The West Virginia Supreme Court has suspended the license of a Charleston attorney after the state's Office of Disciplinary Counsel said he committed "several violations of the West Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct."

David L. White has 10 open ethics complaints against him and is under investigation by the ODC, the office wrote in its petition. The complaints generally allege a lack of diligence and communication and failures to expedite litigation, to surrender client files and to refund unearned fees, the petition says.

White's clients say they have been unable to reach him by phone and that his office on Summers Street appears to be vacant, the petition says.

The suspension is temporary and a full disciplinary hearing is forthcoming, said Renee Frymyer, lawyer disciplinary counsel at the ODC. The Supreme Court authorized Chief Kanawha Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey to appoint a trustee to handle White's clients.

Art Ashley, a former Nitro mayor, Kanawha County sheriff and state lawmaker, died Monday in Pinehurst, North Carolina, where he lived. He was 83.

Ashley, originally of Nitro, was the town's mayor from 1980 until 1988. He was instrumental in bringing in what is now the Mardi Gras Casino and Resort and the senior housing units Village on Park, according to Rusty Casto, a former Nitro mayor and current Kanawha magistrate.

"It was a pleasure working with him," Casto said. "He had the interest of Nitro at heart."

Casto was a member of city council when Ashley was mayor, Casto said.

After his time as mayor, Ashley went on to serve as Kanawha County Sheriff and served one term in the state House of Delegates, Casto said.

Ashley served two terms as Kanawha County sheriff in the 1990s, Kanawha County Commission president Kent Carper said. Carper said Ashley saw the region's drug epidemic coming before others did and cooperated in some drug investigations with the sheriff's office while he was still Nitro's mayor.

"He really, really enjoyed being the sheriff, I think better than anything he ever did in his life," Carper said. "He was a hands-on sheriff."

Ashley had an interest in the Constitution and loved public service, Carper said.

"I always thought him to be professional, honest and decent," Carper said.

While Ashley was sheriff, an employee apparently embezzled around $250,000 from the sheriff's office, according to Gazette-Mail archives. State Police identified an employee as the sole suspect, but the employee died before being formally charged.

Ashley was also a past president of the Charleston Lions Club and an elder of First Presbyterian Church of Nitro, according to his obituary.

Casto said Ashley had suffered from dementia in recent years. He died an assisted living center in North Carolina, according to his obituary.

A mother and her son-in-law, both from Indiana, were sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Charleston for their involvement in a pain pill conspiracy.

Linda Vannatter, 74, of Hammond, was sentenced to three years and a month in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute oxycodone. Steven Jurick, 57, of Valparaiso, was sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute oxycodone.

Vannatter and Jurick previously admitted to conspiring with each other to provide prescription pills to a person who distributed pills in Logan County, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Carol Casto's office. That person would meet either Vannatter or Jurick or both of them in Indiana to obtain the pills.

Vannatter sold 231 30-milligram pills and 17 20-milligram pills to the person on March 16, 2016. During that transaction, the person acted as a confidential informant, the release states.

Jurick, on April 13, 2016, sold 150 30-milligram pills to the person while he or she worked undercover for law enforcement.

U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin handed down the sentences Wednesday.

A Logan County man and owner of an auto repair company pleaded guilty Wednesday in Charleston to a federal tax crime.

Timothy Moore, 54, pleaded guilty to making a false statement on a tax return. Moore, the owner of Auto Body Specialists LLC, an auto body and collision repair company in Logan, underreported the income of his business.

Moore has agreed to pay $127,926 to the IRS in restitution. He faces up to three years in federal prison when he's sentenced June 9 by U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin. He could also be fined up to $250,000.

From 2010 through at least 2013, Moore admitted he diverted about $414,200 worth of business checks to his personal bank accounts, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Carol Casto's office. He also hired an outside bookkeeper to prepare his personal and business taxes and to organize the books and records of the business. He authorized the bookkeeper to file the false returns.

Moore admitted to knowing his tax returns understated his company's income, as his returns didn't take into account the diverted funds, according to prosecutors.

Deportation proceedings will be held for a man from Guatemala who pleaded guilty to illegally reentering the United States.

