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Police charge woman for stealing RV from airport

A Berkeley Springs woman has been charged with grand larceny after police responded to a call for an RV stolen from the Hancock airport.

Alethia P. Hovermale, 27, of Pious Ridge Road was arrested on the charge on Thursday, March 11.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Morgan County Magistrate Court, Capt. Tim Stapleton of the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department was called to the airport on March 9 by an individual who rents buildings at the airpark. The man told Capt. Stapleton that a Winnebago camper he had parked by the airplane hangar had been stolen.

Capt. Stapleton followed tracks out of the hangar area and off the runway, and located the RV roughly a mile away stuck in a muddy stream.

According to the police report, a window in a side door had been broken out and there was blood on the inside and outside of the RV. Police collected the blood samples for analysis.

Two days later, the department received a call that a woman, later identified as Hovermale, had admitted to stealing the RV.

Deputies Burkholder, Cpl. Luke Shambaugh and Sheriff K.C. Bohrer returned to the airport to interview a witness who said he had seen Hovermale walking on the Hancock bridge and had given her a ride. During conversation, he told police, Hovermale said she had gone for a walk with her two children down to the airport. There, they located the RV and Hovermale knocked the window out to gain entry to it. When she found the keys inside, Hovermale allegedly said she decided to drive the Winnebago off. The RV got stuck in the mud by a creek.

Police said the RV is valued at $12,000 and sustained some damage during the incident.

Hovermale was incarcerated at the Eastern Regional Jail but is free on  bond.

Driver cited in crash

In other police news, the driver in a Saturday car crash has been cited for failure to maintain control of his vehicle and having no child restraint for a passenger. Sheriff K.C. Bohrer reported that Franklin Chavis of Paw Paw was cited after deputies were called to the vehicle accident  in the 6000 block of Cacapon Road.

According to police, Cpl. Luke Shambaugh found a vehicle that had run off the left side of the road and struck a mailbox, then drove through a driveway and struck a large tree, causing the vehicle to spin and get stuck on an embankment.

A female front-seat passenger was transported to Winchester Medical Center and was in intensive care on Monday, said Sheriff Bohrer.

Two charged in thefts

Also on Saturday, police recovered two items of stolen property in Morgan County that had been transported from Maryland.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Morgan County Magistrate Court, Victoria L. Berned, 28, of Flintstone, Md. and Tucker J. Price, 25, of Hancock were charged with the felony of bringing stolen property into West Virginia.

Deputy T.G. Link of the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department investigated the case at the request of the Maryland State Police. On Saturday, he responded to an address on Hobday Court and observed a black van that had been reported stolen. Berned was in the driver’s seat of the van when police arrived.

Price was located by Deputy Link inside a residence at the address, kneeling behind a bed. He was detained as person of interest in the theft of a John Deere riding mower that was recovered at the property.

Both Berned and Price were charged and were being held in lieu of a $10,000 cash/surety bond.

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