Friday, April 15, 2011
EKB Capsule News...West Virginia...4-16-'11
Timothy Sutherland, 30, of Nitro, was sentenced to life in prison without mercy Friday for stabbing and killing his cousin, 32 year old Stacie Ann Smith of St. Albans, in December 2009. A Kanawha County jury convicted Sutherland of first-degree murder in March. At his sentencing Friday, Sutherland's attorney made a motion for judgment of acquittal not withstanding the verdict. The defense claimed the state had not met the burden of proof required to convict Sutherland of first-degree murder. Sutherland had claimed he was high on drugs at the time of the killing, meaning he could not have committed premeditated murder. Kanawha County Circuit Judge Jim Stucky promptly rejected the motion. When Sutherland was convicted in March, the jury did not recommend mercy. Sutherland has no possibility of parole.
- Alpha Natural Resources Inc. and Massey Energy Co. said in a joint news release Friday that Alpha's proposed takeover of Massey could be completed within seven weeks. Special stockholder meetings will be held on June 1st. If approved, the companies expected to promptly complete the acquisition. April 27th is the date for determining the holders of common stock that will be entitled to vote at the special meetings. Richmond-based Massey agreed to a $7.1 billion buyout offer from Abingdon-based Alpha in January. The deal has cleared regulatory approval.
- According to a series of internal audits made public late Friday, U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration managers did not properly supervise or train inspectors, and MSHA officials did not do enough to look critically at their own actions and improve agency performance before April's explosion that killed 29 miners at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County. Auditors who visited MSHA's field office in Norton, Va., for example, found that inspectors often did not catch safety problems related to active conveyor belts. They also overlooked delays by a mine operator in keeping emergency-escape equipment properly placed as mining activities progressed underground. In Harlan County, Ky., auditors discovered spot inspections of especially dangerous mines were not performed on the legally required schedule. Inspectors in the office did not issue enforcement actions that matched the problems outlined in their own inspection notes. Similar problems were found in other locations.
- Raleigh County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating after a body was spotted in the woods off Sherwood Road in Bradley Friday evening.
Bond has been set for Roy McKean, Bryan McKean and Mary Adkins, three suspects accused of operating a meth lab in Putnam County. West Virginia State Police went to Poplar Drive, off Teays Valley Road in Scott Depot Thursday afternoon and found the three making meth. Adkins is five months pregnant. They remain in the Western Regional Jail on a $75,000 bond.
- Teenagers all over Kanawha County should know: Big Brother is watching you. Sheriff's deputies and police officers all over the county will be putting extra patrols around graduation ceremonies and proms this spring while on the lookout for drivers under the influence. The extra patrols are made possible with $15,000 from a public safety levy.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 11:04 PM 
