Area News
Jury finds Shute guilty of first-degree murder, other felonies, grants no mercy
After deliberating for fewer than two hours on Wednesday, July 18, a Morgan County jury returned a verdict of guilty on all charges in the triple murder case against Erick Shute. The verdict included three counts of first-degree murder. Each count corresponds to a victim in the June 13, 2016 triple homicide in the Valley…
Read MoreShute testifies as murder trial enters third day
Erick Shute took the stand in his own defense on Wednesday, July 18, during the third day of his trial for murder in Morgan County Circuit Court. Shute was the first of three defense witnesses that testified on Wednesday. Shute was on the stand for 45 minutes. Linda Shute, the mother of the accused, and…
Read MoreVictims in 2016 triple shooting were unarmed, asked to watch over property next to Shute
by Kate Shunney Morgan County’s Prosecuting Attorney opened the murder trial of Erick Shute on Monday, July 16 by telling a Morgan County jury of nine men and three women that the 35-year-old Great Cacapon man “took the law into his own hands” on June 13, 2016 when he shot and killed three men on…
Read MoreMan arrested on weapons charge at local church
A Berkeley Springs man has been charged with wanton endangerment after police were called to a downtown church for reports of a possible hostage situation on Monday, July 16. Richard “Rick” Jenkinson, 60, was located and disarmed by police after they received a 911 call from the wife of the pastor of the Gospel Light…
Read MoreFrontier internet outages & service delays are top complaints
by Kate Shunney A number of Morgan County residents have complained in recent weeks about increased Frontier internet outages and wait times to get company technicians to fix their service. In some cases, local customers have been told they must wait up to 20 days for a technician to respond to a trouble ticket. Frontier…
Read MoreShute murder trial underway
A jury of nine men and three women were sworn in this morning in Morgan County Circuit Court as the murder trial of Erick Shute begins, two years after Shute shot and killed three Great Cacapon men and is alleged to have tried to kill a fourth man. Circuit Judge Steve Redding is presiding over…
Read MoreSheriff’s Dept. working to identify deceased man left at hospital
The Morgan County Sheriff’s Department is working to identify a deceased African-American male who was dropped off at War Memorial Hospital this morning, July 13, and are investigating the circumstances of his death. Deputy Luke Shambaugh is the lead investigator in the case. According to a press release from Sheriff K.C. Bohrer, the unidentified male,…
Read MoreSuspected local case not Hepatitis A; state case numbers rise
by Kate Evans A suspected case of Hepatitis A in Morgan County was determined not to be a case of the virus after investigation, said Berkeley County/Morgan County Health Department nurse Angie Gray on Monday morning. Berkeley County still has three cases of Hepatitis A. The number of acute hepatitis A virus cases in West…
Read MoreCouncil seeks grant money for water lines
by Trish Rudder They say the third time’s the charm. At the Town of Bath council meeting on July 5, Mayor Scott Merki authorized the submission of a third Community Development Block Grant – Small Cities application to the West Virginia Development Office for $1.5 million. The grant would pay for the new public water…
Read MoreTwo drivers charged in separate accidents
The drivers of two vehicles face criminal charges for their roles in two separate motor vehicle crashes last week that sent four individuals to the hospital for medical treatment. The first of the two incidents was a single-vehicle accident on Tuesday, July 3 in the 200 block of Fearnow Road east of Berkeley Springs shortly…
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