A Detroit man living on the campus of West Virginia State University in Institute pleaded guilty Thursday to selling drugs near his dorm in 2013.

Kendrick Leon Ward, 24, pleaded guilty in federal court in Charleston to distribution of heroin within 1,000 feet of a college or university, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin's office.

On Nov. 8 and 11, 2013, detectives with the Metro Drug Unit used an informant to buy approximately 5 grams of heroin from Ward in exchange for $1,125, the release stated. Both drug deals occurred near Ward's residence at Dawson Hall on campus.

On Nov. 12, 2013, police executed a search warrant on Ward's dorm room and seized 20 grams of heroin, 100 30-milligram oxycodone pills, 100 30-milligram tramadol pills, and $21,265, which included the money used in the undercover drug buy the day before, according to the release.

Ward faces up to 40 years in federal prison and a $2 million fine when he is sentenced Dec. 29.

The Metro Drug Unit investigated the matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Hanks is in charge of the prosecution.

WELCH, W.Va. (AP) - McDowell County sheriff's deputies are investigating contraband smuggling at Stevens Correctional Facility.

The sheriff's office tells media outlets that investigators found $12,000 worth of tobacco products, saw blades and other items on Sunday. The items were found behind a maintenance shed at the prison in Welch and near the West Virginia Division of Highways' offices in Havaco.

The sheriff's office says arrest warrants are expected to be issued soon.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - The West Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that a lawsuit filed over a man's death at an endurance event must be tried in the county where he died.

The court on Thursday ordered the Marshall County Circuit Court to transfer the lawsuit to the Berkeley County Circuit Court.

Twenty-eight-year-old Avishek Sengupta of Ellicott City, Maryland, drowned in 2013 while participating in the Tough Mudder competition at the Peacemaker Training Center in Berkeley County.

His mother, Mita Sengupta, filed the wrongful death suit against Tough Mudder organizers in Marshall County, more than 200 miles from where the event was held. The Supreme Court ruled 4-1 that Berkeley County is the proper venue under state law and under a liability agreement signed by Tough Mudder participants. Justice Robin Davis dissented.

The former mayor of Pratt, Gary Fields, admitted Thursday in federal court that he sold powerful prescription painkillers to a confidential informant.

Fields, 68, pleaded guilty in Charleston to distribution of oxycodone. He admitted to selling six 15-milligram oxycodone pills to an informant on April 23.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, but if U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Johnston accepts a deal Fields made with prosecutors, he will be sentenced to three years' probation, according to a plea agreement filed in the case. That sentencing is set for Jan. 21.

According to a stipulation of facts to which Fields agreed, members of the Kanawha Sheriff's Office used a confidential informant on April 23 to travel to Fields' home in Pratt and purchase six pills. The agreement is also signed by Fields' attorney, Christian Capece, and Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Haley Bunn.

Fields was indicted on June 3, about a week before he lost his reelection bid. He had said that he would step down as mayor win or lose, but received only three votes compared to then-councilman Eric Holcomb's 78.

In August 2013, Fields was arrested and charged with simple possession after prescription pills were allegedly found in the city-owned vehicle he was driving during a traffic stop. In November 2014, he was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of a controlled substance after police pulled him over in Chesapeake.

Until earlier this year, Fields had resisted calls for his resignation. In 2014, a three-judge panel appointed by the state Supreme Court declined to remove him from office after townspeople filed a petition asking that he be thrown out.

The federal case against Fields is part of an ongoing effort by U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin's office to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin, a release from Goodwin's office states.

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

Charleston police have charged three men with felony murder and a woman as an accessory after a man died in a fall from a ninth-floor window at Charleston's Vista View Apartments during an alleged robbery on Tuesday.

Felony murder is a charge used when someone is killed in the commission of a crime, in this case robbery.

Police said they found Bryson "B" Ward, of Detroit, dead outside 1311 Renaissance Circle, the result of a fall from the window of apartment 912 shortly before midnight Wednesday, as well as evidence of a struggle inside the apartment.

Tyler Ferrebee, 23, of Dunbar; Brian "BK" Parks, 26, of South Charleston; and Martez "Quick" Griffin are each charged with one count of felony murder and one count of first degree robbery. Lisa Ferrebee is charged with accessory to felony murder and accessory to first-degree robbery.

Charleston Police Lt. Steve Cooper, chief of detectives, said Ward died during a "violent robbery."

"The three men who are in custody, during that robbery, they all played particular roles in the crime which led to the death of Bryce," he said. "The three conspired to go to the apartment to rob him of heroin and a large amount of cash. They completed that robbery, and they did get the cash."

Several thousand dollars was divided between several people, according to Cooper.

Lisa Ferrebee, the girlfriend of one of the men charged, lives in apartment 912, according to a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court.

Surveillance video shows the three male suspects in the hallway outside the apartment at about the time police received a disturbance call, according to the complaint.

A witness told police that Lisa Ferrebee dates Griffin, and that Griffin stays off and on in the apartment with her, the complaint stated. The witness said she had been with them earlier in the day Tuesday, and that Griffin had been angry with the victim, saying "that mother------ ain't s---."

Cooper said Griffin and Ward knew each other from their hometown of Detroit and had traveled back and forth between there and Charleston often.

"Both of them were longtime associates and, due to circumstances that took place recently, there was a break in the friendship," he said.

On Wednesday, Tyler Ferrebee, Lisa Ferrebee's son, went to the Charleston Police Department to be interviewed. He said he had been present when Griffin and Parks formed a plan to "steal B's s--- and cut off his" genitals, according to the complaint. He said he agreed to drive them to 1311 Renaissance so they could complete the robbery.

Tyler Ferrebee said Parks and Griffin went into the building while he waited in the car, the complaint states. After thinking they were taking too long, he went to apartment 912 and stood outside. He said Parks and Griffin told him they were stuck inside because the door had no knob. After trying and not being able to open the door, he went back to the car. When he got back to the car, Parks and Griffin appeared and he drove them away, the complaint states.

Tyler Ferrebee allegedly took Parks and Griffin to the Dunbar Plaza Hotel. During the ride back, Griffin said, "We beat the hell out of B," according to the complaint. Tyler Ferrebee also said Parks and Griffin came back to the car with a black Jordan bag from the apartment, investigators wrote.

Tyler Ferrebee said he later learned from Parks' girlfriend that Ward had been killed from a fall from a window, the complaint states. Ferrebee admitted to receiving $2,000 cash from the robbery.

