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Cops and Courts

Magistrate judge orders a hearing over purged emails in foster care lawsuit

A federal magistrate judge plans to hear more about a request for sanctions over the state’s handling of digital evidence in a class action lawsuit over conditions in the foster care system. U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl Eifert set a hearing for 1:30 p.m. Jan. 11 at the federal courthouse in Huntington. The foster care lawsuit was filed in 2019 on behalf of thousands of children. The suit was filed by A Better Childhood, a national child advocacy organization, Disability Rights West Virginia and Shaffer and Shaffer, a West Virginia law firm. The lawsuit alleged rampant issues ...

Two state troopers wounded, suspect killed in Martinsburg incident

BY CHRIS LAWRENCE CHARLESTON — Two West Virginia State troopers are recovering from gunshot wounds and their assailant is dead in the eastern panhandle. State Police Maj. Jim Mitchell said Trooper A.A. Bean and Trooper C.D. Spessert went to a home on Connell Street in Martinsburg with a warrant for the arrest of Tobias Ganey, 60, of the home. “They had a warrant for this gentleman for battery. He had committed battery against his neighbor,” said Mitchell. However, Ganey was not cooperative. “They knocked on the door and had communication with Mr. Ganey through the ...

Westover police make arrest following pursuit

Police in Westover took one man into custody on Friday following a high-speed chase that ended with a single-vehicle crash.  Officer B. Tetrick with the Westover Police Department reported seeing a blue Dodge Charger on Fairmont Road that was swerving inside the vehicle’s lane ...

Three people are in custody after agents of the Mon-Metro Drug Task Force found illegal narcotics during the execution of a search warrant at a Morgantown residence on Tuesday.  The warrant was issued as part of an ongoing investigation into Malik Montez Tarpley, 30, and Anthony ...

Officials tell lawmakers that jail conditions are satisfactory and improving

West Virginia officials who oversee the corrections system told lawmakers that they believe improvements are taking place. “You all know, painfully, we’ve had some public episodes with corrections,” state Homeland Security Secretary Mark Sorsaia told the Legislature’s Oversight Committee on Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority. Referring to the months since he came on the job, Sorsaia continued, “We’ve had some bad publicity, some lawsuits, some allegations.” Also: federal prosecutions because of a beating death. Last month, five guards and a ...

Judge needs time to decide on Justice debt

MARTINSVILLE, VA. — When you’re waiting for a ruling on $300 million owed by the business network led by a two-term governor and candidate for U.S. Senate, what’s a little longer. The chief circuit judge in Martinsville, Va., Judge Giles Carter Greer, heard about a half-hour of arguments Monday morning from lawyers for the network of companies headed by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and from attorneys for the businesses’ longtime lender, Carter Bank & Trust. By the end, the judge acknowledged there’s a lot on the line, concluding that he needs another month to ...