 151 Oxymorphone pills and 246 Oxycodone pills. McGee faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine when sentenced April 30th.

UBB Memorial Ready For Construction

• {Whitesville, West Virginia}...Construction could start as early as this week on a permanent 48 foot memorial in Whitesville for 29 miners killed in the 2010 explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine in Raleigh County. Pray Construction will install temporary fencing around the future site of the memorial to allow construction to get underway. Organizers say the back of the memorial will have the image of "Daddy's Hands" etched on the back as part of the tribute to all the miners, past and present. A poem dedicated to all miners who have died working in the coal industry will also be etched on the granite. The front of the memorial will have 29 silhouettes, symbolizing the 29 miners who died on April 5, 2010. "Come to me, All Who Have Labored, And I Will Give You Rest" will be etched underneath the silhouettes. The state seal of West Virginia will be cast in bronze and embedded within the granite on the front of the monument.

Reward Offered In Charleston Slaying

• {Charleston, West Virginia}...The death of 28 year old Megan Harrison is Charleston's only 2011 unsolved slaying. Harrison's body was found floating in the Elk River last August. Her parents, Roger and Ginger Harrison, posted reward flyers Sunday around Charleston's East End neighborhood offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Charleston Police Lt. Steve Cooper says authorities have some evidence and some witnesses, but they need "one more piece to the puzzle.''

Shooting In Logan County

• {Logan, West Virginia}...Deputies in Logan County arrested 36 year old Shawn Lee Belcher Monday morning and charged him with shooting his neighbor, 75 year old Dewey Rose. Deputies say Belcher then physically assaulted Rose's wife, Gaynelle. Dewey Rose and his wife Gaynell of Lieber Lane in Claypool, near Man, were both taken to Logan Regional Medical Center. Deputies say Rose is the grandfather of a 19 year old woman Belcher was obsessed with. Belcher is charged with attempted murder and daytime burglary.

Huntington Go-Mart Robbed

• {Huntington, West Virginia}...Rocky Burgess and Tisha Billups were arrested Monday after police say they robbed the Go-Mart on 29th Street in Huntington. Cabell County Deputies say as the clerk opened the cash drawer, Burgess and Billups pushed the clerk away and stole the money. They were located at the Huntington Inn, where police found the stolen money. Burgess is charged with armed robbery, and Billups is charged with accessory before and after the fact.

Former Mayor Asking Court To Reconsider Fines

{Charleston, West Virginia}...Former Dunbar Mayor Roger Wolfe is asking the Kanawha County Circuit Court to reconsider the fines imposed on him last July by the Ethics Commission. The commission fined Wolfe $15,000 and ordered him to pay back nearly $6,000 in unauthorized reimbursements it said he spent improperly on meals, mileage and telephone expenses while he was mayor. Wolfe also was ordered to reimburse the commission almost $5,700 in legal expenses. The commission wants Wolfe to pay back more than $25,000 in fines and restitution, but Wolfe says the fines are excessive.

Check Presented To Mountain Mission

{Charleston, West Virginia}...Monday morning, Appalachian Power Co. presented the Mountain Mission with a check for $75,000. The donation is meant to kick-start the Mission's new building project on Charleston's West Side, about a third of a city block away from the current Mountain Mission. The new facility will have computer labs, classrooms and a gym.

Extortion Trial Delayed

{Charleston, West Virginia}...Trial was to begin Monday for Harry Marshall Rae, a California man accused of threatening West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin while Tomblin was running for governor. Friday, U.S. District Judge John Copenhaver decided to delay Rae's trial one week after prosecutors told him that Rae may enter a plea agreement. Investigators say the alleged September threat was part of a $50,000 extortion plot. Rae allegedly told others he could hurt Tomblin's chances with an undercover video showing cruel greyhound industry practices at an Oklahoma kennel. Tomblin's mother's greyhound breeding business had become a campaign issue. Rae alleged that he was sending the video to the campaign of Tomblin's Republican opponent, Bill Maloney. Maloney's campaign said it had no contact with Rae.

Man Charged In Huntington Robbery

{Huntington, West Virginia}...Police arrested Wesley Allen Barker, 30, late Friday night after someone called and said Jim's Steak and Spaghetti House on Fifth Avenue in Huntington had been robbed. Officers found Barker carrying a drawer full of money. Barker was charged with breaking and entering, receiving and transferring stolen property, public intoxication and obstruction and placed on a $23,200 bond.

Cabell County Candidate Arrested

{Huntington, West Virginia}...Twenty-seven year old Paul Richard Qualls Jr., who filed on January 9th for the Cabell County magistrate position, was arrested Saturday on charges including public intoxication and making threats of retaliation or intimidation against an officer. Police say Qualls became involved in a fight outside a bar in Huntington, and, when officers arrived, Qualls said if officers did not let him go he would take action against any officer who went in front of him as magistrate once elected.

Former WVU Tech Professor Pleads Guilty

{Charleston, West Virginia}...Seventy-one year old Keith Honey, a former part time physics professor at WVU Tech, pleaded guilty Friday to first-degree sexual abuse and second-degree sexual assault, admitting he performed sexual acts on a 13 year old girl and touched the girl's 11 year old brother inappropriately and that he would even perform sexual acts on himself and force the kids to watch. Prosecutors say it happened in October at the kids' grandmother's home in St. Albans where Honey lived at the time as the grandmother's boyfriend. The charges carry a sentence of 15 to 50 years in prison. Sentencing is set for March 16th.

Man Charged With Malicious Wounding

{Marmet, West Virginia}...Kanawha County Deputies went to a house on Steptoe Lane near Marmet early Friday morning after receiving a call about a stabbing. Deputies arrested 39 year old Stephen Travis Gill and charged him with malicious wounding after 24 year old Augusta Elkins came in from another room in the house and told deputies she had been beaten, suffocated, stabbed and held against her will.

