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Cops and Courts

Lawyers in suit over foster care system blast state and say lost email evidence is an emerging trend

CHARLESTON — In a new filing about digital evidence that was purged in a lawsuit over West Virginia’s foster care system, plaintiffs’ attorneys acknowledge the circumstances aren’t exactly the same as in a jails case that prompted a blistering filing by a federal magistrate judge — but they say there’s plenty of room for comparison. In the ongoing lawsuit over conditions in the foster care system, three or more years of requested emails of officials in the Department of Health and Human Resources were purged after the employees left and cannot be retrieved. In the ...

2 charged after toddler has surgery for spider bite

BY MIKE NOLTING A man and woman are facing charges after a toddler was flown to a Morgantown hospital with a severely infected spider bite. Deputies from the Marion County Sheriff’s Department were called to J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital on Nov. 19 and learned the 14-month-old girl required surgery on one of her legs due to infection. Linsie Gray, 22, and Eric Melton, 20, told deputies the girl had been bitten on or around Nov. 16. The child was transported after the bite became infected and had a foul smell. Doctors told deputies the child could have died if treatment had ...

Brockway shooting victim former member of Maryland Bloods gang subset

The victim of a deadly shooting on Brockway Avenue in Morgantown early Nov. 20 had previously been federally convicted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act for conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity. According to court records from the United ...

Longtime lender to governor’s companies says it will move to dismiss or transfer suit

CHARLESTON — Lawyers for Carter Bank & Trust say they will move to dismiss or transfer a $1 billion lawsuit filed by the network of businesses owned by Gov. Jim Justice and his family. The Justice companies filed a federal suit last week, contending Carter Bank & Trust of Martinsville, Va., has engaged in unfair business practices, kneecapping the Justice family businesses. The lawsuit was filed in Beckley in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. Carter Bank’s lawyers countered in their own filing Tuesday that the Justice company claims are ...

Man allegedly attempts murder over missing tacos

A Morgantown man is facing attempted murder charges after he allegedly tried to shoot a relative inside their home on Warm Hollow Road.  According to the criminal complaint, Dale L. Martin, 53, of Morgantown, became irate at the victim and his girlfriend due to the couple “eating all the tacos.”  The victims told Monongalia County deputies and West Virginia State Troopers that Martin then allegedly retrieved a .22 semi-automatic rifle from his bedroom. Noticing the firearm, the victim began to run up the staircase. He told officers Martin then fired the gun into the ...

Brockway shooting victim identified

Morgantown Police have released the name of the victim of an apparent homicide in Greenmont early Monday morning.The victim, who sustained fatal gunshot wounds, has been positively identified as 39-year-old Richard Demoan Hall.Though few details are being released, police believe it was an ...