A Berkeley Springs man has been charged with first-degree robbery.
Derrick D. Gladden, 43, was charged with the felony on Saturday, March 6.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Morgan County Magistrate Court, Sgt. S. A. Nazelrod of the West Virginia State Police responded to a call on Saturday evening for a burglary/robbery complaint at a residence on Sticky Kline Road.
Sgt. Nazelrod reported that the victim had been letting Gladden stay at his home but the suspect had left the premises on Friday. The
victim told police that he went out and when he returned, he noticed multiple firearms and other items missing from his residence. The victim suspected Gladden in the thefts, so he went to a residence on Pine Grove Road where he believed Gladden was staying.
According to the criminal complaint, the victim saw Gladden at the house wearing a sweatshirt that belonged to the victim, and witnesse
d Gladden doing intravenous drugs.
When the victim confronted Gladden about his belongings, Gladden allegedly punched him in the face, produced a small handgun which he pointed at the man, and demanded that the victim hand over the contents of his pockets, including cash and a cell phone.
Officers from the West Virginia State Police and Morgan County Sheriff’s Department later served a search warrant at the residence on Pine Grove Road, where they found the handgun described in the incident in a pile a trash, the victim’s cellphone disassembled, drugs and paraphernalia.
Gladden remains incarcerated under a $5,000 cash-only bond.
