A Morgantown man was arrested Friday morning on several misdemeanor charges after allegedly striking a woman with his vehicle during an altercation in the parking lot of the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department.
At approximately 4:45 a.m. Deputy E. Mongold was dispatched to a domestic dispute at a residence off Ashworth Lane in Morgantown, the criminal complaint said. There, Mongold spoke with a woman who said the dispute was between her and her ex-boyfriend, Damel T. Atcherson, 28, of Morgantown, who had left the residence prior to the deputy’s arrival.
Mongold noted in the report that while speaking with the woman, “Mr. Atcherson called her several times.”
She asked to obtain a protective order against him and followed the deputy to the sheriff’s department on Walnut Street to complete the paperwork.
Mongold wrote in the complaint that while he was speaking with the woman at the sheriff’s department, “Mr. Atcherson called her several times, I heard her tell him several times to stop calling.”
He said the woman “stated that she blocked him, but he keeps calling from different numbers.”
While she was leaving the building after filling out the protective order paperwork, Atcherson “showed up to the sheriff’s department and began an altercation with her,” the complaint said.
According to Mongold’s report, at one point the woman was standing between her vehicle and her open car door when Atcherson “used his vehicle to strike her car and pinned her in between the door and vehicle.”
An altercation then began where “she attempted to push him away and he struck her,” said the complaint. Atcherson then drove away.
However, a few seconds later, the report says, Atcherson drove the wrong way on Walnut Street, pulled back into the sheriff’s department parking lot and started another altercation with the woman who attempted to leave, but Atcherson prevented her from doing so.
Deputies were notified of the incident and responded outside to their parking lot and separated the suspect and alleged victim.
Mongold wrote in the complaint that as he approached Atcherson, he immediately smelled alcohol and upon searching the suspect found a small bag of marijuana in his pocket. A field sobriety test was performed and Atcherson allegedly showed several signs of impairment.
Atcherson was arrested and escorted inside the building for processing.
According to the complaint, Atcherson consented to a secondary breath test, which showed him to have a blood alcohol content of .132. The legal limit in West Virginia is .08.
Mongold said he was able to verify the process of events that led up to the arrest by watching the sheriff’s department surveillance footage.
Charges against Atcherson include domestic battery, unlawful restraint, stalking, driving while impaired, and possession.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges at an arraignment hearing in Monongalia County Magistrate Court and bond was set at $25,000.