Serial Arsonist Sentenced To 40 Years

{Charleston, West Virginia}...Serial arsonist John Lawson of Charleston was sentenced Friday to 40 years in prison after his fifth conviction, the latest in Charleston last July. The plea deal blocks prosecutors from going after him as a repeat offender, but Assistant Prosecutor Fred Giggenbach says federal authorities are looking at his possible involvement in an Austin, Texas nursing home fire that caused five deaths in 1998. Lawson, who was working night security at the nursing home, told investigators he fell asleep with a cigarette in his mouth and the cigarette fell onto a blanket, catching it on fire. Lawson moved to Charleston shortly after that incident, where on the one-year anniversary of the nursing home blaze, he set fire to a Lee Terrace elderly-living center and served 6 years on a first-degree arson conviction. In the mid-2000s, Lawson was convicted of starting a string of 16 dumpster fires in Charleston. In July, Charleston police arrested him after he admitted to setting his Lee Street apartment ablaze to smoke out "spirits" he believed were living there. He admitted to starting a fire in his niece's Quarrier Street apartment a few weeks earlier.

130th Airlift Wing Will Use Camp Branch Drop Zone

(Logan) -The West Virginia National Guard, Alpha Natural Resources, and
WPP LLC have reached an agreement that allows the 130th Airlift Wing to use
land owned by the company for military training purposes. 

The initial use of the Camp Branch Drop Zone, located four miles east of
Logan County Airport, Logan, W.Va., will be as a drop zone for the unit's
C-130 Hercules aircraft dedicated to providing the state with a dedicated
Adverse Weather Aerial Delivery System Drop Zone. 

"I cannot say enough about the amazing support that WPP LLC and Alpha Natural
Resources have provided to the West Virginia National Guard," said Maj. Gen.
James A. Hoyer, West Virginia Adjutant General.  "Camp Branch will be used to
provide realistic training opportunities for our aircrews and load recovery
personnel.  And the great thing is that this is just the first of many uses
we see for this property."

Future plans call for the area to become a fully functioning landing strip
with two separate landing areas possibly geared toward C-130 and C-17
aircraft.  The Army National Guard is also looking at the site as a possible
location to practice helicopter medical evacuation training missions.

"This latest announcement from the West Virginia National Guard is yet
another example of the ingenuity and talent of our guard and Maj. Gen. James
A. Hoyer, West Virginia Adjutant General, in developing excellent training
resources right here in our own state," said Governor Earl Ray Tomblin. "I
applaud the West Virginia National Guard and appreciate WPP LLC for reaching
an agreement that successfully repurposes land use to the benefit of our
citizen Soldiers/Airmen."

The 130th Airlift Wing will begin conducting drops early next week.

"The current dirt landing strips we utilize for training are located on a
flat piece of land in North Carolina that you can see miles away and they
have many airspace restrictions," said Col. Jerry Gouhin, 130th Airlift Wing
commander.  "The awesome thing about the Camp Branch area is that you have to
navigate the mountains and then drop in for a landing much the way our
aircrews operate in Afghanistan.  This type of realistic training will be in
demand by other units located near West Virginia as well.

WPP LLC donated the land for use by the WVNG and all of the field work has
been completed by Alpha Natural Resources.  This was accomplished as a result
of the Camp Branch Surface Mine's Post Mine Land Use.  The West Virginia
National Guard and Alpha Natural Resources will be working together on other
Post Mine Land Use Sites that can provide realistic training opportunities to
hone flying and load dropping skills.

"The amount of work and effort that Alpha has put forth to get this property
ready for our use is overwhelming," Hoyer said. "They have done all of the
grade work, permit changes, and coordination with Department of Environmental
Protection and others to ensure we have a safe usable drop zone and landing
strip.  They have gone above and beyond to support our West Virginia National
Guard Airmen and Soldiers."

Murder-Suicide In Kanawha County

{Institute, West Virginia}...At a late Friday morning news conference in Charleston, Kanawha County Chief Deputy John Rutherford  said 54 year old Nathaniel Lawton of Institute killed his girlfriend, 53 year old Carol Ann Rhim and dismembered her body before taking his own life. Deputies believe Lawton killed Rhim sometime Tuesday. Thursday afternoon, deputies were alerted by an informant that Lawton had purchased a hacksaw, hacksaw blade and tarp from the Advance Auto Parts Store in Dunbar. After confirming the purchase, deputies went to Lawton's apartment on Barron Drive late Thursday afternoon, where they ordered Lawton to open the door and then heard a muffled gunshot. Deputies entered and found Lawton had shot himself in the head. He died before paramedics arrived. Investigators searched Lawton's vehicle and found Rhim's head and hands in the trunk. Those have been sent to the state Medical Examiner's Office. Deputies are still looking for the rest of Rhim's body. Lawton had no prior criminal history.

Year's First Coal Mining Fatality

{Oakwood, Virginia}...Virginia Department of Mines Minerals and Energy spokesman Mike Abbott says 44 year old Joe Saunders of Princeton, West Virginia died Wednesday at a hospital in Bristol, Tennessee after he and another miner were injured January 11th while working at CONSOL Energy's Buchanan No. 1 mine near Oakwood in Buchanan County, Virginia. Saunders was hit in the head by a piece of a high-pressure water line valve that blew off and broke. The other miner suffered minor injuries. It's the nation's
first coal mining fatality of the year.

CAMC Seeks Public Donations

{Charleston, West Virginia}...Charleston Area Medical Center hopes to raise $5 million in public donations to help pay for construction of a new $39 million cancer center that will replace the David Lee Cancer Center at CAMC's Memorial Hospital. CAMC Foundation president Gail Pitchford says that the hospital system will pay $24 million of the construction cost. The foundation's capital campaign has raised more than $10 million for the project. Ground will be broken in late summer. The center is expected to open in 2014.