Detectives found texts on Tyler Ferrebee's cellphone from him to Griffin at about 11:40 p.m. saying, "If you don't do it now [sic] im gonna come up and f--- you up and b up i got the car running ready to roll with this s--- [sic]," the complaint stated.

Parks and Tyler Ferrebee were arrested and arraigned in Kanawha Magistrate Court on Thursday. They are being held without bail.

Lisa Ferrebee and Griffin were taken into custody by Arkansas State Police in Little Rock after reportedly fleeing there.

During their walk from the Charleston police station to a cruiser waiting to take them to their arraignments on Thursday, Parks and Tyler Ferrebee denied killing anyone, but they did say they were at the apartment complex.

"I didn't do nothing," Parks said. He said "no comment" several times when asked if there was a robbery or drugs and if he felt any remorse over Ward's death.

Tyler Ferrebee said he didn't know what happened because he "wasn't up there."

"I was in the parking lot," he said.

He said he did not know Ward, but started crying at one point "because he died," referring to Ward. When asked why he was crying, Ferrebee said, "because I'm not that kind of person."

Detective Canden Sharp said after the arraignment that Tyler Ferrebee and Parks had turned themselves in.

"They didn't know what the charges were," Sharp said.

Reach Erin Beck at erin.beck@wvgazette.com, 304-348-5163, Facebook.com/erinbeckwv or follow @erinbeckwv on Twitter.

MADISON - Eleven out-of-state drug companies plan to ask the state Supreme Court to put the breaks on a lawsuit that alleges the firms shipped an excessive number of pain pills to West Virginia and contributed to the state's prescription drug problem.

On Thursday, lawyers for the drug wholesalers told Boone County Circuit Judge William Thompson that they would file a "writ of prohibition" with the Supreme Court by Oct. 15.

The prescription drug distributors object to Thompson's recent rulings in the case. Earlier this month, Thompson rejected the drug companies' request to dismiss the lawsuit. The firms argue the state doesn't have sufficient grounds to sue them, and that they can't be held accountable for the painkillers prescribed by doctors and sold by pharmacies in West Virginia.

Thompson said he would put a temporary halt to some lawsuit activities until the Supreme Court decides whether to hear the drug companies' objections. Two state agencies - the Department of Health and Human Resources, and the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety are suing the drug distributors.

"I would hope the Supreme Court would take this up quickly because of the complexity of this case," Thompson said during Thursday's hearing in Boone County.

At the hearing, Thompson set a trial date for Oct. 11, 2016. Lawyers for the two sides also will take a second crack at settling the lawsuit through mediation in April.

State lawyers have criticized the drug firms for delay tactics. The lawsuit has dragged on for more than three years. The drug wholesalers wanted Thompson to put a complete halt to the case until the Supreme Court decided whether to intervene.

"They're asking you to stop the proceedings now," said Jim Cagle, a Charleston lawyer representing the state through the attorney general's office. "This case needs to move forward."

Also Thursday, Thompson gave both sides 10 days to submit proposed court orders that would spell out how confidential information should be handled as the lawsuit proceeds.

Cagle said the public has the right to see the companies' pill shipment records and other documents that show why the state is suing the drug wholesalers. The drug firms seek to hide the "meat and substance" of the allegations against them, he said.

"The public has the right to know what's going on in the public courts," Cagle told the judge Thursday. "It belongs in the public domain."

The drug wholesalers argue that the two sides agreed a year ago to a "protective order" that allows "highly confidential" information to be kept out of the court file that's available to the public. Charleston lawyer Al Emch, who's representing drug giant AmerisourceBergen, said the companies want to shield proprietary information, such as sales data, from their competitors.

"The defendants and private entities, private businesses, heavily regulated by the state and federal government, that are competitors of one another," Emch said. "Understandably, they do not like to have information relating to their internal workings and the customers of their businesses shared with their competitors."

The lawsuit - initially filed by former Attorney General Darrell McGraw in 2012 - alleges that the 11 drug wholesalers shipped an excessive number of painkillers to "pill mill" pharmacies in West Virginia. The companies also failed to report the "suspicious" orders to government authorities, according to the suit.

West Virginia has the highest prescription drug overdose death rate in the nation.

In a revised complaint filed earlier this year, the state's lawyers disclosed that the 11 drug distributors shipped nearly 60 million oxycodone pills and 140.6 million hydrocodone pills - both are powerful and addictive painkillers - to West Virginia between 2007 and 2012. The updated lawsuit included pill counts for each wholesaler. The pain-pill numbers were culled from a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration database.

In the new complaint, the state's lawyers also named "pill mill" pharmacies - such as Trivillian's in Kanawha City and Sav-Rite in Mingo County - that received excessive numbers of painkillers from some of the drug wholesalers. Trivillian's former owner, Paula Butterfield, pleaded guilty to federal charges in February. Butterfield was sentenced to a year and a day to federal prison.

The revised complaint also includes allegations that some of the drug firms paid fines and received penalties for failing to monitor suspicious prescription drug orders in other states. The wholesalers argued those past sanctions were irrelevant, and the allegations should be tossed from the lawsuit in West Virginia.

The companies named in the lawsuit are: AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp., Miami-Luken Inc., J.M. Smith Corp., the Harvard Drug Group, Anda Inc., Associated Pharmacies, H.D. Smith Wholesale Drug, Keysource Medical, Masters Pharmaceutical, Quest Pharmaceuticals, and Top Rx.

Officials with DHHR and Military Affairs have asked Attorney General Patrick Morrisey to add McKesson Corp., the nations largest drug distributor, as a defendant in the case. Morrisey's office has declined, citing its ongoing investigation into McKesson's drug sales in West Virginia.

The state has a separate lawsuit - also filed in Boone County - against the nation's second largest drug wholesaler, Cardinal Health.

Reach Eric Eyre at ericeyre@wvgazette.com, 304-348-4869 or follow @ericeyre on Twitter.

A man was shot in the leg early Friday morning on Charleston's West Side, Kanawha County Metro 911 dispatchers said.

Dispatchers said the incident was reported about 3 a.m. outside a bar at 1632 Sixth Ave.

The victim, identified as Terrell Ross, shot several times in the leg, said Charleston police Lt. Steve Cooper, chief of detectives. Ross was taken to Charleston Area Medical Center's General Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Cooper said it's not the first time Ross has been shot.

The bar, Heart and Seoul of Charleston, saw its liquor license suspended, according to the West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Administration's website.

Detectives currently do not have any suspects in the shooting, Cooper said. Anyone with information may contact detectives at 304-348-6480.

The bicyclist who was struck along the northbound lanes of U.S. 119, known as Corridor G, by a vehicle early Wednesday morning has died of his injuries, police said late Thursday.

