A Hedgesville husband and wife were arrested on Friday, November 2 after police were called to a residence on Bernice Drive, near Pleasant View, for a domestic disturbance shortly before 3 p.m.
Officers from both the Morgan County Sheriffs Department and the West Virginia State Police responded to the call, in which a family member reported that the husband was armed with a shotgun and threatening to harm the caller, the wife and himself.
Cpl. J.A. Padilla was the lead officer on the scene. He coordinated officers in a perimeter around the residence and said officers were able to find an open door to get into the home.
Cpl. Padilla said once the two females on the scene were removed from the residence, officers were able to talk the husband into setting down his shotgun. Police were then able to secure him in handcuffs.
Cpl Padilla charged James E. Pitzer, 49, with three misdemeanors — being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, domestic battery and brandishing a deadly weapon. Pitzer had previously been convicted of felony grand larceny, which makes him ineligible to have a firearm.
Lt. Seth Place of the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department placed Carolyn A. Pitzer, 47, under arrest on a felony charge for cultivating/manufacturing a controlled substance after a marijuana plant was found on the property. Place also saw several smoking devices including a “bong” in a rear bedroom.
At press time, both Pitzers were in custody at the Eastern Regional Jail in Martinsburg in lieu of a $5,000 cash bail.