A federal judge, during a sentencing hearing in Charleston on Wednesday, gave Obed Zabaleta, 23, credit for time he's already served incarcerated. Zabaleta has been in federal custody since Nov. 9, 2016. U.S. District Judge Thomas Johnston remanded Zabaleta on Wednesday to the Department of Homeland Security for the proceedings.

Zabaleta was removed from the U.S. to his home country of Guatemala on July 24, 2014, and again on Jan. 15, 2015. Zabaleta was found in Charleston after a traffic stop by the West Virginia State Police on Nov. 9, 2016, on Interstate 79.

One person has died after being trapped in a car that crashed and caught fire Wednesday night, a dispatcher said.

The single-vehicle crash occurred in the 800 block of Woodward Drive in Charleston around 7:45 p.m.

Those on the scene confirmed the person's death at 9:47 p.m., the dispatcher said. Further information on the person or cause of the crash was not known.

The fire has since been put out.

The 800 block of Woodward Drive will be closed "for an extended amount of time" following the crash, according to the Kanawha Metro 911 website.

WEIRTON, W.Va. (AP) — The city of Weirton will make it a crime to appear in public under the influence of drugs.

The Parkersburg News and Sentinel reports the ordinance passed in an emergency reading on Monday by a 7-0 vote of the Weirton City Council, establishing a charge of “appearing in a public place or automobile in a drug induced condition.”

City Attorney Vince Gurrera says the ordinance was developed because of an increase in incidents in which people have been found to be in a drug-induced condition while in public. He says the charge can be equated to a public intoxication charge, but for drugs instead of alcohol.

A conviction of the charge carries a fine of up to $500 and up to 30 days in jail.

Police cited a 61-year-old Dunbar man Wednesday after he reportedly brought a loaded handgun into Yeager Airport.

Mark Simpson packed the handgun - loaded with six bullets - and a box of 14 more bullets in his carry-on luggage, according to a news release by airport spokesman Mike Plante.

At about 3 p.m., police confiscated the gun and ammunition after personnel with the Transportation Security Administration found the items in his carry-on luggage.

Simpson's gun is the third to be confiscated at the airport this year, according to the release.

"We strongly urge all travelers to pay heed to the signage in the airport regarding firearms and double check their carry on baggage before attempting to pass through the security check point," said Chief Joe Crawford, of the airport police, in a written statement.

Simpson reportedly told police he forget the loaded gun was in the luggage, according to a news release from the TSA.

Passengers who bring a gun to airport security checkpoints could face criminal charges and a fine of up to $12,000, the release states.

"Weapons - including firearms, firearm parts and ammunition - are not permitted in carry-on bags, but can be transported in checked bags if they are unloaded, properly packed and declared to the airline," TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said in a prepared statement.

Reach Giuseppe at giuseppe.sabella@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5189 or @Gsabella on Twitter.

The person killed Wednesday evening in a Charleston car fire was a 13-year-old boy in the custody of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, according to a release from Charleston police.

It happened at about 7:45 p.m. Wednesday in the 800 block of Woodward Drive.

Jeremy Bush, 13, was a resident at the ResCare facility at 1033 Woodward Drive, Sgt. Mark Kinder said in the release. Bush left with the keys to a 2015 Dodge Caravan, leased by the DHHR, then drove south on Woodward.

Police said Bush was driving the van when it crashed into a stone retaining wall. He was the only person in the car.

First responders found Bush dead in the vehicle when they arrived. City police and firefighters put out the fire. Police said the van had heavy damage from the "high speed impact" and fire.

Charleston police are investigating.

The road was closed for several hours after the crash.

DHHR spokeswoman Allison Adler said the agency will be conducting an investigation and wouldn't comment further because of privacy issues.

The director of Legal Aid of West Virginia was thinking Thursday afternoon about what it means to her to be an American.

Earlier in the day, Adrienne Worthy had seen the Trump administration's budget blueprint, which would gut federal funding for offices like the ones she runs.

"I would absolutely argue we are one of the cornerstones of American democracy," Worthy said. "The Pledge of Allegiance, what are the last four words?