The man, identified as 30-year-old John Jump, of Nitro, was hit at approximately 5 a.m. Wednesday just north of the Trace Fork Boulevard entrance.

He died Thursday afternoon at Charleston Area Medical Center's General Hospital, according to a release from the Charleston Police Department.

The driver of the car was identified Thursday. James Hill, of Logan County, was not injured.

The investigation into the crash is still ongoing.

Sgt. Randy Sampson, traffic commander of the Charleston Police Department, said previously that Jump was from Nitro, while a release sent Thursday night said Jump lived on Chesterfield Avenue in Charleston.

A Kanawha judge handed down the maximum sentence to a man who sexually assaulted a woman on Charleston's East End in 2011 and had previously been convicted of second-degree rape in North Carolina.

Curtis Allen Hairston was sentenced Friday to spend 15 to 35 years in prison. He pleaded guilty in August to first-degree sexual assault.

Before his sentence was handed down, Hairston tried to withdraw his plea and said he was actually innocent of the assault. Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey refused to allow him to back out of the deal. She also sentenced Hairston to 50 years of supervised release and to spend the rest of his life registering as a sex offender.

Hairston's case had been pending for several years, as he switched court-appointed attorneys several times. In August, the day after a jury had been picked for his trial, he decided to admit to the sexual assault.

In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors dismissed charges of second-degree sexual assault and burglary. Assistant Kanawha prosecutor Michele Drummond also agreed to stand silent and not provide a recommendation about sentencing to the judge.

The victim attended Friday's hearing and asked the judge to sentence Hairston to the maximum amount of jail time, the prosecutor said.

"She addressed the judge [on Friday] and talked about how it was to wake up to someone in your bedroom and how it's affected her life until now," Drummond said about the victim.

On Aug. 30, 2011, she woke up in her Franklin Avenue apartment to Hairston placing a pillow over her head. Hairston began choking the woman and she tried to fight him off until she felt a metal object against her skin and Hairston threatened to shoot and kill her.

Hairston kept his face covered during the rape, but he left behind a used condom. Testing conducted at the West Virginia State Police Forensic Laboratory found Hairston's DNA on the condom, the prosecutor said.

In the motion to withdraw his plea, Hairston alleged detectives falsified DNA evidence and that he never received a transcript of the grand jury proceedings, which resulted in his indictment. He was represented by attorney Ed Bullman.

Drummond said that the judge on Friday, "discussed the law regarding pleas of guilty and found that under the law and under the facts that it didn't merit granting a withdraw."

At the time he was indicted in 2011 by a Kanawha County grand jury, Hairston was already in jail, facing a charge of failing to register as a sex offender.

He'd pleaded guilty in 1998 to second-degree rape in Person County, North Carolina, according to online court documents from that county. He was sentenced to five years in prison. According to an appeal filed with the North Carolina Supreme Court, he also had been charged with first-degree rape in 2006, as well as sexual battery in 2007. Prosecutors dismissed the rape charge when he pleaded guilty to sexual battery. For that charge, he was sentenced to 150 days in jail and ordered to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

In 2011, the North Carolina Supreme Court upheld a decision that Hairston should be placed on satellite monitoring for the remainder of his life because he was a repeat offender.

Hairston was transported back to jail after Friday's hearing. The judge said he would get credit for 1,100 days he has already served, the prosecutor said.

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

U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin handed out awards Thursday to law enforcement officers and those involved in assisting victims.

Goodwin named the Charleston Police Department the police agency of the year, and the Crime Victim Service Award was presented to both Cpl. Anthony Craigo of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office and State Police Sgt. Talia Divita.

Judge James J. Rowe was presented with the award of excellence in criminal justice innovation and improvement, according to information provided by Goodwin's office.

Prestera Center for Mental Health Services and Western Regional Day Report Center were both named the criminal justice initiative partners of the year.

Goodwin also handed out awards to law enforcement officers involved in outstanding federal investigations.

Among others honored for their work on outstanding drug and violent crime investigations, officers who participated in the case of Willie Slocum Jr., a Detroit man convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy to distribute heroin and oxycodone, being a felon in possession of a firearm and tampering with a witness, were recognized.

Slocum ran his drug trafficking organization from Detroit to West Virginia while on parole for a 1999 murder conviction in Michigan, according to a February news release from Goodwin's office. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Also, among other cases, Goodwin presented awards to those involved in the "Barcliffe and associates" cases. Beginning in the fall of 2011, Robert Barcliff and his associates conspired and agreed to commit armed home-invasion robberies of drug dealers in West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. The group targeted drug dealers because they believed it unlikely they would call the police.

Police involved with the case, which resulted in John D. Hayes being convicted of attempted distribution and possession of child pornography, were recognized as winners of the outstanding project safe childhood investigation award. Those involved in the outstanding fraud investigation by Goodwin include officials who worked on the case involving two men who ran a fraudulent timeshare scheme.

A drunk man crashed his SUV into the Kanawha River in the early morning hours Friday, according to a news release from the Charleston Police Department.

Police responded at about 1:20 a.m. after a naked Benjamin Lee Gittinger, 27, of Charleston was trying to get into someone's vehicle in the area of U.S. 119 and MacCorkle Avenue, the release says.

While police were talking to him, they noticed the smell of alcohol on his breath. He also told them he had crashed his 2010 Toyota Highlander into the river.

Gittinger was charged with aggravated DUI. He blew a .183 on the breathalyzer, according to the release.

Gittinger was taken to the South Central Regional Jail. During his arraignment, his bail was set at $5,000 cash only.

Charleston Fire Department divers were unable to find the vehicle overnight, but retrieved it this morning.

Related repair and maintenance companies in Kanawha and Mingo counties were raided by federal agents Friday, U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin confirmed.

Agents descended on Kanawha Electric & Machine Co., on Campbells Creek Road near Charleston, and its subsidiary, Tramco Services, of Williamson.

Goodwin would say only that there were "federal law enforcement operations" that occurred Friday at both locations. A man who answered at the Williamson location wouldn't comment and provided the phone number for the Charleston business. No one answered at that location Friday afternoon.

Thomas Sheppard is listed on the state's website as director and incorporator of both companies; Scott Sheppard is secretary and vice president; Larry Ward Jr. is director and president of both companies, and Wallace Weddington is treasurer.

The same men own and operate another repair and maintenance company, Field Service Group Inc., out of the same location in Charleston.

The Sheppards, of Williamson, also own Holston Realty Inc. The secretary of state's website says the business, which leases residential, nonresidential buildings and dwellings, miniwarehouses and self-storage units, is located also at 141 Campbells Creek Road.