Murder Case Sent To Grand Jury

{Huntington, West Virginia}...Thursday, a preliminary hearing was held in Cabell County Court for 27 year old Aaron Searls of Huntington, a man charged with first degree murder in the shooting death of John Keaton. During the hearing, Keaton's girlfriend, Maria Cover, testified that Searls was at The Lounge bar the night of the shooting and that as she and Keaton left the bar Searls was outside waiting for them and pulled a gun on them after a verbal confrontation. Cover testified that Keaton hit Searls and then she heard three gunshots before seeing the men hit the ground. Searls told police he shot Keaton in self defense. Public Defender Paul Jordan claimed there was no evidence that this is a first degree murder. Judge Darrel Black found probable cause and sent the case to the grand jury.

Huntington Murder Trial Continues

{Huntington, West Virginia}...Thursday, during the second day of Jesse Blevins' murder trial in Cabell County, Huntington Police Officer John Franklin testified that, when officers responded to the Jackson Avenue home on July 28,2009, another officer asked Blevins where his girlfriend was. He said Blevins replied, "In the basement." When asked what she was doing there, he said Blevins replied, "She's dead." Blevins is accused of stabbing Elizabeth Cotton in the neck, and then hiding her body in the basement. Police found the body wrapped in blankets and trash bags.

Body Found In Huntington

{Huntington, West Virginia}...Huntington Police Chief Skip Holbrook says two truck drivers spotted the body of a woman next to the highway near the Amazon.com call center along I-64 around 4:30 P.M. Thursday evening. Family members identified the woman as Michele Popoff, an Amazon.com call center employee, who had been missing since Tuesday. Investigators say Popoff suffered from depression.  

Man Competent To Stand Trial

{Wayne, West Virginia}...Wayne County Circuit Judge Darrell Pratt has set a June 4th trial for 52 year old Clinton Douglas Skeens, after ruling he is competent to stand trial. In August, Pratt ordered Skeens to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Skeens is charged with murder in the December 31, 2010 stabbing death of former Wayne High football coach 73 year old Jess "Scott" Jarrell. Authorities say Jarrell was stabbed 43 times at his Wayne home. A motions hearing is set for April 23rd, and a pretrial is set for May 21st.

Charleston Man Shot And Stabbed

{Charleston, West Virginia}...Charleston Police are looking for four black male suspects who allegedly shot and stabbed 22 year old Cabell Franklin at a home on Wildacre Drive in the South Hills neighborhood about 7:00 P.M. Wednesday afternoon. Sergeant Bobby Eggleton says the suspects forced Alex Franklin, a former banker and antique shop owner who is the director of the Craik-Patton House in Charleston, to the ground at gunpoint and threatened to kill him. His son, Cabell Franklin, was shot in the leg and stabbed in the back. He was taken to CAMC General. Police say the suspects stole cash and drugs from the house. Police say they found a significant amount of money and marijuana in Cabell's bedroom, and they also located firearms in the home.

Woman Sentenced To Life With Mercy

{Winfield, West Virginia}...Tracy Wright of Hurricane was sentenced to life with mercy Thursday morning for the death of her daughter and 3-15 years for child neglect, to be served concurrently. She received credit for 342 days already served. In October 2011, Wright was convicted in the death of her 3 year old daughter, Ashley, who died in December 2010 of complications from cystic fibrosis. The prosecution argued that Wright failed to take her daughter to doctor appointments and give her prescribed medications. After a three-day trial, the jury took two hours before returning a guilty verdict. Wright will be eligible for parole in 2027.

Murder Trial Underway

• {Huntington, West Virginia}...Opening arguments began Wednesday afternoon in Jesse Blevins' murder trial in Cabell County Circuit Court after a jury of five men and seven women was seated Wednesday morning. Blevins is charged with fatally stabbing his girlfriend, Elizabeth Cotton, in July 2009 at his dad’s house on Jackson Avenue in Huntington and then hiding her body in a crawl space in the home. The defense claims there was an altercation at the house and that Cotton attacked Blevins after she found out he was involved in a relationship with another woman and Blevins was only defending himself. The prosecution says Blevins obtained the knife earlier in the day and planned to carry out the murder in a place where there were no witnesses.

Mason County Public Defender Sentenced

{Huntington, West Virginia}...Mason County public defender Jeremy T. Vickers, 36, of Summerville, accused of flagrantly over-billing the state, was sentenced to almost two years in federal prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to wire fraud in October. Vickers represented indigent clients in criminal cases in Mason, Jackson and Roane counties. Afterward, he submitted payment vouchers to the Circuit Courts where each case was heard, using the Huntington-based Attorney Finance Corporation, essentially a payday loan service for public defenders. Prosecutors say, for at least 173 days over a period of two years, he claimed to work more than 24 hours a day. By the time the state looked into the billing, Vickers had been paid more than $221,000 for the over-billed hours.

Environmental Groups/Patriot Coal Reach Settlement

{Morgantown, West Virginia}...The Sierra Club, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy and Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition reached a settlement Wednesday with St. Louis-based Patriot Coal Corp. that will end litigation over selenium pollution from mountaintop removal mines. The settlement calls for Patriot to pay a $750,000 fine to the federal government and contribute $6.75 million to the West Virginia Land Trust for a Supplemental Environmental Project. Under the deal, Patriot would treat pollution from 43 different outlets and its Jupiter Holdings LLC would surrender permits it got from the Army Corps of Engineers in 2007 to build four valley fills at its Jupiter Callisto surface mine in Boone County. The proposed settlement, filed in U.S. District Court in Huntington, must be subjected to public comment and approved by Judge Robert Chambers before it's finalized.

Pharmacist Charged In Drug Investigation

{Kermit, West Virginia}...Federal prosecutors have asked the court to schedule a plea hearing for James P. Wooley, a pharmacist charged earlier this month with conspiracy to illegally acquire or obtain controlled substances. The charges stem from an investigation of the Justice Medical Complex in Kermit. Federal prosecutors say the clinic's owner and employees used another person's Medicare provider number to distribute Hydrocodone and other controlled substances and directed patients to Wooley's pharmacies in Kermit and Stone Coal.

