Mercer Sheriff — Nov. 13-18, 2009

MERCER SHERIFF

Nov. 13

• PETIT LARCENY: A complainant reported four bronze headstone vases were stolen from Woodlawn Cemetery.



Nov. 14

• DRIVING REVOKED: Dep. J.D. Ellison reported seeing a black pick-up truck traveling across the center line in his lane of traffic on Glenwood Park Road. The officer initiated a traffic stop investigation, and a driver’s license check reported the driver did not have a valid license. Michael Casey, 57, of Princeton, was charged with driving revoked.



• DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY: Dep. J.D. Ellison responded to Strawberry Loop, where a complainant advised someone broke the windshield on his vehicle.



• BATTERY, ASSAULT: Dep. J.D. Ellison and Sgt. G.W. Woods responded to Mary I. Johnson Road, where a complainant advised her ex-boyfriend arrived to pick up some clothes and an altercation ensued. The woman alleged the ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend behaved aggressively toward her, prompting her to spray the new girlfriend with pepper spray. The officer noted that the woman was outside the home and obviously in pain. In addition to the complainant, ex-boyfriend and his girlfriend, another woman at the scene was also believed to have been involved in the dispute. All parties refused to pursue charges, and Ellison advised anyone who didn’t live at the home to leave immediately.



• DOMESTIC BATTERY: Dep. J.D. Gills responded to Tugela Holler Road in the Montcalm area. There, a complainant and her two daughters reported the complainant’s husband arrived home extremely intoxicated and battered the daughters. One claimed her father grabbed her, pinned her to the kitchen counter and held a pocket knife to her throat. The 17-year-old was able to push the man away, and he then allegedly attacked her 20year-old sister, punching her several times in the face and chest. The mother, two daughters and one of their children reported they escaped the residence and locked themselves in a vehicle outside. George Justice, 53, of Bluefield, was charged with two charges of domestic battery.



• ASSAULT ON AN OFFICER, OBSTRUCTING: Dep. J.E. Coulter responded to Coppola’s Mobile Home Park, where a complainant advised a son had assaulted his handicapped father and began demolishing items in the residence. When Coulter arrived, the son was lying on the ground, yelling unintelligibly. After several orders to roll over onto his back, the suspect allegedly got to his feet and assumed a boxing stance. The man also allegedly refused repeatedly to place his hands behind his back to be cuffed and threatened the officer. After a brief struggle and a burst of pepper spray, Coulter and Dep. J.R. Coburn arrested David Houk Jr., 30, of Brushfork, and transported him to Bluefield Police Department for decontamination, processing and holding.



Nov. 15

• DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY: Dep. A.M. Ballard and Senior Dep. W.C. Wilborn responded to a residence on Votive Road, where a complainant advised a motorist drove into a yard, appearing to be extremely intoxicated and wearing a home confinement bracelet. The driver allegedly spun the wheels on the vehicle, damaging the lawn. The driver fled, and complainants reported her father arrived to claim the car.



• DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY: A complainant in Christian Acres in Bluefield reported someone broke the windshield of his pickup truck. The complainant also told Dep. J.D. Ellison that the vehicle appeared to have been keyed.



• ILLEGAL POSSESSION OF A FIREARM: Dep. J.R. Coburn responded to a shots-fired complaint on Gardner Road, where Dep. J.D. Gills and members of the West Virginia State Police also arrived to assist. Officers located a male outside the residence, who stated that he lived there with his father. A criminal history check through Mercer County Control revealed a domestic violence conviction on the resident’s record. Officers also reported finding three firearms, ammunition and multiple containers of a substance that appeared to be marijuana. Michael Ray Watts, 39, of Princeton, was taken into custody.



• PETIT LARCENY: Dep. J.E. Coulter investigated a report of a stolen chainsaw in the Midway area. The complainant reported the saw was taken from the bed of his truck while he was working at Restwood Apartments in the Brushfork area. A witness identified a suspect vehicle, and the investigation was ongoing.



Nov. 17

• POSSIBLE ARSON: Sgt. S.J. Cary responded to Fred & Jack’s Salvage Yard on Brickyard Road, where a complainant advised there had been a suspicious fire. The officer observed a 2005 Dodge Neon fully engulfed in flames when he arrived. The vehicle had been sold as a junked vehicle and was surrounded by approximately 50 other cars in similar condition. Officers searched the area and business but did not find anything out of place or missing.



• DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY: Dep. J.R. Coburn responded to Blueprince Road in Green Valley, were a complainant advised the tires on his vehicle had been punctured and that the driver’s side appeared to have key scratches on it. The officer also located broken eggs on the outside of a mailbox and egg shells inside it.



• DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY: A Brickyard Road complainant reported both her vehicles had been damaged. One had a side mirror broken and a windshield busted. The second also exhibited a broken windshield and passenger-side window. Dep. J.D. Ellison reported there were also muddy footprints on the hood of her cars, and the complainant’s purse was stolen.



• CAPIAS: Sgt. G.W. Woods arrested Heather Mills, 34, of Bluefield, on a warrant from Magistrate Rick Fowler’s office.



• PETIT LARCENY, DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY: Sgt. S.J. Cary investigated a Kelly Street report of destruction of property. The complainant advised that someone used a cinder block to break the passenger window of her Ford Ranger. Her purse was also allegedly stolen.



• BATTERY ON AN OFFICER, Etc.: Lt. J.E. Parks responded to a report of a female being assaulted in Lashmeet. The complainant advised she had been attempting to find a woman’s home because her nephew was supposed to be with the woman. While on Cabin Branch Road, the complainant said she stopped a vehicle and asked if the occupants knew the woman she was attempting to find. The woman in the vehicle then allegedly jumped out of the Bronco and attacked the complainant, accusing the complainant of following her. Nearby, the officer heard a disturbance at a residence, where a man was angry that the suspect’s green Bronco had spun through his yard, damaging his property. Meanwhile, the original female suspect had also arrived at the property, where she allegedly attacked the complainant again and began beating on her vehicle. The officer intervened in that dispute and broke up the fight, during which time, Amanda Burdette, 34, of Rock, allegedly threatened to kill the officer numerous times. She was arrested on multiple battery charges. After securing the woman in his cruiser, Parks made contact with a man walking along Cabin Branch Road. The man then allegedly accosted another person nearby. Kevin Dewayne Farley, 33, of Rock, was also arrested.



Nov. 18

• GRAND LARCENY: Dep. M.S. Horn arrested Joseph Jerome Panagopoulos, 53, of Bluefield, on a warrant alleging grand larceny.



• GRAND LARCENY: Capt. M.L. Gills investigated a report from a Route 5 resident, who reported that she believed her son had taken electronics from her home while she was away to pawn them. The property was recovered at a Bluewell pawn shp, and a warrant was pending on the suspect.

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