Tug Aviation Inc. in Chattaroy is among the other businesses owned by the Sheppards, according to the website.

A Fayette County man allegedly killed his mother by giving her morphine.

Gordon Ray Sutphin II, 45, of Montgomery, is charged with murder, according to a news release from the Fayette County Sheriff's Department.

His 67-year-old mother, Lawanna Sutphin, was found dead at her home in Montgomery on July 18. Investigators later found that she had a "ridiculously large amount of morphine" in her system, even though she was not prescribed it, the release says.

Police weren't dispatched to the scene when she was found dead because she had a lengthy medical history and responders found nothing to indicate foul play, the release says.

However, the Montgomery Police Department later learned of the possibility that she could have died from too much morphine, so they contacted the chief medical examiner and the Fayette County Sheriff's Office to start an investigation into the death. The detective bureau of the Fayette County Sheriff's Office also assisted.

Investigators filed a criminal complaint charging Gordon Sutphin in the death Friday. He was arrested Friday afternoon at his home without incident, the release says, and arraigned in Fayette County Magistrate Court.

No bail was set, because only circuit judges can set bail on murder charges.

"Fortunately in this case we received information about this death in time to request that an autopsy be performed and we were able to gather the information necessary to substantiate that the cause and manner of death in this case was NOT natural or the result of a long-term illness," Fayette County Prosecuting Attorney Larry Harrah said in a news release.

Chief John Kauff thanked the sheriff's office detective bureau for providing resources and expertise needed to "fully and properly investigate a death of this nature."

"A case like this isn't something we deal with every day," he said in the release.

Attorneys for some of the former Mingo County officials being sued by a private investigator say there isn't any evidence against their clients and have asked a judge to dismiss the claims.

Kanawha Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey heard arguments last week about why the lawsuit filed by private investigator Donald Stevens should be dismissed against former Mingo prosecuting attorney Michael Sparks and former Williamson police chief Dave Rockel.

In the same complaint, filed in October 2014, Stevens also sued former Mingo circuit judge Michael Thornsbury, the city of Williamson and the Mingo County Commission over claims that the officials cooked up charges against Stevens because they thought he was investigating then-Judge Thornsbury.

A trial is set for Nov. 16. But attorneys for the defendants want the case thrown out before then.

Sparks' attorney, Gary Pullin, told Bailey during a hearing Thursday that his client should be protected from being sued because he was acting in his official capacity as a prosecutor at the time of the allegations.

The attorney also argued that Stevens' lawsuit was filed as a ploy to tack on more allegations to the federal charges Sparks and Thornsbury pleaded guilty to in federal court last year. Those allegations don't involve Stevens.

Pullin also asked the judge to disregard a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice stating Stevens had been the victim of a crime, deprivation of civil rights, by Sparks. Stevens attached the letter to his lawsuit.

The judge last week seemed to agree with Pullin's questions about the relevance of the letter since Sparks was never charged with allegations against Stevens.

"I don't really know what you expect me to do with this," Bailey said to attorney Dave Barney, who represents Stevens along with attorney Kevin Thompson.

Sparks and Thornsbury were sentenced to prison last year after admitting to allegations involving another man, George White.

Thornsbury pleaded guilty to conspiring to deprive White of his constitutional rights, a felony, while Sparks pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge of actually violating White's rights. As part of a deal with prosecutors, Thornsbury and Sparks agreed to step down as judge and prosecutor, respectively, and never run for office again.

Thornsbury is still serving a 50-month prison sentence. Sparks was released from prison last month after serving a year.

Stevens' lawsuit claims that at Thornsbury's behest, Mingo officials had him arrested and gave him the choice of going to jail or signing an agreement saying he would move his investigation business out of Mingo County.

He is suing for, among other things, lost business opportunities, moving costs and damage to his reputation. He also wants punitive damages.

Stevens' lawsuit alleges that because Thornsbury believed Stevens was investigating him, he ordered former Mingo sheriff Eugene Crum, who was a special investigator for the county at the time of the alleged events, to frame him for the possession of an illegal wiretap.

Crum and Rockel used information they allegedly knew was false, according to the lawsuit, to charge Stevens with wiretapping and conspiracy and attempt to possess an illegal wiretap.

After Stevens was arrested, he and Sparks signed a pretrial sentencing agreement - even though Sparks knew Stevens wasn't guilty of any crime, the lawsuit alleges. The agreement says the charges would be dropped if Stevens "ceased to operate a private investigation business principally in Mingo County."

Stevens agreed because, he said, he knew he wouldn't get a fair trial.

On Thursday, Thornsbury's attorney, Philip Sword, said he was waiting to file his motion for summary judgment asking Bailey to dismiss the claims against his client until he interviews Jane Moran, the Williamson attorney who represented Stevens when he signed the agreement.

Crum was shot to death in April 2013 in downtown Williamson. James Smith was appointed to take his place as sheriff, after Crum's widow, Rosie, stepped down as interim sheriff.

Rockel left his position as chief of the Williamson police department and joined the sheriff's department after Eugene Crum's death while his widow was sheriff. He was fired by Smith, but has not been charged by federal prosecutors.

In addition to the argument made by Rockel's attorney, Billie Jo Strayle, on Thursday that Stevens doesn't have any proof to back up the allegations contained in his complaint, Strayle called for the judge to let Rockel out of the lawsuit because Stevens' attorneys never bothered to interview her client.

The time limit on the discovery process in the case expired last month, Strayle said, after Barney asked the judge for more time to depose Rockel.

Although she didn't rule on any motions Thursday, it was clear the judge agreed with Strayle that Barney had missed his chance to meet with Rockel. However, the judge said, if Barney could present proof to contradict Strayle's claim that he never even tried to set a date to take Rockel's deposition, she would allow it to be held.

The judge said she's allowing Thornsbury's attorney to continue his efforts to depose Moran, because it's clear that all of the defendants' attorneys have been trying for months to meet with her.

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

The following Crimes were reported to the Charleston Police Department between Sept. 16 and 24:

East District:

Washington Street East 1600 block, breaking and entering, Sept. 16, 3:52 a.m.

Washington Street East 1600 block, shoplifting, Sept. 16, 3:52 a.m.

Dickinson Street 500 block, grand larceny, Sept. 16, 12:30 p.m.

Lee Street East 200 block, shoplifting, Sept. 16, 7:43 p.m.

Plaza East, shoplifting, Sept. 17, 5 p.m.

Charleston Town Center, grand larceny, Sept. 17, 6:30 p.m.

