GRUNDY, Va. —
A suspect in the murder of a McDowell County mayor chose Monday in a Virginia court to waive extradition proceedings and return to West Virginia.
Earl Click, 26, of Grundy, Va., was arrested July 20 along with his sister, Rebecca Lynn Hatcher, 31, of War. Both Click and Rebecca Hatcher were charged with first-degree murder in the death of her father-in-law, Dr. Thomas C. “Tom” Hatcher, mayor of War in McDowell County.
Click appeared for a hearing Monday in Buchanan County General District Court. During that hearing before Judge Richard Patterson, Click waived his right to an attorney and his right to extradition proceedings, according to the judge’s administrative assistant.
West Virginia authorities have 21 days to take Click into custody.
Deputies with the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office arrested Click at his home, the Appalachian Inn apartments on Hoot Owl Road near Grundy, Va., said Sheriff Ray Foster.
“I was with them when we took him in,” Foster said. “It was about 10 o’clock at night.”
Click was taken into custody without incident, and stated then that he planned to waive extradition proceedings, Foster said. Deputies with the McDowell County Sheriff’s Department informed their colleagues in Virginia about Click’s possible whereabouts.
“They relayed it to us and we followed through with it, and low and behold, there he was,” Foster said.
Click is being detained at the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail in Haysi, Va.
Rebecca Hatcher, who was arrested in War, is currently at the Southwestern Regional Jail in Holden. A bond hearing, which must be held before a circuit court judge, had not been scheduled as of Monday.
War city employees found Mayor Hatcher in his home July 17 when he did not appear at work. The McDowell County Sheriff’s Department has not released a cause of death.
Approximately $1,100 was allegedly stolen from Tom Hatcher’s home at the time of his death. Chief Deputy Mark Shelton said during a July 20 press conference in Welch that the cast was “most likely” taken to purchase drugs.
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July 24, 2012
Click to return to W.Va. after waiving extradition
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