Man Attempts To Rob Pharmacy

{Kanawha City, West Virginia}...Kenneth Lawson has been charged with 2nd degree robbery after police say he walked into the Trivillians Pharmacy on 35th Street in Kanawha City around 1:00 P.M. Wednesday, wearing a green hooded sweatshirt and a WVU hat, walked up to the counter and demanded drugs. Police arrived before he could get away.

Poca High School Teacher Suspended

{Poca, West Virginia}...The Putnam County Board of Education  has suspended Poca High School teacher Jack Dailey for 10 days without pay on a charge of insubordination. He was also suspended for 10 days last September on insubordination charges after an incident police described as a hoax, where Dailey was out with some students and put one of them in the trunk of his car.

Police Fatally Shoot Man

• {Charleston, West Virginia}...South Charleston Police Chief Brad Rinehart says his officers were left with few options when they opened fire and fatally shot 40 year old Tommy Ransbottom II from Cross Lanes around 1:00 A.M. Tuesday morning in a vacant church parking lot on Village Drive. The shooting followed a night of searching for Ransbottom, who had previously indicated he was suicidal and deeply disturbed. Police were on high alert after Ransbottom was reportedly firing shots in the Cross Lanes neighborhood of Lake Cheweva earlier in the night. Rinehart says a deputy had spoken with Ransbottom by telephone from the home of a family member earlier in the evening, and he had said before the night was over he was going to force a policeman to shoot him. When police caught up with him, they say he wouldn't obey any commands or anything, but, instead, got out of his car, threw something at the cruiser then got back in, and, when he got out the second time, he had a pistol and pointed it at two of the policemen. Two of the officers who surrounded the suspect's car fired the shots which left him fatally wounded. He died soon afterward at Thomas Memorial Hospital in South Charleston. The Kanawha County Sheriff's Department is handling the investigation of the shooting, and both officers have been placed on administrative leave.

Huntington Murder Trial Set To Begin

• {Huntington, West Virginia}...Jesse Blevins was in Cabell County Court Tuesday for a final motions hearing in preparation going on trial Wednesday charged with fatally stabbing his girlfriend, Elizabeth Cotton, in July 2009 and then putting her body in the crawl space of a house in Huntington. In October 2009, a grand jury indicted Blevins on charges of murder and concealment of a deceased human body. That indictment was thrown out due to issues with testimony that was presented to the original grand jury, but a new grand jury re-indicted Blevins on the same charges. Judge Alfred Ferguson will preside over the trial which is expected to last about four days.

Manchin To File Candidacy Papers

• {Charleston, West Virginia}...U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., plans to file candidacy papers Wednesday to seek a full six-year Senate term after winning Senator Robert C. Byrd's former seat in November 2011, filling Byrd's unexpired term. Republican John Raese, whom Manchin defeated during last year's special election, has already filed to run for the seat.

Huntington Man Pleads Guilty

{Huntington, West Virginia}...Timothy Nathan Todd, 41 of Huntington pleaded guilty in federal court to selling government property, admitting he sold a law enforcement badge that was stolen from a vehicle of an ATF agent in Huntington to an informant on October 28, 2011. Todd faces up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine when sentenced on April 16, 2012.

Detroit Man Pleads Guilty To Heroin Distribution

{Huntington, West Virginia}...Demetrius Deshawn Garrett, 25, of Detroit, pleaded guilty Tuesday to selling two grams of heroin to a confidential informant in Huntington on Sept. 22, 2011. In October 2011, the Drug Enforcement Agency conducted a search at a residence and recovered 147 40-milligram oxymorphone pills, 84 30-milligram oxymorphone pills and 18 20-milligram oxymorphone pills. Garrett admitted he and other individuals sold heroin and pills that had been stored at the residence. Garrett faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine when sentenced on April 23rd.

Mine Safety Bill Introduced In Charleston

{Charleston, West Virginia}...A bill was introduced Monday at the state Capitol in Charleston aimed at strengthening mine safety laws. House Speaker Rick Thompson, D-Wayne, is the lead sponsor of the bill. Delegate Mike Caputo, D-Marion, a representative for the United Mine Workers of America, strongly supports the bill that would increase penalties for a number of violations at coal mines. Under the bill, operators would face more punishments for giving prior notice of inspectors arriving at a mine, miners reporting unsafe working conditions would be granted more protection and an independent panel would investigate severe mine accidents. The bill would also require mine operators to use methane detectors that would automatically shut down equipment when the gas reaches a certain level in the mine.

Attorney General Settles With Capital One

{Charleston, West Virginia}...The office of state Attorney General Darrell McGraw has announced a settlement totaling more than $12 million with Capital One after the office received more than 600 complaints about Capital One practices between 2001 and 2006. Chief Deputy Attorney General Fran Hughes says the company and its representatives were saddling some consumers with debt that had previously been deemed noncollectable and providing add-on services to credit cards that consumers really didn't want or need. The case was scheduled to go to trial in Mason County in April. Capital One has agreed to provide $3 million in debt forgiveness to West Virginia consumers. Hughes says the debt will disappear from credit card statements. The settlement also includes $9.5 million for the state Legislature to allocate to help consumers.

Video Lottery Parlor Robbed

• {Beckley, West Virginia}...Raleigh County Deputies are searching for two men who walked into Mama Linas video lottery parlor in Harper Heights near Beckley about 9:00 P.M. Sunday night and robbed it at gunpoint before fleeing in a vehicle with an undisclosed amount of cash. One suspect is described as a white male, about six feet tall and thin. He was last seen wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt and faded jeans. The other is described as a heavyset white male about six feet tall. He was last seen wearing baggy brown pants and a grey hooded sweatshirt with a zippered front. The man's face was covered, and he was armed with a semi-automatic pistol. Anyone with information is asked to call the Raleigh County Sheriff's Department at 304-255-9300 or the Crime Stoppers tip line at 304-255-STOP.

