Breaking News

Cops and Courts

Kingwood names new chief of police

KINGWOOD — The City of Kingwood has a new chief of police. Former Chief Charley Haney said Lawson Stewart took over the job of chief on Monday. Kingwood Mayor Jean Guillot said Stewart, who is moving to Kingwood from Claudville, Va., has 24-plus years of law enforcement experience. Haney said he will be staying with the department during the transition. Haney has served as chief of police for the City of Kingwood twice. He was with the Preston County Sheriff’s Department for 32 years, starting as a jailer/dispatcher, and retiring as chief deputy. After retiring, he ...

Deputies visited Sissonville home on two previous occasions

BY CHRIS LAWRENCE CHARLESTON — This week’s discovery of two children locked in a shed at a Kanawha County home has landed those two children along with three others in the custody of West Virginia’s Division of Child Protective Services. The adoptive parents of all five children, Ronald Lantz and Jeanne Whitefeather, face charges of felony child neglect. Although neighbors said Child Protective Services had been contacted with concerns about the children, the agency was unable to confirm if that were true. MetroNews asked agency leaders if they had been called to the home ...

W.Va. couple arrested for gross child neglect

BY CHRIS LAWRENCE SISSONVILLE — Two Kanawha County residents face charges of gross child neglect after the discovery of three children who were essentially held captive in two locations in the Sissonville community. Donald Ray Lantz, 63, and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, 61, both of Sissonville, were arrested Monday night on felony charges of gross child neglect creating a substantial risk of injury. Kanawha County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a home on Cheyenne Lane in Sissonville Monday evening after a 911 call regarding the welfare of the children. Deputies found two ...

U.S. Marshals seek man wanted for sexual assault on rail-trail

CLARKSBURG — The U.S. Marshals Service requests the public’s assistance in apprehending 31-year-old Emilio Pascual Guzman in the north-central West Virginia area. Guzman is wanted by the West Virginia State Police for first-degree sexual assault. Guzman is accused of sexually assaulting a woman on the Caperton Trail near Star City Park on Sept. 20, 2022. Guzman is believed to have ties to Guatemala. His full name is Emilio Pascual Guzman, but he’s also been known to use aliases Tony Gabriel and Antonio Gabriel Mendez. He is described as 5-foot-8-inch male, weighing ...

W.Va. couple arrested for gross child neglect

BY CHRIS LAWRENCE SISSONVILLE — Two Kanawha County residents face charges of gross child neglect after the discovery of three children who were essentially held captive in two locations in the Sissonville community. Donald Ray Lantz, 63, and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, 61, both of Sissonville, were arrested Monday night on felony charges of gross child neglect creating a substantial risk of injury. Kanawha County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a home on Cheyenne Lane in Sissonville Monday evening after a 911 call regarding the welfare of the children. Deputies found two ...

U.S. Marshals seek man wanted for sexual assault on rail-trail

CLARKSBURG — The U.S. Marshals Service requests the public’s assistance in apprehending 31-year-old Emilio Pascual Guzman in the north-central West Virginia area. Guzman is wanted by the West Virginia State Police for first-degree sexual assault. Guzman is accused of sexually assaulting a woman on the Caperton Trail near Star City Park on Sept. 20, 2022. Guzman is believed to have ties to Guatemala. His full name is Emilio Pascual Guzman, but he’s also been known to use aliases Tony Gabriel and Antonio Gabriel Mendez. He is described as 5-foot-8-inch male, weighing ...