Tuesday, May 03, 2011
EKB Capsule News...West Virginia...5-4-'11
- Crystal Seigler-Clark, the woman charged with allegedly killing her estranged husband, David Clark, and abducting her 13-month-old daughter Chloe, from Mingo County, waived extradition in a court in Madison County Tennessee Tuesday morning and will be brought back to West Virginia later this week. The Mingo County Sheriff's Department will bring Seigler-Clark back to West Virginia to face a charge of murder. The department will wait a few days for possible evidence found in Tennessee to be processed.
- A jury has been seated and opening statements made in connection to a 2010 murder in Raleigh County. In opening statements Tuesday, prosecuting attorney Kristen Keller laid out a case against 38 year old Christopher Bowling of Daniels, the man charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife. Tresa Bowling was shot in the head on the night of January 31, 2010. Keller pointed to statements from Tresa's daughter from another marriage. Keller says the girl reportedly overheard her mother say "it's not my fault" just before she was shot. Bowling's defense team painted the shooting as a tragic accident after a long day of drinking. They claim Bowling squatted down to talk to her after a funeral of a friend, and the gun was pinching him. As he was pulling the gun out, it accidentally discharged. Investigators say the evidence pointed out inconsistencies in his story.
- Michael Fannin, 41, of Huntington, was arrested Tuesday and charged with child abuse by a parent, guardian, or custodian leading to death. Saturday, Cabell Huntington Hospital reported a 4-month-old girl was admitted with a "severe head trauma." The baby died Monday. Police say the head injuries happened at Fannin's home at Marcum Terrace where he was babysitting. Police say Fannin admitted to dropping the baby on her head on the bare concrete floor of the living room. He is in the Western Regional Jail. Bond has been set at $1 million.
- Emanuel Ray Jackson, 22, of Montcalm, in Mercer County, was arrested April 25th on first-degree murder charges, grand larceny and felony destruction of property after being accused of killing his cousin's wife, 21 year old Erika Goad. Sheriff's deputies believe the motive for the murder centers around a relationship between Goad and Jackson. Goad had been missing for nearly two weeks, before her body was found on Little Rich Creek Road between Spanishburg and Lashmeet. Jackson appeared in court Tuesday for a probable cause hearing, and his case was sent to the grand jury.
- Dustin C. Hill, 27, of Barboursville, was arrested Monday after West Virginia State Police in the Crimes Against Children Unit were notified by Wal-Mart employees in Barboursville that photos were developed and it appeared to be minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Police obtained a search warrant for Hall's home where they confiscated electronic evidence for examination. Hall was charged with possession of material visually portraying minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. He was taken to the Western Regional Jail and placed on a $50,000 bond.
- West Virginia State Police in Boone County were responding to a call at Toney’s Branch Apartments in Bloomingrose. While on the way, troopers say Christopher Thuener from Ashford almost ran them off the road. Troopers attempted to pull him over, but Thuener wrecked his car and ran into a nearby house where he knew the people inside. A trooper and a K9 went into the house and was attacked by a pit bull which was shot by the trooper. Thuener was found in a bedroom with a shotgun. The K9 bit him and the trooper was able to get the gun away from Thuener. Thuener was taken to CAMC where he was treated for a bite wound from the K-9.
- Boone County Deputies have charged Greg Hensley with child neglect creating a substantial risk of injury after deputies found him passed out while he was supposed to be watching his three young children, a 2 year old, 1 year old and a 2 month old. Deputies were called to Hensley's home Monday after the mother of the children called police and told them she got a call from the 2 year old saying their father would not wake up. Deputies say they also found the children living in "deplorable" conditions.
- A gallon of regular unleaded in West Virginia is now going for $4.29. The national average for a gallon of gas is at $3.96. AAA says the average in West Virginia is at $4.10. But drivers in larger areas like Charleston and Huntington are paying 19 cents more. According to www.gasbuddy.com, the most expensive gasoline in the state can be found in Ravenswood at $4.39.
- Campaign finance reports filed Tuesday show Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin raised more campaign funds in the most recent election reporting period than the other five Democratic candidates for governor did combined. The reports show Tomblin brought in approximately $776,000, most of that at various fundraising events. Fellow Democratic candidates reported raising approximately $644,000 including Jeff Kessler ($72,200), John Perdue ($211,000), Rick Thompson (227,000), Natalie Tennant ($131,800), and Arne Moltis ($1,160). Tomblin also spent more than any of the other Democratic candidates in the period at $1.2 million. Half of that was for television commercials.
- In an effort to start paying off the more than $200 million unfunded liabilities in the current system, the Charleston City Council approved a move Monday that will phase out the current retirement system for police and firefighters. Any new hires will enroll in the new system, while current employees and retirees will remain in the old system. The state Legislature passed a bill this session that allows the city to become a part of the West Virginia Municipal Police Officers and Firefighters Retirement System. City Manager David Molgaard says the new system will cause the city to pay about $1.5 million more in retiree costs next fiscal year, which begins July 1st. The city has only about $856,000 currently available to put toward that, meaning it needs to find about $650,000. Under the new plan, employers and employees will both contribute 8.5 percent, some to go into a trust fund to be invested. The city has had a hiring freeze since March 2010. Molgaard says four new police officers could be in the academy by July.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 10:17 PM 
