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Cops and Courts

Guilty with no mercy

KINGWOOD — The trial for Luis Martinez-Otero, 54, of Terra Alta ended Thursday with the jury bringing back a guilty verdict of first-degree murder, recommending his sentence be served without mercy. The sentence for first-degree murder without mercy is life in prison without parole. Martinez-Otero was arrested in May 2022 after shooting Zachary Alan Shrout at his home on Veterans Memorial Highway in Terra Alta. Shrout was found still breathing, but suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. He was flown to J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital, where he later died from his ...

Witness willingly takes stand in murder trial

KINGWOOD — Only one witness was heard during the Luis Martinez-Otero, murder trial Wednesday. Martinez is charged with the May 2022 shooting of Zachary Alan Shrout at his home on Veterans Memorial Highway in Terra Alta. Martinez-Otero’s fiancee Heidi Falkner voluntarily took the stand during final arguments and testified that she was staying with a friend in Masontown. Following the murder, both the prosecuting attorney’s office and defense attorneys attempted to find her but were unable to do so. “I was hiding from everyone,” Falkner testified. “I was trying to get ...

FBI seen at home in Morgantown

Agents with the FBI were seen at a home on the outskirts of Morgantown Wednesday. Officers with West Virginia University police were also on scene assisting as agents appeared to be searching a garage in the Brettwald subdivision off Van Voorhis Road. The nature of the investigation and ...

Body pulled from Mon river near Scott’s Run

A body was found Wednesday afternoon in the Monongahela River in the area of Lazzelle Union Road, near Scott’s Run. Granville Police initially responded to the call, but turned the investigation over to the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department after it was determined the discovery was outside Granville's jurisdiction. According to a press release authorized by Sheriff Perry Palmer, deputies and detectives arrived and investigated the scene and the body was removed from the water with the assistance of the Granville Police Department, Granville Fire Department, Mon EMS and ...

Testimony continues on 3rd day of trial in murder of Zachary Shrout

KINGWOOD — The Martinez trial entered its third day Tuesday with testimony from Danny Trejo, a Morgantown social worker and court translator who was asked by the prosecution to translate a message that Luis Martinez-Otero sent to his son, along with photos of a Taurus G2C 9mm gun. Martinez is charged with the May 2022 shooting of Zachary Alan Shrout at his home on Veterans Memorial Highway in Terra Alta. Trejo told Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Megan Fields the message indicated Martinez-Otero bought “it” along with two clips and a box of bullets for $300. Daniel Grimm ...