Washington Street East 1600 block, malicious wounding, Sept. 17, 9:10 p.m.

Piedmont Road 1500 block, petit larceny, Sept. 18, 1:25 p.m.

Renaissance Circle 1300 block, robbery, Sept. 18, 7:15 p.m.

Lee Street East 200 block/Lee Street East 400 block, shoplifting, Sept. 18, 7:55 p.m.

Capitol Street 100 block, petit larceny, Sept. 18, 10:49 p.m.

Lee Street East 1400 block, shoplifting, Sept. 19, 5:30 p.m.

Renaissance Circle 1300 block, petit larceny, Sept. 21, 2 p.m.

Morris Street 500 block, petit larceny, Sept. 21, 3:05 p.m.

McClung Street 1600 block, burglary, Sept. 21, 11:40 p.m.

Plaza East 1300 block, breaking and entering auto, Sept. 22, 8:50 a.m.

Lee Street East 400 block, shoplifting, Sept. 22, 6:45 p.m.

Washington Street East 1300 block, shoplifting, Sept. 22, 8:05 p.m.

Renaissance Circle 1300 block, murder, Sept. 22, 11:49 p.m.

Washington Street East 1600 block, shoplifting, Sept. 23, 1:15 a.m.

Washington Street East 1300 block, shoplifting, Sept. 23, 6:50 p.m.

South District:

MacCorkle Avenue Southeast 6500 block, petit larceny, Sept. 16, 11:30 a.m.

MacCorkle Avenue Southeast 6500 block, shoplifting, Sept. 16, 7:50 p.m.

MacCorkle Avenue 6500 block, shoplifting, Sept. 18, 12:30 p.m.

MacCorkle Avenue Southeast 6500 block, shoplifting, Sept. 18, 3 p.m.

Oakwood Road Southeast 800 block, robbery, Sept. 18, 8:37 p.m.

MacCorkle Avenue 6300 block, petit larceny, Sept. 19, 6 a.m.

MacCorkle Avenue Southeast 6500 block, shoplifting, Sept. 19, 12:30 p.m.

Spring Road 100 block, breaking and entering auto, Sept. 19, 7 p.m.

RHL Boulevard 200 block, domestic battery, Sept. 19, 9:20 p.m.

Kanawha Mall, shoplifting, Sept. 20, 3:20 p.m.

MacCorkle Avenue 5700 block, shoplifting, Sept. 20, 3:50 p.m.

MacCorkle Avenue 5700 block, breaking and entering, Sept. 20, 6 p.m.

MacCorkle Avenue 6300 block, child neglected, Sept. 21, 1:28 a.m.

Cross Terrace Boulevard 100 block, grand larceny, Sept. 21, 6:30 p.m.

Green Road first block/Mountaineer Boulevard 2800 block, shoplifting, Sept. 22, 12:30 p.m.

Venable Avenue 4900 block, grand larceny, Sept. 22, 8 p.m.

Mountaineer Boulevard 2800 block, shoplifting, Sept. 23, 1:15 p.m.

MacCorkle Avenue Southeast 6500 block, shoplifting, Sept. 23, 7:10 p.m.

MacCorkle Avenue Southeast 6500 block, petit larceny, Sept. 24, midnight.

Pine Road 900 block, burglary, Sept. 24, 5 a.m.

West District:

Roane Street 300 block, malicious wounding, Sept. 16, 4:30 p.m. Florida Street 600 block, malicious wounding, Sept. 16, 4:30 p.m.

Florida Street 600 block, sexual assault, Sept. 17, 2 p.m.

Woodward Drive 800 block, grand larceny auto, Sept. 17, 11 p.m.

Grant Street 800 block, burglary, Sept. 18, 12:01 a.m.

Garden Street 1000 block, burglary, Sept. 18, 11 a.m.

Garden Street 1000 block, burglary, Sept. 18, 5 p.m.

Chandler Drive 1600 block, burglary, Sept. 19, 11:05 a.m.

Bigley Avenue 800 block, petit larceny, Sept. 19, 2 p.m.

Ohio Avenue 500 block, robbery, Sept. 19, 4:11 p.m.

Ohio Avenue 400 block, petit larceny, Sept. 20, 8:30 p.m.

Glenwood Avenue 300 block, grand larceny, Sept. 20, 9:30 p.m.

Glenwood Avenue first block, petit larceny, Sept. 21, midnight.

Elm Street 400 block, robbery, Sept. 21, 1:50 p.m.

Chandler Drive 1600 block, grand larceny auto, Sept. 21, 8 p.m.

Bigley Avenue 800 block, petit larceny, Sept. 22, 2 a.m.

Central Avenue 1100 block, breaking and entering, Sept. 22, 2 p.m.

Pennsylvania Avenue 1700 block, breaking and entering auto, Sept. 22, 2:18 p.m.

4th Avenue 1400 block, petit larceny, Sept. 22, 2:40 p.m.

Amity Drive 800 block, burglary, Sept. 23, 6 a.m.

Amity Drive 700 block, petit larceny, Sept. 23, 6 a.m.

Washington Street 1400 block, burglary, Sept. 24, 2 a.m.

Marriages

The following people applied for marriage licenses in Kanawha County between Sept. 18 and 25:

Isaac Noyes Smith, 54, and Alison Judge Bibbee, 44, both of Charleston.

Matthew Joseph Harman II, 23, and Tyler Book Chattin, 22, both of Cross Lanes.

Daniel Edward Driggs,22, and Sarah Randy Copeland, 23, both of Cross Lanes.

Martin Aloysius Nicolay,28, and Katherine Elizabeth Charonko, 30, both of Charleston.

George Anthony Friss, 56, and Kathleen Dawnette Ward, 49, both of Elkview.

Christopher Otis Kelley, 42, of Cross Lanes and Heather Noel Humphrey, 41, of Barboursville.

Jason Gerald Camidge,36, and Alexandra Kyle Mallory, 23, both of St. Albans.

Bradley Paul Hartley, 48, and Cathy Lynn Green, 52, both of Charleston.

Kenneth Wayne Agee, 43, and Barbara Ann Smith, 32, both of Elkview.

Cody O'Dell Hinzman, 19, and Hannah Marie Shaffer, 17, both of Charleston.

Joshua Stephen Fix, 25, and Tiffany Daniell Smith, 24, both of Charleston.

Joshua Eugene Burdette, 22, and Rachel Nicole Schmidt, 27, both of South Charleston.

Stephen Carroll Thomas, 59, of Charleston and Deborah Lynn McGhee, 55, of Dunbar.