"And justice for all," she recited.

Trump's plan zeros out funding for the Legal Services Corporation and, in turn, about $2.2 million of Legal Aid of West Virginia's annual budget of about $10 million.

Nationwide, Legal Services Corporation is a nonprofit group that funds dozens of legal aid offices across the country funding. It was given $385 million last year and had requested $502 million for fiscal year 2017.

Money from the state funds the other half of the organization that helps low-income people navigate an increasingly complicating court system, said Worthy. More than half of West Virginians are considered low-income. Seniors, veterans and children make up a significant amount of the organization's clients, but Worthy said victims of domestic violence is what is assisted most.

"We're talking about eliminating our core funding for the heart of the work we do," said Worthy. "We're the only game in town when it comes to statewide services civil legal services for low income and vulnerable folks. ... Every state is required to have a legal aid provider to ensure access to justice and we are that entity to West Virginia. There's nobody else who does what we do."

In 2016, Legal Aid of West Virginia screened applications from more than 14,000 people, said Worthy. In all, the organization ended up handling about 12,000 cases last year. They handled about the same amount in 2015,

Legal Aid of West Virginia has about 56 lawyers. Starting salaries are just over $40,000.

"These folks are truly dedicated to fairness and justice," she said.

A recent survey shows the organization is able to help only one out of every two people who apply for the service -- and are determined to need and qualify for it. Because of the demand, the organization has devoted more time and resources to creating packets of information to give out and beefed up its website, its director said.

"All of that is in jeopardy if the funding it eliminated," Worthy said.

"If Legal Aid disappears on a national level, we would still have a presence in West Virginia, but it would be much diminished. At a very basic level, thousands of people would not have access to justice," she said. "We are the keys to the courtroom for many low-income West Virginians. There are a lot of low-income West Virginians."

Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.

A domestic violence protection order issued against a Charleston police officer last month was thrown out by a circuit judge Thursday.

The order barring Cpl. Justin Doughty, 31, from contacting his ex-wife for 90 days was thrown out after a hearing by Kanawha Judge Carrie Webster.

"That's the sister of [Charleston police] Chief Brent Webster," the officer's brother Brian Doughty said, noting he wanted to remind a Gazette-Mail reporter of that Thursday afternoon. "I want my brother's name to be cleared. He's not that kind of person."

Officer Doughty told a reporter earlier this month that the claims brought by his ex-wife were "totally false." He appealed the protection order issued against him in Kanawha Family Court within 10 days and it was assigned to Carrie Webster. Doughty would have had to say it was OK for the judge to hear the case since her brother is the chief of police.

Carrie Webster ruled Thursday that Doughty's ex-wife, Leah Stephenson, 33, is "not a victim of domestic violence," under state law. The circuit judge's order also states that the findings made by Kanawha Family Judge Ken Ballard were "clearly erroneous."

Brent Webster said earlier this month that Doughty already had been on paid administrative leave since September 2016. The leave last year stems from an unrelated incident, which Webster said he was not at liberty to discuss.

Doughty was required to turn over his gun to the police department last year when he was placed on leave, said Webster. By law, people with crimes involving allegations of domestic violence and those with domestic violence orders against them are prohibited from having guns.

Brent Webster said Doughty, who has been with Charleston police at least 10 years, was moved last summer from the Criminal Investigation Division to the patrol division.

"His leave status doesn't change because of this," Brent Webster said. "He's still on paid administrative leave awaiting the conclusion of the other investigation."

Stephenson filed for the petition after an incident she alleged took place Feb. 21, in which Doughty got mad because their child's homework had not been done, Ballard's order stated.

The family judge wrote that Doughty placed his ex-wife "in apprehension of physical harm and fear of harm" during the incident. Doughty allegedly directed explicit insults at Stephenson in front of their minor child and said he "didn't care if she was dead or alive," Ballard wrote. Stephenson told authorities she felt "afraid and intimidated."

Doughty was served with a temporary domestic violence order the day after the incident. Only final orders in cases of domestic violence are public. Everything else is sealed.

Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.

