Magistrate forwards charges in Kanawha County murder case

A Kanawha County grand jury will take up murder charges against two men following action in county magistrate court Monday.

Miguel Quinones, 36, of Charleston, and Deveron Patterson, 26, of Beckley, allegedly killed Charleston resident Kareem Hunter at an apartment in Marmet last year. Both were in court for preliminary hearings.

Patterson waived his hearing sending the charges to the grand jury while Quinones appeared for his hearing and a magistrate forwarded the charges following testimony.

A county sheriff’s department detective testified Quinones thought Hunter, 28, was having some kind of relationship with his girlfriend. Patterson told police Quinones asked Patterson to beat up Hunter. The detective said Hunter was beaten with a rubber mallet and tied up with duct tape. His body was found in a shallow grave in Raleigh County.

Police say the murder took place in the apartment of Kelsey Legg. She pleaded guilty last week to being an accessory after the fact and agreed to help police. Quinones and Patterson were arrested just a few hours after her plea.