Man guilty of malicious assault; others sentenced in Circuit Court
A Morgan County Circuit Court jury found a Martinsburg man guilty on Thursday, March 20, of maliciously assaulting a man near the Morgan/Berkeley county line last summer.
John L. Potter, 25, of West John Street, became the third person convicted in the beating of Andrew Harler near Snyder's Bible Chapel on July 19, 2007.
Potter was also found guilty of conspiring with Keean Hensen and Tawanna Bygrave Graham to commit the crime, but he was found not guilty of attempting to kidnap Harler in what appeared to be a dispute over a debt.
Potter maintained that he was not at the site of the beating.
In January, a different jury found Hensen, 25, guilty of malicious assault and conspiracy, but not of attempted kidnapping.
Last fall, Graham pled guilty to battery and conspiracy and was placed on three years probation.
Potter's sentencing is set for May 5 before Circuit Judge Gina Groh.
Recent sentences
In recent weeks, Judge Groh has sentenced a number of people who entered pleas in Morgan County Circuit Court.
James R. Spencer, 51, of Amelia Street, Paw Paw, was sentenced to 6-to-30 years in prison after pleading to two counts of maliciously assaulting a police officer and fleeing an accident scene involving injury in March, 2007.
Harry R. Asquith, 37, of Mercury Way, Berkeley Springs, was sentenced to a year in the Eastern Regional Jail after pleading no contest to battery, a misdemeanor.
Asquith was originally indicted for sexually assaulting a teenaged girl in 2006.
Mike Deminico, 22, of Gaither Road, Great Cacapon, was given a suspended sentence of six years in prison for wanton endangerment (threatening people with a firearm) and destruction of property.
Deminico had previously been sent to the Anthony Center for Youthful Offenders and returned here with a positive report. He was put on five years probation and must pay $3,406 restitution.
Trevor Alan Widmyer, 20, of Sugar Hollow Road, Berkeley Springs, was given a suspended sentence of one-to-10 years in prison after pleading guilty to the grand larceny of items from a Berkeley Springs High School locker room in January, 2006.
Widmyer was placed on five years probation.
Justin Miller, 18, of Glen Marnay Way, Berkeley Springs, was given a one-year suspended sentence after pleading no contest to petit larceny. He was placed on two years probation.
William R. Mincher of Skeeter Trail, Berkeley Springs, was given a suspended six-month sentence after pleading guilty to engaging in fraudulent schemes involving worthless checks.
Mincher was placed on two years probation and must make restitution to the businesses involved
Marlena S. Gregory, 31, of North Laurel Avenue, Berkeley Springs, was given a suspended sentence of a year in jail after pleading to possession of cocaine and marijuana. Gregory was placed on a year's probation.
Edward Thomas Davies, Sr., 36, of Harrison Avenue, Berkeley Springs, was sentenced to one-to-three years in prison after pleading to a felony third offense of driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages and a misdemeanor of driving while his license was revoked for DUI. He must also pay a $1,000 fine.
Paul A. Youngblood, 20, of Wilkes Street, Berkeley Springs, was given a suspended sentence of one-to-five years in prison after he pled to fleeing from police while driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages.
Youngblood had previously been sent to the Anthony Center for Youthful Offenders and was returned with a positive report. He must serve one day in jail and pay $100 fine, and will be on three years probation.
Probation revoked
Judge Groh revoked probation for Dorlinda Gibson, 34, of Berkeley Springs. Gibson must now serve a prison sentence of one-to-10 years for fraudulent use of a credit card.