The Braxton County prosecuting attorney resigned this week and agreed to give up her license to practice law for three years over her handling of sexual abuse allegations made against her father-in-law.

Kelly Hamon McLaughlin, who has served as Braxton prosecuting attorney since January 2009, appeared Thursday in Charleston before a three-member disciplinary panel.

The panel will make recommendations to the West Virginia Supreme Court, who ultimately will make the decision about the fate of McLaughlin's law license. The prosecutor agreed to ask the state Supreme Court that her discipline consist of her resignation as prosecutor, never running for that office again and giving up her law license for three years. The state Lawyer Office of Disciplinary Counsel agreed to do the same.

According to a statement of charges filed against McLaughlin, an 11-year-old girl told her father on about July 26, 2013, that she had been abused by an elderly neighbor. The girl's father, in turn, reported the alleged incident to a different neighbor, a retired West Virginia State Police trooper.

The Braxton Sheriff's Office was notified by the retired trooper about the allegations on Aug. 5, 2013, the filing against McLaughlin states. A police report, according to the ethics charges, stated that the girl reported the elderly neighbor tried to place his hands down her bathing suit bottom while she was swimming in his pool.

Members of the Tri-County Children's Advocacy Center, including forensic interviewer Sarah Gregory, met the next day and talked with the alleged victim. Gregory, Child Protective Services worker Kami Griffen and then-Braxton deputy D.A. Propst also were at the meeting.

During the interview, the girl said that the alleged perpetrator's name was "Valgene." About two weeks later another investigative team held a meeting over the allegations. Then-Braxton assistant prosecutor Keith Cooper and Chelsie Beaver, a family advocate for the Child Advocacy Center and two State Police troopers were in attendance, according to the ODC filing.

Gregory's notes from the meeting indicate the case "needs new prosecutor," the ODC wrote.

Gregory "recalled that Assistant Prosecutor Cooper advised that [McLaughlin's] office could not handle the same, but did not provide a reason as to why and did not divulge any relationship between the elected prosecuting attorney and the alleged perpetrator," wrote head ODC lawyer Rachael Fletcher Cipoletti in the charging documents against McLaughlin.

Another meeting on the case was held at the end of September 2013. McLaughlin attended this meeting in which it was again noted that a special prosecutor needed to be assigned the case. However, McLaughlin never disclosed "the reason her office was unable to handle the case," the ODC wrote.

At meetings in November and December of 2013, McLaughlin, despite hearing attendees discuss that they were waiting on the appointment of a special prosecutor, never said anything about why that was, the ethics charging document against her states.

In February 2014, the same year that she said it could be dropped, the State Police determined after an investigation that Propst had broken into the Braxton sheriff's office. McLaughlin allowed him to resign instead of facing prosecution, the filing states.

It was during another meeting about the allegations in April 2014 that McLaughlin advised that "the case should be closed and removed from the meeting agenda," the filing states.

A year later, in April 2015, the girl and her father moved away from the alleged perpetrator to Hacker Valley in Webster County.

On Oct. 12, 2015, Sgt. A.J. Shingler, of the State Police's Crimes Against Children Unit, notified McLaughlin that he had been presented with allegations that a girl had been sexually assaulted by McLaughlin's father-in-law, Valgene McLaughlin.

The prosecutor replied, the charges against her state, that "she thought the Sheriff's department had taken care of that" and that the case had been referred to Webster County.

Shingler called the Webster prosecutor's office that day and was advised lawyers in that office knew nothing about the case.

The girl's father in 2015 contacted the Braxton prosecutor's office and was told by a secretary to call the sheriff's department. He did multiple times but never received a call back, the ODC complaint against McLaughlin states.

In early February 2016, the girl's father called McLaughlin's office and left a message with a secretary. Assistant prosecutor Jasmine Morton took the call and this was the first time she learned Valgene McLaughlin was the alleged perpetrator.

Morton the next day told McLaughlin about the call. McLaughlin replied the case had been investigated and handed to Webster County.

The girl's father in February 2016 called Gregory and inquired about the case, the complaint states. She said she remembered there had been a conflict but wasn't sure what. The father of the girl told her the conflict was because the allegations had been made against McLaughlin's father-in-law.