Lawmakers Considering Road Bond

{Charleston, West Virginia}...West Virginia state lawmakers are now considering a proposal for a $1.5 billion bond for road construction. In his pitch last week at the State Capitol, state Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox said that bond could generate enough money for 17 road and highway construction projects in West Virginia, including the completion of Corridor H. Tom Witt, the Director of West Virginia University's Bureau of Business and Economic Research says things have changed in Congress, and West Virginia is not going to get the earmarks of the past, so a proposal to generate money for road construction projects in the Mountain State with a bond makes sense. Right now, money for the work partly comes from the Road Fund which state officials estimate is now buying two thirds of what it could have paid for in 2004. Most of what goes into the Road Fund comes from the state gas tax, about 30 cents for every gallon. To pay off a $1.5 billion bond the state would need to come up with between $65 million and $75 million each year for the next 30 years. That money could come from increased fuel taxes, higher registration fees charged through the Division of Motor Vehicles or other methods tied to drivers. Governor Earl Ray Tomblin vetoed legislation to raise DMV fees last year.

Tomblin Appoints Mingo County Assistant Prosecutor To House

{Charleston, West Virginia}...Mingo County assistant prosecutor, 27 year old Justin Marcum, was appointed by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin Monday to the vacancy left by fellow Democrat Steve Kominar, making Marcum the newest member of the House of Delegates to represent the 20th Delegate District. Marcum is a graduate of Marshall University and the Appalachian School of Law. He has been practicing in West Virginia since October. Kominar stepped down to become executive director of the Mingo County Redevelopment Authority.

Former West Virginia Governor Dies

{Beckley, West Virginia}...West Virginia's 27th Governor Hulett Smith, who was in office from 1965 to 1969, died under the care of Hospice in Scottsdale, Arizona Sunday at the age of 93. Smith, who moved to Arizona last fall, was born on October 21, 1918, served as Beckley mayor, state senator, U.S. Congressman and chairman of the state Democratic Party. Smith, a Democrat from Beckley, defeated former Republican Governor Cecil Underwood in the 1964 election. Smith followed the administration of Governor Wally Barron, who was later indicted and went to prison. Smith also served as the state's first commerce commissioner. He signed the bill abolishing the death penalty in West Virginia, was a fighter against unregulated surface mining and was very big on human rights. Smith's first wife, Mary Alice, died in 1987, and his second wife, Nancy Pat Lewis of Beckley, died in 2009. Melton Mortuary in Beckley is handling arrangements.

Union Rallies At Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital

{Huntington, West Virginia}...Bateman Hospital in Huntington and William R. Sharpe Jr. Hospital in Weston have been under court monitoring for decades, and employees have complained about bad working conditions and over-bedding at both facilities. Members of the West Virginia Public Workers Union UE Local 170 rallied Monday outside Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital to show hospital employees and patients that the union supports them in an effort to draw attention to problems at the state's psychiatric hospitals. Some held signs calling for a stop to mandatory overtime.

Tomblin Announces Applications For Putnam County Judge

{Charleston, West Virginia}...Governor Earl Ray Tomblin announced Monday that the Judicial Vacancy Advisory Commission will start receiving applications for the vacant Circuit Court Judge seat in the Twenty-Ninth Judicial Circuit that serves Putnam County. The seat became open after the retirement of The Honorable Judge O.C. Spaulding, who stepped down in December 2011. Deadline for applications has been set for Wednesday, February 15th, and deadline for letters of recommendation is a week later on Wednesday, February 22nd. Interviews will be held on Monday, March 5th.

Mingo County Woman To Be Sentenced

{Varney, West Virginia}...Crystal Seigler Clark, 33, pleaded guilty this past week to killing her estranged husband David Clark last year in Varney. She is set to be sentenced on February 6th and could get up to 40 years in prison. The shooting death resulted in a manhunt after a neighbor found the body of David Matthew Clark inside his home in the Spice Branch area of Mingo County. Police say Crystal took the couple's 13-month old daughter, Chloe Clark. Crystal was apprehended by the FBI and US Marshalls at a motel in Jackson, Tennessee on April 28th after she called home asking for help. David Clark owned the A-1 Computer store in downtown Williamson that closed in March 2011, a month before he was shot to death.

Consol Energy Announces Plans

{Benwood, West Virginia}...Canonsburg, Pennsylvania-based Consol Energy says it plans to spend $1.7 billion this year to develop coal and natural gas assets. Consol officials say more than 40 percent of that money will focus on growing its increasing stake in the Marcellus and Utica shale, with plans to drill 61 Marcellus wells and 11 Utica wells. Consol plans to use $575 million in 2012 to drill wells and develop assets in its Marcellus acreage across West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Company officials have estimated Consol holds about 663,350 acres of natural gas reserves across the two states. The company also has plans to eventually increase its drilling numbers to 158 new wells in the Marcellus field in 2014, and 33 new wells in the Utica formation that year. Consol also plans to spend $50 million for safety at coal mines this year, up from just $18 million spent last year.

Nitro Man Arrested

{Nitro, West Virginia}...Nitro Police arrested 27 year old William Lawrence Collins Friday and charged him with possession of material depicting a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Police say Collins rented a computer from the Nitro Rent-A-Center, and when he returned it, the manager discovered child porn on the hard drive. Police say Collins admitted he received the image from a contact on Yahoo Instant Messenger and that he requested nude pictures of young girls from others online, including a 7 year old girl. His bond was set at $50,000.

Beckley Man Arrested

{Fayette, West Virginia}...Mark Anthony Gilliam, 38, of Beckley, was pulled over Saturday morning in Fayette County and was arrested after Deputy N.D. Hall says he noticed Gilliam trying to eat several of the pills in his vehicle. A search of his vehicle resulted in the recovery of nearly 2,000 prescription drugs including Oxycodone, Methadone, Xanax and Diazapam, estimated to have a street value of approximately $16,500. Police say Gilliam told them he had broken into various pharmacies in Raleigh County...the Crab Orchard Pharmacy on January 6th and Eppy's Drug Store and Colony Drug Store in Beckley on January 11th.