Jesse Ty Snead, 22, and Lauren McKenzie, Blevins, 23, both of Charleston.

James Michael Lamaster II, 40, of Charleston and Monica Evette Kirby, 43, of St. Albans.

John Thomas Brown, 23, and Kayla Marie Powell, 20, both of Charleston.

Charles Darrell McKinney, 29, and Kelsey Alexandria Francis, 26, both of Charleston.

Michael Joseph Aloi II,31, and Roxanne Marie Todd, 32, both of Charleston.

Tyler Preston Brown, 22, of Marmet and Kasey Erin Kirk, 27, of Montgomery.

Michael Douglas Bays, 31, and Hanna Michaela Moore, 25, both of South Charleston.

Joseph Andrew Cerullo, 35, and Ashley Marie Moore, 28, both of South Charleston.

Vincent Irving Jones, 24, and Kristina Marie Kobasher, 23, both of Charleston.

Derek Michael Burdette, 26, and Tawny Rachele Black, 26, both of Charleston.

William Edward Louden Jr., 31, of Elkview and Whitney Nicole Haas, 31, of Clendenin.

Christopher Lee Stevenson, 26, and Rebecca Dawn Hardy, 30, both of Charleston.

Robert Dale Jackson, 31, and Jamie Lynn Durant, 37, both of Montgomery.

Christie Nicole Greene, 31, and Sara Diana Brown, 35, both of Charleston.

Justin Edward Vaughn, 23, and Kelsey Dawn Green, 22, both of Charleston.

Killian Quincy Hofe, 23, and Elizabeth Marie Vafiades, 22, both of Charleston.

Steven Lindsey Ward, 52, and Bonnie Ann Dayhaw, 54, both of Cabin Creek.

Joshua Alan Melton, 25, of Elkview and Carissa Claire Mullins, 22, of Charleston.

Brandon Mathess Kinsey, 26, and Hannah Elizabeth Pauley, 23, both of St. Albans.

James Thomas Romine, 27, and Brittani Jean Coleman, 20, both of Charleston.

Allen Michael Jarvis, 20, of Elkview and Tracie Dimple Huff, 19, of Clendenin.

Divorces

The following people filed for divorce in Kanawha County between Sept. 17 and 24:

Jerry Wayne Reed from Lorri Jo Reed

Elisa Edwards Pauley from Stephen Wayne Pauley

Julia Ann Morgan from David Elmer Morgan

Gregory Wayne Bess from Angela Christine Bess

Megan Elaine Penczek from Kevin Thomas Penczek

Anna Mae Stover from Paul Edward Stover

Chelsea Marie Pauley from Thomas Edward Pauley

Erin Shamblin Stroup from Phillip Robert Stroup

Mark Jerome Cole from Erica Nichole Cole

Carla Jean Browning from Stephen Browning

Charlena R. Keiffer from Charles K. Keiffer

Stephanie Lynn Morris from Mark Anthony Morris

Lindsey Marie Meadows from James Howard Meadows

Tori Lynnette Walker from Bo Joseph Shamblin

Maria Teresa Helmick from Jeremy A. Helmick

Robert Lee Griffith Jr. from Betsy Stone Griffith

Jessica Bryant Chandler from Brian D. Chandler

John Daniel Martin from Karen Renee Martin

Ian Patrick Kennedy from Jessica Ashley Kennedy

Christopher David Reese from Andrea Elizabeth Reese

Elizabeth May Coltey from Victor Ramone Coltey

Richard Adam Miller from Melinda Sue Miller

Melinda Dawn Walker from Roland Thomas Walker

Property transfers

The following property transfers of $50,000 or more were recorded in Kanawha County between Sept. 18 and 25:

Timberline Investment Properties LLC to Donna Jean Richardson. Parcels, Charleston, $110,000.

Golden & Amos PLLC to Fifth Third Mortgage Company. Lot, Elk District, $132,600.

Richard II and Jaime Good Bowman to Lana D. and James M. Christiano.Lots, Davis Creek, $899,000.

Hull Front Parcel LLC to Poplar Holdings LLC. Lot, Cabin Creek District, $200,000.

Betty L. and Melvin R. Turley to Larry A. and Mary A. Green. Lot, Charleston, $493,000.

Francis G. Hosimer and Joseph W. Hager. Lot, Charleston, $179,900.

Ashwani K. and Deepika Malhotra to Superior Rental Homes LLC. Tracts, Montgomery, $116,000.

Chad A. and Chelsea A. Ryder to Zachary Ryan and Jennifer Nicole Donovant. Lot, Poca District, $152,000.

Lee Ann Snyder to Jeffery Lee Snyder. Lot, Poca District, $130,000.

Jonathan D. and Jennifer L. Burdette to Lee A. Yost, Elk District, $88,000.

Timothy Robert Medley and William Lee Medley, et al, to Jeremy A. Moiser. Lot Elk District, $161,000.

Matthew R. Harrison to Geoffrey Tyalor. Lot, Dunbar, $65,000.

Patrick L. and Burton E. Fisher to Paul R. Felty. Lot, Charleston, $70,000.

DHF LLC to West Virginia American Water Company. Tracts, Charleston, $1,250,000.

Karen K. Miller to Britain M. and Arielle Whitlock. Lot, South Charleston, $145,900.

Kevin R. and Kim N. Henderson to Orma Jeanette Robinson, Cathy L. Durham and Gary D. Durham. Parcel, Charelston, $220,500.

Patricia C. Moore to Devon J. Selbee. Lot, Kanawha County, $130,000.

Graham N. and Kent M. Stanley to Christopher A. and Kitty S. Graley. Lot, Cabin Creek District, $82,500.

Linda Reaser, David F. Reaser and John Thomas Meadows Jr. to William S. and Robin G. Duffey. Lot, Malden District, $158,000.

James A. Deal to Joshua Clendenin. Lot, East Bank, $65,000.

Karen Haddad to Scott and Cathi Bradley. Parcels, Charleston, $430,000.

Theodore W. Garnes to DSR Corporation. Lot, Washington District, $190,000.

Charlotte A. Cullifer, Mary E. Thomas, Hildreth I. Brown and Raymond W. Deck II to Theodore W. Garnes. Lot, South Charleston, $75,000.

Tony and Debra Lilly to Annette J. Roberts. Lot, Elk District, $60,000.

Mary Davenport to Donald Ernest and Heather Nicole Lanham. Parcels, Cabin Creek District, $55,000.

Norman T. and Charlotte L. Richardson to Richard G. and Jaime G. Bowman. Lot, Elk District, $425,000.