When asked about the case by Gregory, McLaughlin also told her that the case had been passed to Webster prosecutors. When Gregory and others called that county for an update, though, they learned the prosecutors there had no knowledge of the case.

Webster prosecutor Wayne Vandevender contacted Braxton Circuit Judge Richard Facemire to see if there were any documents requesting a special prosecutor for the case. Facemire reported there weren't any.

The judge forwarded the information to the lawyer disciplinary counsel.

A special prosecutor was appointed March 14, 2016, by Facemire.

In response to the disciplinary allegations, McLaughlin admitted she said the matter against her father-in-law could be closed, but only because Propst reported that it had been investigated and could be.

She also admitted that she never revealed why her office couldn't handle the case.

Valgene McLaughlin has not been charged in the matter.

Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.

Police at Yeager Airport cited a 36-year-old Huntington man Thursday after he tried to bring a loaded handgun through security, just a day after another man did the same thing.

At about 7:30 p.m., Brendan Skeen walked through security with a Glock 9mm handgun - loaded with eight rounds of ammunition - in his luggage, according to a news release.

Those cited with a firearm violation face a misdemeanor and fines between $1,500 to $7,500, depending on whether the gun is loaded, the release states.

"Passengers are strongly advised to carefully check all carry-on baggage for firearms and other prohibited items prior to attempting to clear the security check point," said airport police Chief Joe Crawford in a prepared statement.

On Wednesday, 61-year-old Mark Simpson, of Dunbar, told police he forget a box of 14 cartridges and a handgun - loaded with six rounds of ammunition - were in his luggage.

Authorities have confiscated four guns at Yeager Airport this year.

Three teens are facing charges following an alleged attack in a bathroom at Spring Valley High School in Wayne County.

One juvenile was charged with assault, battery and conspiracy, according to the release. Two others were charged with conspiracy. None of the names of those involved have been released.

Hundreds of outraged Facebook users commented on a video of the reported attack, which was uploaded Thursday morning.

It gained momentum as more than 1,000 people shared it in the following hours. One video had 101,000 views as of Friday afternoon.

The Wayne Sheriff's Office was sent a video of the incident at about 8:45 p.m. Thursday, according to a news release issued by the sheriff's office.

"The video sent showed a student abusing another student who did not defend himself," the release states.

In the video posted to Facebook, a boy accused a peer of stealing his cellphone.

He then punched the boy in the head, causing the boy's head to strike a wall and his to glasses fly off.

The boy can be seen covering his face and stepping away from the other boy, who punched him several times throughout the 45-second video.

"I swear to you I don't have it," the boy said, crouching in the corner of a stall where the other boy cornered him.

He said if he found out the boy had his phone, he was "coming back and it's gonna be [obscenity] worse."

He then slapped the boy across his face moments before the video ended.

A deputy contacted Wayne schools officials and the county prosecutor's office, then contacted the guardian of the victim. The victim's guardian said the victim had received medical attention.

School officials told deputies the alleged attacker had been suspended pending an investigation.

Sheriff Rick Thompson and the investigating deputy met with school officials Friday morning and then interviewed the victim at his home. Investigators spoke to several witnesses as well. The matter remains under investigation.

Wayne schools Superintendent Steven Paine said he would keep details about the case confidential until the investigation is complete.

"We intend to prosecute to the fullest," he said.

When contacted by the Gazette-Mail, a receptionist at the high school said she would transfer the call to secretary Jackie McMullen.

A woman answered the phone and said the incident was handled before the video was uploaded.

"We've taken care of the situation," she said. "Everything is good here at Spring Valley."

She declined to comment further and then hung up when asked for her name.

Reach Giuseppe Sabella at giuseppe.sabella@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5189 or @Gsabella on Twitter.

Deputies responded to Dalewood Park in Cross Lanes early Friday morning after residents called about a shooting in their mobile home.

One man, armed with a gun, argued with another man, who eventually took the gun and shot him, said Sgt. Brian Humphreys, a spokesman for the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office.

