{Charleston, West Virginia}...Shawn Lester, 36, of Charleston, is expected to go on trial Monday charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the 2003 sniper-style shooting deaths of Gary Carrier Jr., Jeanie Patton and Okey Meadows Jr. Kanawha County Circuit Judge Duke Bloom issued a gag order Thursday in the case after Lester granted a jailhouse interview to WSAZ Television and anchor Jessica Ralston. During the interview, Lester said, even if he is not convicted of the sniper killings, he believes he will spend the rest of his life in prison on unrelated federal charges. Lester told WSAZ he doesn’t know if he will testify during his trial. Carrier was shot and killed on August 10, 2003, at the Go-Mart along Bigley Avenue. Four days later, Patton and Meadows were killed within 90 minutes of each other at two separate gas stations in eastern Kanawha County. Lester claims he didn’t know Carrier and only knew of Meadows, but he was friends with Patton. However, during recent court testimony, a witness testified that Lester knew Patton, Meadows and Carrier. If fact, the witness testified they were all seen together less than a month before the shootings.
