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Whoever happens to stop by this blog may wonder why I started it. Whenever I read news stories online I always like to put a face to the story. So I got to thinking maybe other people would as well. I always keep up on WV news and most stories don't have the mugshots with them so I hunt them up online and post them with the story. It's not that hard and I don't know why the state news sites don't do it

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Judge increases bond for fugitive wanted in WV


A district judge in Colorado this past week increased the bond of fugitive Howard Dotson, 60, who is wanted in West Virginia on suspicion of 96 counts of sexual assault.

The bond was increased to $1 million from $260,000.

Dotson was indicted on 96 counts of sexual assault for 10 years of alleged abuse of his four stepdaughters.

Court documents say Dotson fathered a child with one of the victims.

Dotson’s trial had been postponed four times, from March 11, 1997, to July 15, 1997, then Dec. 2, 1997. Finally, when Dotson failed to appear at the March 31, 2008 trial date, a warrant was issued for his arrest.

It is uncertain how long Dotson has lived and worked in Colorado. Records on file at the Boone County Courthouse list Dotson’s last known residence in the state of Indiana.

According to authorities, Dotson has a home and family in Colorado and is reportedly fighting extradition back to West Virginia.

Dotson’s bond was reported increased not only because of his outstanding warrant, but also because of suspicious circumstances surrounding his arrest on Sept. 27 in Colorado.

On that day, the Colorado State Patrol arrested Dotson after a traffic accident on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, cruelty toward a child, a traffic offense, and fraudulent impersonation, according to the online booking record at the Mesa County Sheriff's Office.

Reportedly, Dotson and a girl, 10, suffered minor injuries when a Dodge Caravan flipped over onto its top.

“(EMT) told me that when he asked the girl what they were doing out in Whitewater, she told him she didn’t want to talk about it,” the affidavit reportedly states.

“We’re just waiting for the charges against Dotson in Colorado to be finished up,” a source in the Prosecutor’s Office said. Dotson is scheduled to return to court in Colorado on the charges he faces there, as well as his extradition to Boone County in November.

Authorities in Boone County say Dotson can waive extradition, and they are prepared to get a governor’s warrant and present it to the court in Colorado.

“One way or another, now that he’s caught, we will get him into a West Virginia court," arresting officer Spangler has stated.

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