Humphreys said the shooter cooperated with deputies, and the man who was shot was conscious at the scene.

Authorities took him to the hospital and his current status is unknown.

The investigation is ongoing and the men's names have not been released, Humphreys said.

The man who operates a website about Putnam County was arrested Friday and charged with violating a personal safety order filed by a Hurricane pediatrician.

Mark V. Halburn, 55, of Dunbar, formerly of Hurricane, allegedly violated an order meant to keep him away from Dr. Joseph Matusic Jr., a pediatrician in Putnam, through 2018. Halburn runs the website, putnamcountynews.com. It used to be known as Putnam Live.

Matusic obtained a personal safety order against Halburn in February 2016, according to a complaint filed in Putnam County Magistrate Court charging Halburn with a misdemeanor.

Cabell County Circuit Judge Chris Chiles was appointed by special assignment to preside over Halburn's appeal of the order. But Chiles ruled that it should remain in effect through February 2018, states the complaint written by Putnam Sheriff's Cpl. Shawn Johnson.

Johnson wrote he received a complaint from Matusic that Halburn had been on his property taking photographs of a barn that had burnt down. The doctor told the deputy that he took a photograph of Halburn on his property and obtained the registration of the vehicle he was in. The complaint states the registration showed Halburn was the owner of the vehicle.

"Matusic advised Mark Vance Halburn that he was trespassing and in violation of the personal safety protective order," Johnson wrote in the complaint. "Mark Vance Halburn then left the property. Mark Vance Halburn posted a story regarding the fire as well as a short summary of the personal safety protective order."

Halburn began writing about Matusic several years ago, beginning with a story in 2012 after the doctor's home in the affluent Stonegate subdivision of Hurricane burned down. Halburn also wrote about Matusic and his wife's problems with their former Winfield day care and covered whether the family of the pediatrician were driving vehicles with expired tags.

Halburn is being held in the South Central Regional jail on $1,000 bond. Putnam deputies served a warrant for his arrest on Friday in Dunbar. Kanawha Magistrate Rusty Casto set Halburn's bond before transferring the case to Putnam County.

On his website, Halburn wrote that Matusic "has taken out restraining orders against this publisher after our reports about those issues."

Warrants have been issued for two men involved in a reported shooting in Cross Lanes early Friday morning, according to a release from the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office.

Elijah Hammons, 20, of Cross Lanes, has been charged with robbery, kidnapping and grand larceny. Joshua Hatfield, 32, of Charleston, has been charged with kidnapping and robbery.

Michael Jeffries, a resident of the Dalewood Trailer Park mobile home the shooting occurred in, told police he was driving with Hammons and a female before stopping outside a Putnam County residence, the release said.

According to Jeffries' account, Hatfield ran to the vehicle and got inside. He and Hammons struck Jeffries, and then drove the vehicle to Jeffries' Cross Lanes home.

Once at the home, Hatfield ordered Jeffries inside and demanded money at gunpoint. Jeffries took the gun away from Hatfield and shot him three or four times. Hatfield ran outside and fled in Jeffries' car. The car was found near Thomas Memorial Hospital.

Hammons failed to meet detectives Saturday morning after indicating he would turn himself in, the release said. Hatfield will be arrested after he is released from the hospital, where he is being treated for gunshot wounds.

Anyone with information on Hammons' whereabouts is asked to contact the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office at 304-357-0169, tips@kanawhasheriff.us, or submit an anonymous tip online at www.kanawhasheriff.us.

The following crimes were reported to the Charleston Police Department between March 9 and 16, 2017:

East District:

Quarrier Street East 600 block, grand larceny, March 9, 6 p.m.

Charleston Town Center, petit larceny, March 9, 7 p.m.

Kanawha Boulevard East 1500 block, petit larceny, March 10, 4:30 a.m.

Lee Street East 200 block, shoplifting, March 10, 4 p.m.

Virginia Street East 1000 block, petit larceny, March 10, 5:10 p.m.

Renaissance Circle 1300 block, strangulation, March 10, 11 p.m.

Lee Street East 200 block, shoplifting, March 11, 8 p.m.

