2nd escapee turns himself in

After nearly three weeks on the run, an escaped Mount Olive Correctional Complex inmate is back in jail.

William Okey Cline, 25, turned himself into the Wyoming County Sheriff’s Department just after midnight today, according to Sheriff Randall Aliff.

Cline was found to be missing from the complex’s minimum security work camp Oct. 26.

Aliff said Cline had been in the Hanover area, where he had relatives and where authorities had been searching since his escape.

“We had some good intelligence on him,” Aliff said, adding authorities were closing in on the escapee.

Cline was sentenced to one to 10 years in prison for daytime burglary and considered a non-violent offender.

He was transported to Southern Regional Jail, Aliff said, then will be returned to Mount Olive.

A second inmate, Kenneth Ray Hager, who escaped at the same time, turned himself into Boone County authorities Nov. 6.

Read more...

Putnam deputies look for fugitive

WINFIELD -- Putnam County officers are looking for Timothy Allen Ward.
According to Sheriff Mark Smith, Ward was handcuffed to a metal rail while being processed. Ward Got out of the handcuffs and fled the Sheriffs office on foot.

He is described as a white male, between 5 feet 5 to 7 inches tall and weighing 145 to 170 pounds. He has short brown hair with scars on his head and brown eyes. He is wearing a ripped up black shirt and blue jeans and is barefoot. He has numerous tattoos including one on his neck of praying hands.

Sheriff Smith is asking anyone that sees Ward to call Putnam 911 and not to approach him

Read more...

Escaped inmate back in custody

One of two inmates who escaped from a work camp last month is back in custody.

State corrections officials said Kenneth Ray Hager, 30, turned himself in to Boone County authorities Friday.

Hager and William Okey Cline, 25, were discovered missing during a head count Oct. 26 at the minimum-security Slayton Work Camp at Mount Olive Correctional Complex.

Hager was serving time for burglary, grand larceny and breaking and entering in Boone County. Cline was sentenced for daytime burglary in Wyoming County. Cline remained at-large Friday.

Authorities said Hager was being held at Southwestern Regional Jail and would be returned to Mount Olive today.

Read more...

Mass.fugitive caught in Greenbrier

A Massachusetts fugitive wanted for violation of parole stemming from an Oct. 25 armed robbery charge, was arrested in Greenbrier County Thursday evening after he and his girlfriend led police on a 3-mile chase and attempted to flee the scene on foot.

Lewisburg Police Chief Tim Stover says officials got word that Jason Roy Delaney, 28, and Pamela Louise Zygmont, 25, both of Massachusetts, were planning on stopping at the Lewisburg Wal-Mart Thursday evening after leaving a family residence in Pocahontas County at which they had been staying.

A be-on-the-lookout for their vehicle was put into effect, Stover said.

Lewisburg Police Cpl. Jeff Vance and Greenbrier County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Shepherd spotted the vehicle around 8:50 p.m., headed north on U.S. 219 in Lewisburg, Stover added.

The officers stopped the vehicle, which was driven by Zygmont; Delaney was a passenger. “As they approached the vehicle, they sped northbound on 219,” Stover commented.

The two officers entered into a pursuit with the vehicle for a distance of approximately 3 miles.

The chase ended when Zygmont crashed the vehicle near the Vago Road intersection at Maxwelton.

“Delaney took off on foot after the accident and was apprehended by the officers,” Vance said.

Both Delaney and Zygmont were treated at Greenbrier Valley Medical Center for injuries and were taken to Southern Regional Jail.

Zygmont was charged with reckless driving, driving with a revoked license and fleeing police.

She is being held on $8,500 bond.

Delaney is awaiting extradition back to Massachusetts, Stover said.

Read more...

WV football player arrested

For the second time this week, a W.V.U. football player is arrested.

Defensive Back Courtney Stuart has been arrested in Mon County on charges out of Arizona.

He's charged with burglary, trafficking stolen property, and being a fugitive from justice.

Stuart knew he was facing the charges when he transferred to W.V.U. from Phoenix College in 2008.

But, his attorney says the charges came as a shock because he had considered the incident closed.

Stuart's being held in the North Central Regional Jail on a $20,000 bond.

Defensive Lineman Scooter Berry was arrested last weekend on public intoxication and disorderly conduct charges.

Read more...

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.

Read more...

State Police Nab Two Fugitives for Writing Bad Checks

State police in Weston arrest a couple for allegedly writing bogus checks at the Jane Lew Fireman's Festival.

Shirley Larue, 45, and Mark Larue, 46, are charged with fraudulent schemes and conspiracy. They allegedly wrote nearly a dozen bad checks at the festival a few weeks ago.

Troopers found the couple in Clarksburg and also learned they were wanted in Oklahoma and Florida on similar charges.

They're being held at the North Central Regional Jail.

Read more...