State Police Cracking Down On False Sex Offender Info

An increased effort by the West Virginia State Police Department to verify information on the state’s Sex Offender Registry is paying off.

“We’ve had the opportunity to verify over a thousand sex offenders across the state just since January of this year,” said Sergeant Michael M. T. Baylous with the State Police. “As a result of that we have seen over 171 felony and misdemeanor arrests.”

Baylous adds that more arrests are pending as well. Baylous made the announcement Monday afternoon at a presser held at the South Charleston State Police Detachment.

This increased effort has been made possible by a $380,000 Cops Grant the department was awarded from the U.S. Department of Justice in cooperation with the U.S. Marshals Office.

Baylous said $135,000 of that grant has been used to pay for the troopers extra work.

“The  grant money allows are troopers to work overtime hours to conduct these verifications so that way we are not tying up the trooper who is out on the field on a daily basis,” said Baylous.

Even with all the success the department has been having in the past few months, the work is far from over.

Baylous said the registry has been growing.

“Over the past three years, the registry has increased by over 400 offenders each year and over 1,200 offenders are currently incarcerated and will need to be registered upon their release from jail or prison,” said Baylous.

For this reason the State Police is also stressing internet safety to kids through multiple showings of the movie “Finding Faith” throughout the state this week.

The film tells true stories and experiences from law enforcement officers with the Internet Crimes Against Children task force. The film stars child advocate and celebrity Erik Estrada.

Baylous said internet safety cannot solely be handled by law enforcement and by showing the movie, it gives parents and children an opportunity to talk about the topic. He said a big part of this fight has to come from the parents.

“What we need are for parents to step up and be parents. Be an authoritative figure to their children,” said Baylous. “They don’t need friends, they don’t need buddies because they have plenty of that, they need parents to step up and be parents.”

The State Police will be hosting five showings of the movie across the state. Those showings are as follows:

-March 1 at Chestnut Ridge Church in Morgantown at 7 p.m.

-March 2 at Mount Vernon Baptist Church in Hurricane at 5 p.m.

-March 3 at South Parkersburg Baptist Church in Parkersburg at 6 p.m.

-March 4 at Kirby Assembly of God in Rio. Time to be announced later.

-March 7 at Calvary Assembly of God in Beckley at 6:30 p.m.

Baylous said parents need to step up and take an active role in their childs lives to truly make a difference.

Arrest Made in Charleston Burglary

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A woman has been charged in a burglary in Charleston.

The crime was reported at 1414 Virginia Street east on Sunday.

Charleston Police say the victim came home and found a person inside the home and scared her off.

A K-9 unit came to the scene and tracked Gwen Davis, 36, of Charleston, to Quarrier Street and Beauregard Street where she was hiding, according to investigators.

Davis was arrested and charged in the case.

No other details are being released at this time.

Troopers Say Illicit Drug Activity Was Caught on Camera

KANAWHA COUNTY, W. Va. – Illicit drug activity state troopers say was caught on camera landed two men in jail.

It happened Friday night at the Mardi Gras Casino.

A trooper was watching surveillance video when he saw Joshua T. Wilkerson, 28, and Selwyn G. Brewer, 45, get into a car illegally parked in a handicapped spot.

The trooper says he saw Wilkerson give Brewer pills, then watched Brewer crush and snort the pills. The dome light of the vehicle was on during the event.

Officers approached the vehicle and informed them of what they saw, then arrested Wilkerson and Brewer.

Wilkerson is facing charges of possession with intent to deliver, public intoxication, conspiracy to commit a felony and illegally parking in a handicap parking spot. He is also facing a charge of littering, after the trooper witnessed him dispose of a hamburger wrapper in the parking lot.

There is no word yet on what charges Brewer faces.

Man Arrested with $800 worth of Marijuana

MASON COUNTY, W.Va.– After finding a bag of marijuana during a traffic stop Saturday night, Mason police say a man admitted he had plans of selling it.

Police pulled over and searched a car about 11 p.m. in the town of Mason. Keith R. Day, 28, of Middleport, Ohio, was arrested after officers say they found a bag that contained two ounces of marijuana hidden behind the glove compartment.

After questioning the two men inside the car, police say Day confessed the bag was his.

Day said the bag had an estimated street value of $800.

Day is charged with possession with intent to deliver. He's behind bars.

Pay Raise Clash May Set Tone for W.Va. House

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- At least some House Republicans hope their failure to block proposed magistrate court pay raises will pay off in the next election.

The party-line vote tested the GOP's new found strength in the House.

The bill passed 53-45 after more than 90 minutes of debate. Just one Republican delegate supported the measure.

Its passage followed an earlier GOP-led effort to derail it. Democrats accused Republicans during both debates of hypocrisy and grandstanding. But GOP delegates believe that voters will take note of these and other party-line clashes as the session continues.

One Republican freshman says that allied groups contacted more than 40,000 voters in advance of the bill's passage Wednesday.

The contacts are part of a plan focused on the 2014 elections, to build on November's 11-seat GOP House gain.

Mining Death Investigation Reopened

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A state investigation of a mechanic's death at a coal preparation plant in West Virginia is being reopened.

State mine safety director, Eugene White, says there are conflicting accounts of the 2012 accident in federal and state reports.

White says the Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training plans to contact federal investigators about the accident at Alpha Natural Resources' Liberty plant in Boone County.

Clyde Dolin of Danville was killed on May 17, 2012, when he fell from a ladder.

In a December report, federal investigators said that Dolin was using a ladder extension without a base.

The report says an Alpha foreman helped steady the ladder while Dolin climbed it.

White says state investigators had no record of the foreman holding the ladder.

House passes pro-gun bill

Some supporters of a pro-gun bill that passed the House of Delegates Friday say they don’t want another Katrina to happen in West Virginia.

The bill, which was approved on a unanimous vote 97-0, would prohibit the seizing of firearms during a declared state of emergency.

The National Rifle Association filed a lawsuit in 2007 against New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Police Superintendent Warren Riley. The group alleged more than 1,000 firearms were taken from residents in the days after Hurricane Katrina two years earlier.

“If we can look back at what happened in New Orleans,” Del. Randy Smith, R-Preston, said Friday. “I don’t think we want that to happen here in West Virginia.”

The NRA says the guns seized after Katrina weren’t part of any criminal investigation. City officials said the guns had been stolen or found in abandoned homes.

Del. Josh Nelson, R-Boone, says the West Virginia bill backs up the Second Amendment. He says many state residents serve in the National Guard and sometimes aren’t home during states of emergency. He says this bill gives them additional comfort.

“You know they are going to be protected while you may not be there,” Nelson said.

The bill was introduced by House Speaker Rick Thompson. Several delegates praised Thompson before the vote Friday.