Lee Street East 200 block, shoplifting, March 12, 12:30 p.m.

Quarrier Street 1400 block, grand larceny auto, March 13, 8:57 a.m.

Miller Street 900 block, battery of an officer, March 14, 12:25 a.m.

Lee Street East 700 block, shoplifting, March 14, 1:30 p.m.

Washington Street East/Wertz Avenue, grand larceny auto, March 14, 7 p.m.

Lee Street East 200 block, shoplifting, March 15, 12:50 p.m.

South District:

58th Street 400 block, breaking and entering auto, March 9, 4 a.m.

Hickory Hill Place 100 block, petit larceny auto, March 9, 11:40 a.m.

MacCorkle Avenue Southeast 3200 block, petit larceny, March 9, 2 p.m.

Gordon Drive 700 block, burglary, March 9, 5 p.m.

Kanawha Mall, shoplifting, March 9, 6:15 p.m.

MacCorkle Avenue 5400 block, breaking and entering, March 10, 1:20 a.m.

MacCorkle Avenue 3200 block, breaking and entering auto, March 10, 1:45 p.m.

MacCorkle Avenue 5700 block, petit larceny, March 10, 10: 30 p.m.

MacCorkle Avenue 6300 block, grand larceny, March 11, 11 a.m.

MacCorkle Avenue 6300 block, petit larceny, March 12, 3 p.m.

Mountain Road 1000 block, breaking and entering auto, March 12, 6 p.m.

MacCorkle Avenue Southeast 6300 block, grand larceny auto, March 12, 8 p.m.

MacCorkle Avenue Southeast 6400 block, grand larceny auto, March 12, 10 p.m.

Oakwood Road 200 block, petit larceny auto, March 12, 11 p.m.

MacCorkle Avenue Southeast 6300 block, petit larceny, March 13, 11:50 a.m.

Cross Terrace Boulevard 200 block, shoplifting, March 13, 12:10 p.m.

Cross Terrace Boulevard 200 block, shoplifting, March 13, 4:30 p.m.

Staunton Avenue 3500 block, breaking and entering auto, March 13, 5 p.m.

Ravinia Road 1400 block, breaking and entering auto, March 13, 5:30 p.m.

Knob Road 1500 block, breaking and entering auto, March 13, 9:30 p.m.

MacCorkle Avenue Southeast 3800 block, shoplifting, March 14, 2:30 p.m.

MacCorkle Avenue southeast 5700 block, shoplifting, March 14, 2:51 p.m.

Cross Terrace Boulevard 200 block, shoplifting, March 14, 3:48 p.m.

Kanawha Mall, shoplifting, March 14, 4 p.m.

RHL Boulevard 200 block, shoplifting, March 14, 5 p.m.

Cross Terrace Boulevard 200 block, shoplifting, March 14, 7:30 p.m.

West District:

Patrick Street 100 block, petit larceny auto, March 9, 7 p.m.

Washington Street West 400 block, shoplifting, March 10, 9 a.m.

Red Oak Street 1600 block, breaking and entering auto, March 10, 9:30 a.m.

Red Oak Street 1600 block, grand larceny, March 10, 9:30 a.m.

Patrick Street 100 block, breaking and entering auto, March 10, 3:46 p.m.

Bigley Avenue 700 block, shoplifting, March 10, 4:30 p.m.

Cora Street 200 block, strangulation, March 10, 6 p.m.

Bigley Avenue 1300 block, shoplifting, March 11, 3:15 a.m.

Zabel Drive 2300 block, burglary, March 11, 5:28 a.m.

Hills Plaza, breaking and entering, March 11, 9 a.m.

York Avenue 700 block, wanton endangerment, March 11, 9:20 p.m.

4th Avenue 1700 block, shoplifting, March 12, 8:30 p.m.

Chandler Drive 1500 block, petit larceny, March 14, 4 a.m.

Claire Street 1500 block, petit larceny, March 14, 8:30 a.m.

Woodward Drive 900 block, child neglect, March 14, 10 a.m.

Washington Street West 4900 block, petit larceny, March 14, 11:45 a.m.