Judge Grants Motion For FBI To Release Records

{Williamson, West Virginia}...Thursday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary E. Stanley granted a motion filed by State Police lawyers requesting the FBI to release records of an investigation into the arrest and alleged beating of 22 year old Calvin Jerrod Wilkerson. Wilkerson alleges that, in January 2009, State Police troopers repeatedly beat him with batons before allowing police dogs to run him down and attack him outside the State Police detachment in Williamson. FBI investigators looked into the incident and decided not to prosecute the officers reportedly involved. Williamson police officers were processing Wilkerson on a warrant that sought to involuntarily commit Wilkerson to a mental hygiene facility when the alleged incident occurred.

Patriot Coal Idling Five Mines

{Charleston,  West Virginia}...St. Louis-based Patriot Coal Corp. announced Friday it is idling five underground mines in southern West Virginia due to the declining demand for metallurgical coal. The closures include two mines operated by subsidiaries and two operated by contractors in Patriot Coal's Rocklick complex and two mines operated by contractors in the Wells complex. President and CEO Richard M. Whiting says Patriot expects to resume much of the cut production as demand improves.

Sentencing Postponed For Convicted Embezzler

{Charleston,  West Virginia}...Bonnie Jean Bain, 60, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from a West Side Charleston BB&T, where she worked as a teller, had her sentencing postponed Thursday. Bank investigators found in a pre-sentence report that Bain stole about $640,000, but U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver Jr. said the report failed to explain how investigators arrived at that amount. Bain's lawyer, federal public defender Mary Lou Newberger, said the amount Bain embezzled is probably closer to $293,000, an amount that could shave months off her prison sentence. Bain's sentencing to was rescheduled for February 6th.

Two Arrested In Lincoln County

{Hamlin, West Virginia}...West Virginia State Police in Hamlin have arrested 21 year old Justin Johnson and 22 year old Samuel Brumfield and charged them with felony burglary, grand larceny, destruction of property and conspiracy. Troopers say Johnson and Brumfield stole $11,000 worth of copper from Frontier Communications in the Branchland area over the period of about a week. Troopers found the stolen copper wire in the trunk of one of their cars. Bail was set at $60,000 for each man.

Barboursville Teen Charged With Sexual Assault

{Barboursville, West Virginia}...West Virginia State Police arrested 19 year old Nathan Workman of Barboursville Thursday and charged him with sexual assault, soliciting a minor using a computer and providing false information to troopers. Police say Workman admitted that he had sex with a 13 year old girl he met on Facebook and that he knew the girl was 13.

Man Leads Police On Chase

{Charleston, West Virginia}...Police said Thursday evening that 25 year old Dominic Q. Lasure of Charleston would be charged with attempted murder upon his release from CAMC General Hospital. Officers responded to a Sunset Drive residence just before 2:00 P.M. Thursday after being notified of a domestic disturbance between a man and woman. Lasure jumped into his car when officers arrived and began to flee, leading officers on a chase down U.S. Route 119 onto Crestview Road in Mink Shoals. Officers secured several side streets in which Lasure could be stopped with spike strips. Lasure exited a side street and attempted to run over Charleston Patrolman J.F. Wilson, who was throwing spike strips. Charleston Police initiated another pursuit after Lasure got onto Interstate 77 toward Charleston. Kanawha County Sheriff's Deputies and West Virginia State Police troopers were called for assistance. Lasure crashed into another car at the Greenbrier Street exit and then was apprehended.

Man Faces Up To 3,000 Years In Prison

{Madison, West Virginia}...Sixty year old Howard Dotson faces up to 3,000 years in prison after a Boone County jury convicted him on  89 counts of sexual crimes. He was a fugitive for 11 years on charges he sexually assaulted four young girls between the ages of five and 11, dating back to the early 1970s. Court documents say Dotson, who fathered a child with one of the victims, left Boone County the day before his sexual assault trial was set to begin in 1998. Dotson was arrested in October 2009 in Grand Junction, Colorado for allegedly drinking and driving. Sentencing will happen in the next four to eight weeks.

Huntington Police Arrest Five

{Huntington, West Virginia}...Huntington Police arrested five people about 2:30 A.M. Thursday morning at a home in Marcum Terrace after receiving a call about loud noises. Police say they found the group making crack cocaine and discovered a couple of guns and about $2000 in cash. Police arrested Kimberly Kipp, 19, Columbus Damron, 27, and Kayla Damron, 22, all of Huntington, along with Mark Long, 24, and Robert Laws, 19, both of Columbus, Ohio. Each is charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance. Long also faces a gun charge.

Charleston Man Arrested

{Charleston, West Virginia}...Thursday, Charleston Police arrested 40 year old Glen Hoylman, Jr. in connection to a rash of burglaries and car break-ins, most of which occurred in South Hills and Kanawha City. More arrests are pending. If you have any information, call Charleston Police at 304-348-6480.

Man Arraigned On First Degree Robbery

{Huntington, West Virginia}...Huntington Police have arrested 22 year old Anthony Scott Howe who allegedly robbed a China Garden delivery driver on December 27th. Police say Howe confessed that he used a knife in the robbery and took $20 cash and $50 worth of food. He was arraigned on a first degree robbery charge Thursday.

Raese Files To Run For U.S. Senate

{Morgantown, West Virginia}...Morgantown businessman John Raese filed Thursday afternoon to run for U.S. Senate in the May Republican Primary Election. The filing most likely sets up a November rematch with U.S. Senator Joe Manchin who defeated Raese in the special election for U.S. Senate on November 2, 2010. Manchin won the election 53 to 43 percent. The winning margin was 53-thousand votes.