Michael Green to Robert Osburn. Lot, Charleston, $67,000.

Todd E. Carper Jr. to Jerry Robert Dickens. Lot, Jefferson District, $54,000.

Matthew A. and Peggie J. Smith to Zachary Allen Eskew. Lot, South Charleston, $89,000.

Gregory T. and Mareda L. Reynolds to Donald M. and Kimberly F. Fleck. Lot, Nitro, $162,750.

Patrick K. and Jill E. Dawson to Jeffrey M. and Kathryn H. King. Lot, Jefferson District, $156,500.

Matthew T. Gordon to Gregory A. and Janie L. Raynes. Lot, Nitro, $128,000.

Clotine LLC to Redbud Properties LLC. Lot, St. Albans, $170,000.

Coventry Woods Inc. to David W. and Tristen M. Judy. Lot, South Charleston, $600,000.

Ralph Edward Ewing, et al, to Pamela L. Delaney. Charleston, $71,500.

Robert A. Harrison to Amy A. Fizer. Lot, Dunbar, $89,000.

Phyllis Kathryn Fitzwater and Mary A. Roberts to Howard Wesley Lafferty Jr. and Derek Shawn Newsome. Lot, Washington District, $100,000.

Cheryl Ann Pullen and Bertha A. Carlson to Bradley D. Dugan. Parcels, Jefferson District, $97,500.

Tammy sue Bonham and Carl E. Aldridge II. Lot, Jefferson District, $65,000.

Mary A. Mamone to Jared W. Chapman Sr. Lots, St. Albans, $68,500.

Sharon Davis Puffenbarger and Steven M. Davis to Steven T. Davis. Lot, Charleston, $53,000.

Stephen M. Reynolds II to Crawford Holdings LLC. Lot, Charleston, $92,500.

Amanda Atkins to Earl R. Coffman Jr. Lot, Elk District, $175,000.

George Taylor, Linda Taylor and Lisa Taylor to Dana C. and Theresa L. Gibson. Lots, Big Sandy District, $75,000.

Robert M. Williams to Matthew T. Gordon and Cassidi D. Pimentel. Tracts, Union District, $160,000.

Douglas Williamand Allison Oley Haden to Jeremy L. and Tonya M. Perdue. Lot, Washington District, $440,000.

Rodney Loftis and Son Contracting inc to Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company LLC. Lot, Union District, $1,000,000.

Sanjoy K. Nath and Sabita Sarkar to Angela L. Beblo. Lot, Charleston, $155,000.

David R. Stephens to Cynthia K. Harper. Lot, Charleston, $70,000.

Bankruptcies

The bankruptcies listed below are limited to those filed by residents or companies in the Gazette's circulation area. Chapter 7 designates the liquidation of non-exempt property; Chapter 11 calls for business reorganization; Chapter 13 establishes a schedule of payments to creditors. The following bankruptcies were filed between Sept. 18 and 25:

John Robert Kangas, Pecks Mill, Chapter 7. Assets: $114,861, Liabilities: $323,150.

Sarah Davis Lusk, Mallory, Chapter 7. Assets: $12,669, Liabilities: $128,873.

Charley Lee and Sheryl Lea Griffin, Sutton, Chapter 7. Assets: $34,126, Liabilities: $52,617.

Jay Edward and Delphia Margaret Heiss, Winifrede, Chapter 7. Assets: $104,400, Liabilities: $119,320.

Brenda Mae Martin, 9289 Rainelle and Charleston, Chapter 7. Assets: $89,294, Liabilities: $71,239.

Amy Lynn and John Allen Taylor, Charleston, Chapter 7. Assets: $97,657, Liabilities: $112,161.

Richard Wayne Hensley, Boomer, Chapter 7. Assets: $142,045, Liabilities: $100,158.

Gerry Lee and Dorothee Marguerite Hatcher, Ravenswood, Chapter 7. Assets: $145,149, Liabilities: $208,719.

Neva Ann Bowyer, Charleston, Chapter 7. Assets: $189,647, Liabilities: $66,714.

Wynona Chapman, Branchland, Chapter 7. Assets: $21,780, Liabilities: $34,427.

David Wayne and Crystal Regina Welch, Glen Daniel, Chapter 7. Assets: $21,683, Liabilities: $45,909.

David Scott and Cynthia Lee Worley, Beckley, Chapter 7. Assets: $95,535, Liabilities: $174,948.

Edward Lee and Elizabeth Pearl Toney, Clear Creek, Chapter 7. Assets: $126,450, Liabilities: $145,240.

Jason Matthew Kinder, Beckley, Chapter 7. Assets: $81,751, Liabilities: $183,752.

Christopher Shawn and Casey Lorraine Tolliver, Bolt, Chapter 7. Assets: $80,128, Liabilities: $137,628.

Arnold Lee Darnell Sr., Bud, Chapter 7. Assets: $61,953, Liabilities: $146,767.

Mary Ruth Perdue, Rainelle, Chapter 7. Assets: $2,500, Liabilities: $30,216.

Machinery Transport Inc., White Sulphur Springs, Chapter 11. Assets: $0, Liabilities: $2,169,378.

A woman is in critical condition at CAMC General after she was struck by a vehicle on the 5300 block of MacCorkle Avenue in Kanawha City Saturday evening, according to the Charleston Police Department.

According to Cpl. Brian Jones, the woman ran into the road near the Fas Chek and was struck by a vehicle in the fast lane heading east. Jones said the woman was in "very critical" condition as of 8:50 p.m. Saturday. The block was closed to traffic at 7:44 p.m., and Jones said it would likely be reopened around 10 p.m. Saturday.

Twenty years ago, it would have been hard to imagine Lt. Chad Napier working in drug abuse prevention.

"As a young officer, I would have been 'Get out of my way' and 'I'll arrest my way out of this problem, you watch me,'" he said.

Napier, now bureau chief of investigative services, marked 20 years as of last Friday with the Charleston Police Department. On Nov. 2, after spending much of his career focused on drug crimes, Napier will start work as a prevention coordinator, covering West Virginia and Virginia, with Appalachian HIDTA.

HIDTA stands for High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas and is funded by the Office of National Drug Control Policy. It focuses on targeting mid- to upper-level drug trafficking organizations, but will be expanding its prevention efforts with the creation of the new position, Napier said. Previously, one prevention coordinator covered four states, but now two prevention coordinators will be covering that area.

Napier admits he was a little hard-headed when he first started in police work.

"It would have just been because I was a young officer, just like you know, your children sometimes can be a little hard-headed, you have to grow and I've grown and I've seen how that's worked for me," he said.