Washington Street West 1700 block, shoplifting, March 14, 3:30 p.m.

4th Avenue 1700 block, shoplifting, March 14, 3:45 p.m.

Hills Plaza, shoplifting, March 14, 4 p.m.

Washington Street West 1700 block, shoplifting, March 14, 5:55 p.m.

Carson Street 1900 block, burglary, March 15, 9:30 a.m.

Elm Street 400 block, grand larceny auto, March 15, 11:46 p.m.

Two women allege in a federal lawsuit that a former Huntington police officer illegally pulled them over two years ago after they left a nightclub and sexually assaulted them.

The lawsuit also names the City of Huntington as a defendant and alleges it was "put on notice" about problems with officer Joshua Nield the year before the alleged assaults took place.

A wrongful death lawsuit filed against Nield and the city in federal court in 2015 claims Nield killed a 66-year-old woman who was allegedly being combative by using excessive force and holding her facedown on a hospital floor.

Annie Earle died at St. Mary's Medical Center in January 2014. Nield was terminated the following year.

A Cabell County grand jury refused to indict Nield in 2014 over Earle's death, according to the Huntington Herald-Dispatch newspaper.

The newspaper also reported that last year during Nield's deposition in the lawsuit related to the death of Earle, he invoked his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination when asked about what police policy violations led to his termination. He had worked as an officer in Huntington since 2008. Attorneys from the Weston Law Office in Huntington filed the lawsuit on behalf of Earle's estate.

In dealing with the lawsuit related to Earle's death, the city disclosed in court documents that Nield was being investigated for allegations of sexual assault. However, lawyers for the city refused to turn over specific information related to the investigation, citing "real and valid defenses," Nield might have to fight the claims, such as the alleged assaults could have actually been consensual.

The women who filed the lawsuit last week are both identified in the lawsuit only by their initials. They are both from Wayne County but had gone to the Stonewall nightclub in Huntington on March 14, 2015.

Nield, who was eventually fired from the Huntington force, allegedly yelled to the women as they walked into Stonewall and pulled them over when they left the club.

Nield allegedly threatened the women with arrest if they refused to do as he said.

The former officer allegedly had the women get into the front seat of his police cruiser and assaulted them before driving around the city at a high rate of speed.

The women claim Nield stopped twice and assaulted them at both locations before returning them to their vehicle.

The lawsuit claims the women were subject to assault, false arrest and imprisonment, and that several of their constitutional rights have been violated. The city should be held responsible for negligent supervision, wrote Huntington lawyer Timothy Eves, who represents the women.

"Defendant City of Huntington negligently disregarded the obvious risks, and allowed Defendant Nield to operate an HPD patrol car and roam the streets in a college town near dorms and bars where this sexual predator could encounter intoxicated co-eds predominately during the overnight hours when witnesses were sparse, under the actual and apparent authority of the Huntington Police Department where he had free reign to unlawfully stalk, stop, arrest, search, and physically and sexually assault young females, including Plaintiffs," Eves wrote in the complaint.

Chief U.S. District Judge Robert Chambers has been assigned the lawsuit against Nield over the assault allegations. He also presides over the case filed over Earle's death. It is set for trial later this year.

Reach Kate White at

kate.white@wvgazettemail.com,

304-348-1723 or follow

@KateLWhite on Twitter.

PALMETTO, Fla. (AP) - Florida police say a 47-year-old who was reported missing by friends was killed by her daughter's boyfriend.

The Bradenton Herald reports 26-year-old Roy Nichols Jr. was arrested early Saturday in a West Virginia truck stop along with Tricia Freeman's daughter.

Palmetto Police Chief Scott Tyler said Sunday that Nichols Jr. faces a second-degree murder charge, and Freeman's daughter, Kayla Colyer, will be charged as an accessory to murder after the fact.

Tyler said during an interview, Nichols Jr. recounted how he'd gone to Freeman's Palmetto home Tuesday, and Freeman said something that "set him off."

Nichols Jr. and Colyer were apprehended Saturday in Cabell County when a clerk working at the store recognized them from a news broadcast and alerted authorities.