Mason County Sheriff Pleads Not Guilty

• {Point Pleasant, West Virginia}...Mason County Sheriff David Anthony, 42, of Point Pleasant, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges that he misused county funds. Anthony was indicted last week on charges of wanton endangerment, child neglect with risk of injury, domestic assault and shooting near a dwelling. He was also charged with 19 counts of embezzlement, 18 counts of unauthorized use of a government purchasing card, and fraudulent schemes. Authorities say Anthony used the county's credit cards and checks to spend more than $2,400 for his own personal use and that he was intoxicated when he fired a handgun over his 13 year old son's head on November 1st. Anthony, who is entering his fourth year as sheriff, was earlier court-ordered to attend an alcohol rehabilitation program. He was placed on paid leave when arrested in November. Mason County commissioners say they will file a petition requesting Anthony's removal from office within the next few months. Anthony's trial is scheduled for April 10th.

Tomblin’s State Of The State Address

• {Charleston, West Virginia}...The 2012 legislative session is underway in Charleston. The 60-day session ends March 10th. During Governor Earl Ray Tomblin’s State of the State address Wednesday, Tomblin said he wants lawmakers to speed up the tracking of pain pill prescriptions while creating a state drug testing program for all coal mines and all enrollees in taxpayer-supported workforce training programs. Tomblin also called for a wide-ranging mine safety law which includes protecting whistleblowers, guarding against explosive rock dust and improving the monitoring of methane gas. Proposals also include a year-long study of the safety training received by miners, supervisors and inspectors. Tomblin's proposed budget does not include pay increases for teachers beyond the automatic raises tied to years of service. The state recently began a pilot project to experiment with teacher evaluations. Tomblin asked lawmakers to make that pilot program part of state law. New budget proposals would allow hiring two more mining inspectors and building a prison camp for low-risk offenders. Additional funding for Medicaid and for behavioral health reflect the bulk of the increases in the spending plan. Tomblin proposes spending nearly $4.5 billion from general tax and lottery revenues. Public education would consume nearly half that. Health-related programs account for another fifth. Higher education and public safety would each get roughly 10 percent. he proposal would increase such spending by $125 million or 3 percent over the current budget. Other proposals Governor Tomblin offered the Legislature say West Virginia would slash property taxes in exchange for a new “cracker” plant and reserve funds to improve roads, schools and high-speed Internet access. Tomblin urged lawmakers to help the state compete with neighboring Marcellus producers Ohio and Pennsylvania for the 12,000 manufacturing jobs estimated to accompany such a petrochemical processing plant.

Huntington Armed Robbery Goes To Grand Jury

• {Huntington, West Virginia}...Wednesday, William Fykes appeared at a preliminary hearing on three counts of armed robbery, kidnapping and two counts of malicious wounding. Huntington Police Detective Rob Stinnett testified that the Stonewall nightclub on 7th Avenue had closed early New Year's morning when Fykes entered with a pistol, forced employees to help in searching the club for money, tied them up with phone and computer cords and pistol whipped them. One employee that returned from picking up pizza heard the commotion inside and called police who arrested Fykes after he dropped the handgun and money bag with $21,000 outside the club. The case was sent to the February Cabell County Grand Jury.

Town Center Mall Robber Sentenced

• {Charleston, West Virginia}...James Perkins, a man who police say attacked a woman at the Charleston Town Center Mall has been sentenced to ten years in prison after being convicted of first degree robbery. Police say, in April, Perkins choked a woman, pushed her to the ground and stole her purse, getting away with less than ten dollars in cash.

Former Prison Education Head Indicted

{Morgantown, West Virginia}...A Mason County grand jury has indicted 43 year old Standley Greene of Charleston, former head of the Lakin Correctional Facility's education program, on charges of sexually assaulting a female inmate on August 22, 2008. Greene was arraigned Wednesday morning and freed after posting $5,000 bond. Huntington attorney Mike Woelfel, who represents the victim, says the state Department of Education knew about alleged misconduct by Greene three years before the attack on his client but did nothing.

Huntington Man...Three-Time Convicted Felon

{Huntington, West Virginia}...Michael Austin Sorrell, 31, of Huntington entered an Alford plea Tuesday to three counts of attempting to commit a felony. Cabell Circuit Judge Paul T. Farrell accepted the plea and sentenced Sorrell to three to nine years in prison. Each count represents a reduced offense from an indictment that initially charged Sorrell with first-degree sexual assault and sexual abuse by a parent, guardian or custodian involving two girls, who are still less than 12 years old, between 2006 and July 2010. To avoid a possible life prison sentence, Sorrell accepted the lesser conviction and agreed to forego any chance at parole. Sorrell is now a three-time convicted felon, assuring him a lifetime spot on the state's sex offender registry.

Woman Pleads Guilty To Welfare Fraud

{Elkins, West Virginia}...Lena Lunsford, the mother of missing three-year-old Aliayah Lunsford, faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine after pleading guilty Tuesday afternoon in Elkins Federal Court to welfare fraud, admitting she sold $114 worth of her food stamp benefits for 50 dollars in cash. Lunsford was accused of selling her benefits five times in two months.

Two Arrested In St. Albans Robbery

• {St. Albans, West Virginia}... Police arrested Zachary L. Fisher, 23, and Robert B. Rader III, 22, of Dunbar, Tuesday morning in connection with the January 2nd robbery at the One Stop convenience store after they turned themselves in to police in St. Albans. Police say Fisher admitted to driving the car and Rader admitted to the robbery.

Body Found In Burning Car

• {Charleston, West Virginia}...Charleston Police are investigating after a body was found in the backseat of a burning car near the tennis courts in Charleston's Coonskin Park around 4:00 P.M. Tuesday afternoon. Kanawha County Chief Deputy Mike Rutherford says joggers called the fire department after finding a burning Pontiac next to the tennis center.