"I've locked a lot of people up. I like a lot of them that I did lock up. Nine out of 10 people I arrest, I like. I sit down and talk to them. I like them. I don't like seeing them go away for a long time, even though they've chose that a lot of times. So I think I've seen that our prisons are full and where are we really getting?"

Napier isn't saying stop prosecuting drug crimes. However, he has realized that prevention is a crucial component.

"I think if we all work together, we can get a handle on it, but if you stay in your lane, I stay in my lane - and that's what we've done for a lot of years and we've not really worked together - I think that's what's got us where we're at now," he said. "I think we're starting to see that it's just not working very well."

Napier started out in college wanting to be an anesthesiologist.

Then, after he didn't like the classes, decided he wanted to become a lawyer instead.

He pursued criminal justice, but never went for that law degree. He got married to his wife, Wendy, and needed to start making some money.

After his two decades with Charleston police and before that, a stint with the Boone County Sheriff's Office, Napier says he will miss the work. Asked for an example of a time when he knew he'd made the right decision, Napier said, "Every day."

"When Sunday comes around, I'm ready to go to work on Monday," he said. "It's like, 'you pay me to do this?' Don't tell the chief that, but it's like, wow; it's a bonus that I get a check because I've just enjoyed this job."

It helped that he got his priorities straight early on. As a young officer, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.

"I felt like the good Lord gave me a little wake-up call," he said. "I needed to be about His business and I needed to appreciate life, so it was a good thing."

Napier has won awards for his work on drug crimes, including several from HIDTA. He was named National HIDTA's top drug task force commander in 2012. He says the most fun he had was working with the street crimes unit.

"The awards I won was because I had a bunch of hard workers that just busted their butts," he said.

Prevention work isn't new to Napier. He routinely does drug abuse prevention program for schools, churches and other organizations.

"I lost a couple close friends to drug overdoses," he said. "My best friend in high school was hooked on drugs. It's touched me, and it's in my family, so I'm compassionate towards that side."

"I love the drug investigations," he said. "I love arresting drug dealers. I like that part of the job. I've always enjoyed that, but I also think that you can't just attack the supply side. If we keep attacking the supply side - which law enforcement is pretty good at, I think - and you don't ever touch the demand side, you're going to continue to spin your wheels."

Napier is ready to hit the ground running. He plans to continue working on some of the initiatives he has undertaken at the Charleston Police Department.

"It's not going to change a whole lot besides I won't have this badge any longer," he said. "That's bittersweet."

Never one to call attention to himself, Napier, who suggested keeping this story to about three lines, said he would do the interview last week if the Gazette-Mail "really wanted to." At the conclusion of the interview, he was asked if there was anything he had been planning on mentioning that wasn't brought up.

"I was planning on mentioning that I didn't want to do this interview," he said.

Reach Erin Beck at erin.beck@ wvgazette.com, 304-348-5163, Facebook.com/erinbeckwv, or follow @erinbeckwv on Twitter.

The father of Kareem Hunter is suing the city of Marmet after his son was killed inside a Marmet apartment two years ago.

Anthony Hunter, who is administrator of his son's estate, claims in the complaint that the negligence of a Marmet police officer resulted in his son's death.

Kareem Hunter, 28, was beaten to death in a Marmet apartment, bound with duct tape and buried in a shallow grave near Beckley. He was reported missing Sept. 23, 2013, and his body was found almost two months later.

The lawsuit, filed in Kanawha Circuit Court on Sept. 22, states that while Kareem Hunter was being attacked, an unknown person called 911. When the officer arrived at the scene, the complaint states, the officer never entered the residence to determine whether anyone inside required assistance. Charleston attorney Michael Clifford is representing Anthony Hunter.

Miguel Quinones, of Charleston, and Deveron Patterson, of Beckley, were charged with murder in early 2014 in the slaying of Hunter. Patterson was sentenced to life in prison with the chance of parole after admitting to the murder charge. Quinones is awaiting trial.

Kelsey Legg was originally charged with murder, but pleaded guilty to helping conceal a dead body and being an accessory after the fact to murder. She was sentenced to six to eight years in prison. Police say Hunter died in her apartment.

Before their son's body was found, Linda and Anthony Hunter, of Hampton, Virginia, told the Gazette-Mail that they believed the Marmet police officer who was at the scene could have done more investigating after a disturbance was reported. The officer told the newspaper he didn't see anything suspicious, however.

The night Hunter was killed, a neighbor of the apartment building where Legg lives called Metro 911 at 8:50 p.m. to report a disturbance, according to an affidavit signed by police to obtain a search warrant.

Legg's brother, who lived in a different apartment in the building, apparently believed his sister was in danger and went to the neighbor's house asking to use her phone, the affidavit states.

After trying to call his sister's cellphone and getting no response, the neighbor called 911 and told dispatchers she could hear "yelling and screaming" coming from the apartment building, Kanawha sheriff's deputies wrote.

Marmet police officer Karl Vangilder told the Gazette-Mail in an interview two years ago that he was the officer who responded to the call. He said when he arrived at the apartment building on 83rd Street, he didn't see or hear any signs of foul play. The lawsuit does not identify Vangilder.

Vangilder previously said he got out of his car, spoke with a couple walking on the sidewalk in front of the apartment building and then walked around the apartment building several times.

"I didn't see or hear anything," Vangilder previously said.

The Hunters have said that the woman who made the 911 call told them the officer didn't get out of his car.

Linda Hunter said she was told that when the police officer arrived at Legg's apartment building, "A young man walking out of the building walked up to his car and said to him, 'Everything is all right, me and my girlfriend were arguing, but I'm leaving now.'"

When the officer started to drive away from the apartment complex, the woman who called 911 ran after him and told him, "No, no, no, you need to check the apartment out," according to Linda Hunter.

Anthony Hunter is suing for funeral expenses, sorrow, mental anguish and, among other things, the services, protection, care and assistance he will no longer receive from his son.

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

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. (AP) - Three people are headed to trial on charges stemming from a fatal shooting in Berkeley County.

The trial of 36-year-old Tulsa A. Johnson, 19-year-old Vincent S. Smith and 35-year-old Jucobe J. Johnson is scheduled to begin on Monday in Berkeley County Circuit Court.

The Herald-Mail of Hagerstown, Maryland, reports that the charges against Tulsa Johnson and Smith include first-degree murder and conspiracy. Jucobe Johnson is charged with accessory after the fact to murder.

The charges stem from the fatal shooting of 33-year-old Michael J. Garcia in September 2014. Police say Garcia was found dead at the Tabler Station Business Park south of Martinsburg.