{Charleston, West Virginia}...As potential jurors were arriving Monday morning in Kanawha County Circuit Court in Charleston for the murder trial involving the August 2003 sniper-style shooting deaths of 44 year old Gary Carrier Jr., 31 year old Jeanie Patton and 26 year old Okey Meadows Jr., 36 year old Shawn Lester agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Patton. Lester was originally charged with five felonies including three counts of first degree murder. As part of his plea deal, Lester did not admit to actually pulling the trigger. Prosecutors revealed Monday that another man, Rodney Shaffer Sr., was with Lester at the gas station when Patton was killed. Shaffer died in 2008. Assistant Kanawha County prosecutor Don Morris said during the plea hearing that Shaffer's son, Rodney Shaffer Jr., was prepared to testify that on August 14, 2003, he was lying in the backseat of a car at the Campbells Creek Speedway when he heard a shot and that he saw his father and Lester drive away from the scene in a green Ford Bronco, Lester in the driver's seat, and the .22 rifle between them. After an emergency hearing, Judge Duke Bloom announced a plea deal was reached, and the gag order was lifted following the court's acceptance of Lester's plea. Judge Bloom says he had issued the order to protect Lester's constitutional rights and ensure a fair trial. Lester was indicted in August 2011. According to a ballistics report, Jeannie Patton was shot with a .22 rifle that investigators were able to trace back to Lester. Prosecutors claim Patton's boyfriend, Marty Walker, stole an engine block filled with meth from Lester shortly before the shootings started. They say the drugs belonged to a man referred to as "Tito," who is actually Gilberto Lopez-Reyna, a known member of the Mexican mafia. Lester could receive 10 to 40 years in prison, but prosecutors will recommend 30 years when he is sentenced on August 31st. During the sentencing hearing, family members of all three murder victims will be allowed to make impact statements even though Lester only pleaded guilty to Patton's death.
Patton and Meadows were shot on August 14, 2003, within 90 minutes and 10 miles of each other. Patton was struck by a bullet to the back of her head as she was about to pay for gas she pumped at the Campbells Creek Speedway. Meadows had been buying milk at a pay window at the Go-Mart in Cedar Grove. Carrier was shot in the head four days earlier while talking on a pay phone outside a Charleston Go-Mart store.
{Charleston, West Virginia}...As potential jurors were arriving Monday morning in Kanawha County Circuit Court in Charleston for the murder trial involving the August 2003 sniper-style shooting deaths of 44 year old Gary Carrier Jr., 31 year old Jeanie Patton and 26 year old Okey Meadows Jr., 36 year old Shawn Lester agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Patton. Lester was originally charged with five felonies including three counts of first degree murder. As part of his plea deal, Lester did not admit to actually pulling the trigger. Prosecutors revealed Monday that another man, Rodney Shaffer Sr., was with Lester at the gas station when Patton was killed. Shaffer died in 2008. Assistant Kanawha County prosecutor Don Morris said during the plea hearing that Shaffer's son, Rodney Shaffer Jr., was prepared to testify that on August 14, 2003, he was lying in the backseat of a car at the Campbells Creek Speedway when he heard a shot and that he saw his father and Lester drive away from the scene in a green Ford Bronco, Lester in the driver's seat, and the .22 rifle between them. After an emergency hearing, Judge Duke Bloom announced a plea deal was reached, and the gag order was lifted following the court's acceptance of Lester's plea. Judge Bloom says he had issued the order to protect Lester's constitutional rights and ensure a fair trial. Lester was indicted in August 2011. According to a ballistics report, Jeannie Patton was shot with a .22 rifle that investigators were able to trace back to Lester. Prosecutors claim Patton's boyfriend, Marty Walker, stole an engine block filled with meth from Lester shortly before the shootings started. They say the drugs belonged to a man referred to as "Tito," who is actually Gilberto Lopez-Reyna, a known member of the Mexican mafia. Lester could receive 10 to 40 years in prison, but prosecutors will recommend 30 years when he is sentenced on August 31st. During the sentencing hearing, family members of all three murder victims will be allowed to make impact statements even though Lester only pleaded guilty to Patton's death.