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Morgan County grand jury indicts 21 in April term

Members of the Morgan County grand jury indicted 21 people on felony criminal charges when they met in the Circuit Court in Berkeley Springs on Tuesday, April 3.

David B. Ball, 39, of Shangai Road, Berkeley Springs was indicted on five counts of second-degree sexual assault, five counts of sexual abuse by a custodian, five counts of incest and attempted second-degree sexual assault. Ball is accused of multiple sexual crimes against a minor victim between December 2017 and February 2018.

Ball was arrested by the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department on Tuesday, hours after his indictment, on a capias issued by Circuit Judge Laura Faircloth. He was incarcerated at the Eastern Regional Jail in lieu of a $100,000 bond.

Mark A. Beddow, 35, of Little Creek Trail, Berkeley Springs was indicted for possession of heroin with the intent to deliver the drug and felony conspiracy, both in August of 2017.

Jason A. Brill, 42, of Unger Store Road, Berkeley Springs was indicted on four counts of wanton endangerment involved a firearm. Brill is accused of wielding a .22 rifle during a March 2018 domestic incident, and then firing the rifle into the floor of a residence while three minors were in the room next door. Brill is free on a $5,000 bond.

Tommy D. Britt Jr., 36, of Timber Ridge Road, Berkeley Springs was indicted on one count of child neglect. Britt is accused of being under the influence of pills, marijuana and alcohol and overdosing while he was watching a four year old child with special needs in October 2017. Britt is free on a $15,000 bond.

Robert S. Cheatham, 45, of Sandstone Road, Berkeley Springs was indicted on two counts of fraudulent schemes, conspiracy, possession of heroin and possession of marijuana. Cheatham is accused of being part of a local drug operation from August to November of 2017. He is incarcerated at the Eastern Regional Jail.

Aleigha J. Cox, 20, of New Hope Road, Berkeley Springs was indicted for burglary, two counts of felony conspiracy, grand larceny and transferring stolen goods. Cox is accused of conspiring with two other men – Jacob Hoblitzell and Dennis Lafollette – to steal six firearms from a relative’s house and pawn them locally in October 2017. Cox is free on a $22,000 bond.

Hoblitzell, 25, of Masontown, W.Va. was indicted for burglary, two counts of conspiracy, grand larceny and transferring stolen goods. He is free on bond.

Dennis C. Lafollette, 25, of Highland Ridge Road, Berkeley Springs was indicted for burglary, two counts of conspiracy and grand larceny in the same scheme.

Tiffany M. Diehl, 26, of Fort Ashby was indicted on two counts of forgery, two counts of uttering and fraud in connection with an access device. Diehl is accused of using a debit card and checks without authorization in August 2017.

Raymond D. Herne, 64, of Berkeley Springs was indicted for burglary, battery and obstructing a law enforcement officer. Herne is accused of breaking into a neighbor’s home in July 2017, striking the neighbor and then resisting arrest. Herne is free on $10,000 bail.

Justin L. Hutson, 21, of Winchester, Va. was indicted for burglary, domestic battery, battery and destruction of property. Hutson is accused of breaking into a home, striking one victim in the face/body and choking another victim. He is also accused of breaking a window in the home. Hutson is free on a $5,000 bond.

Stanley L. Johnson, 59, of Martinsburg was indicted for driving on a license revoked for DUI, third offense. Johnson is accused of driving without a valid driver’s license. Johnson was previously convicted in the Martinsburg area of driving while his license was revoked and DUI. Johnson is free on a $5,000 bond.

Garland W. Miller, 36, of Winchester, Va. was indicted for fleeing in reckless disregard for the safety of others, passing in a no-passing zone, driving suspended third offense and speeding. Miller is accused of fleeing from police on U.S. 522 at speeds over 110 miles per hour in December 2017. He is accused of driving a deputy and several other drivers off the road as he fled into Virginia, where he was detained. Miller’s driver’s license had been suspended in 2014 and 2016 in Frederick County,Va. and in November 2016 in Hampshire County.

Clarence G. Nester Jr., 26, of Valley Road, Berkeley Springs was indicted for failing to appear in court for a felony preliminary hearing in July 2017. He is incarcerated in the Eastern Regional Jail.

Randy J. Remsburg, 50, of Hancock, Md. was indicted for DUI, third offense. Remsburg is accused of operating his vehicle while under the influence of alcohol in December 2017. Remsburg had been convicted of DUI in Fulton County, Pa. in 2011 and 2017. He is free on a $5,000 bond.

Ricky L. Sirbaugh Jr., 27, of Orleans Road, Great Cacapon was indicted for DUI, third offense. Sirbaugh is accused of crashing his vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. He was previously convicted of DUI in 2014 and 2015. His license was revoked for DUI in October 2015. Sirbaugh is free on $5,000 bail.

Melinda Shaw, 54, of McCumbee Lane, Berkeley Springs was indicted for financial exploitation of an elderly/incapacitated person and wrongfully seeking worker’s compensation benefits. Shaw is accused of misusing more than $1,000 in funds from a woman under her care from June to September 2016. Shaw is also accused of seeking workers compensation benefits of more than $1,000 from May to September 2016.

Anthony E. Vaughn, 32, of Harrisonburg, Va. was indicted for possession of heroin with the intent to deliver the drug, two counts of criminal conspiracy and possession of marijuana with the intent to deliver the drug. Vaughn is accused of conspiring with Franky DelToro last December to traffic marijuana and 94 grams of heroin through Paw Paw. Vaughn is free on $25,000 bail.

Jimmy W. Wills, 33, of Hedgesville was indicted for possession of child pornography. Wills is accused of downloading 46 images of minor females engaged in sexual conduct between September and October 2017. Wills is free on $2,500 bail.

Colby S. Woodal, 18, of Fairview Drive, Berkeley Springs was indicted on three counts of making threats of a terroristic act. Woodal is accused of threatening violence against Berkeley Springs High School and specific students there from January to February of this year. He is free on a $50,000 bond.

Johnathan A. Zimmerman, 28, of Hedgesville was indicted for possession of heroin with the intent to deliver the drug. Zimmerman is accused of having multiple packages of heroin and drug paraphernalia when police located him shooting up suspected heroin in the back seat of a church van this January. Zimmerman is incarcerated at the Eastern Regional Jail.

Circuit Judge Laura Faircloth presided over arraignments in the felony cases on Tuesday, April 10. At that time, the accused entered pleas of guilt or innocence and future court dates were set in each case.

 

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