Man Accused Of Sexual Abuse

{Charleston, West Virginia}...Jeremy Lane was in court Tuesday to face charges of first degree sexual abuse of his 5-year-old step daughter. Maureen Runyon, a victim's advocate from Charleston Area Medical Center testified that the little girl told her and showed her how Lane would allegedly perform sexual acts on her, and make her perform sexual acts on him. Runyon says the little girl said it happened 60 times, so she expects it happened numerous times. Runyon also testified that the little girl gave graphic details about the alleged abuse. Police say the abuse happened at the girl's mother's home in Sissonville, when the mom was away. Several people in the courtroom supporting Lane have started a petition proclaiming his innocence. The magistrate found probable cause to bound the case over to the grand jury and denied a request to reduce Lane's bond, leaving it at $100,000 cash.

Mingo County Woman Dies In Fire

{Kermit, West Virginia}...Fifty-nine year old Patricia Jennings died in a mobile home fire in the Grey Eagle area, just north of Kermit, in Mingo County Monday afternoon.

Alpha Settles UBB Wrongful Death Lawsuits

{Charleston, West Virginia}...Virginia-based Alpha Natural Resources has settled wrongful death lawsuits with families of all 29 victims of West Virginia's Upper Big Branch disaster. Attorney Mark Moreland, who represented the estates of miners Ronald Lee Maynor and William Griffith, said the final deals were cut Tuesday afternoon after a marathon mediation session. He said Alpha also settled lawsuits by at least seven miners who were injured in the April 2010 blast. Some lawsuits had already been settled, but mediation of the final 13 began last week and continued through Tuesday. The settlements are confidential.

Cabin Creek Man Pleads Guilty

{Charleston, West Virginia}...A February 9th sentencing has been set for 34 year old Roy Harvey of Cabin Creek who pleaded guilty Monday to malicious wounding. Police say Harvey bit off the nose of fellow inmate Telly Sylvester Larry during a fight while they both were serving time in South Central Regional Jail in the summer of 2010. Attorneys have been debating Harvey's mental state since the incident. He has been evaluated twice and determined to be competent to stand trial. Harvey's attorney, Shawn Bayliss, told the judge that he suffers from mental illness, has made several recent suicide attempts and requires numerous medications to keep him stable. Bayliss asked the judge to sentence Harvey to Sharp Hospital where he can get long term care.

Man Pleads Guilty To Copper Theft

• {Charleston, West Virginia}...Robert S. Foster, 41, of Charleston has pleaded guilty to two counts of petit larceny in connection to the thefts of copper rain gutters taken from homes on Edgewood Drive and Kanawha Avenue and the and St. Agnes Catholic Church last July. Foster admitted he helped his friend Ronald Taylor load gutters into a pickup truck and take them to a recycling center. A Kanawha Grand Jury indicted Ronald Taylor, 44, his brother Jeffrey Taylor, 42, of Charleston, and Foster. Prosecutors dismissed the charges against Jeffrey Taylor Monday. Ronald Taylor pleaded guilty last month.

Lincoln County Woman Arrested

• {Hamlin, West Virginia}...West Virginia State Police in Hamlin say 56 year old Sue Egnor fired three rounds from a .22 caliber rifle at two men while they were working on a mobile home on Barton Drive about 9:30 P.M. Sunday night. The incident allegedly began while Egnor was intoxicated and got into an argument with the men over the property. Egnor has been charged with two counts of wanton endangerment and one count of shooting within 500 feet of a dwelling.

Subcommittee Endorses Succession Changes

{Charleston, West Virginia}...A House-Senate judiciary subcommittee endorsed a draft Monday proposing an amendment to the state constitution to create the office of lieutenant governor to handle future vacancies in the state's top executive post. A second measure would address replacing disabled officeholders. The Legislature's session starts Wednesday. Two-thirds of the House and Senate must each approve the lieutenant governor proposal before it can go on the general election ballot. The lieutenant governor would serve as a Cabinet secretary or agency chief until needed. The disability proposal would have the state's three medical school deans evaluate cases where a statewide executive branch officeholder appears unable to serve.
　
　

Man Appealing To Supreme Court

{Charleston, West Virginia}...Larry Allen Hayes, 23, was in court Monday asking for his jury verdict to be overturned after being convicted of killing his girlfriend's daughter, 18 month old Rebecca McDaniel, last August. Defense attorney Richard Holicker asked Kanawha Circuit Judge Paul Zakaib to acquit Hayes based on errors he believed occurred at the trial. Holicker said jurors were wrongly exposed to media coverage of the case when prosecutors played a tape of a jailhouse telephone conversation between Hayes and his father. He also said a medical examiner called to testify by the state did not accurately state his credentials, and the judge would not bring the doctor back to court for clarification. Holicker also said the jury was unjustly prejudiced by autopsy photographs of the victim and by a toy car brought into the courtroom. Zakaib refused. Hayes intends to appeal his case to the West Virginia Supreme Court.

Man Shot In Huntington

{Huntington, West Virginia}...Police say 45 year old Larry John Keaton Jr. of Catlettsburg, Kentucky died following a shooting during a fight outside The Lounge on Third Avenue in Huntington around 3:18 A.M. Monday morning. Aaron Alexander Searls, 27, of Huntington, was arrested and charged with one count of first-degree murder. Searls had a number of bruises and cuts on his face and claims he had been maliciously assaulted.

Substance Abuse Council Reports To Tomblin

• {Charleston, West Virginia}...Governor Earl Ray Tomblin established the Governor's Advisory Council on Substance Abuse last September by executive order. It's mission is to develop strategies to fight a pervasive drug culture in Appalachia that includes methamphetamine and prescription pill abuse. Friday, the council  presented recommendations to Tomblin, including securing federal funding earmarked for substance abuse prevention, early intervention and treatment, encouraging recovering drug users to employment, including those facing job discrimination and options to prevent doctor shopping and accountability related to prescribing and dispensing prescription drugs. The report says state leaders can work toward ending the drug problem. The council receives recommendations from six regional task forces that spread across the state. Those task forces met three times each in a total of 18 West Virginia counties and will meet three more times through April.