By Stephen Smoot
On Nov. 4, the Pendleton County Grand Jury met and issued the following indictments. In the State of West Virginia and most other areas of the United States, a grand jury meets to indict those accused of crimes. Grand jury indictments only indicate that there is enough evidence for an individual to go to the next step, that being judgment by a petit jury of 12 of his or her peers.
A petit jury then hears the case and renders a verdict of guilty or not guilty based on the evidence and arguments presented by the prosecution.
The grand jury indicted William Russell Eckard on two felony counts.
The first count is for “Sexual Assault in the Second Degree, a Felony . . . charging that (he) did on or about May 29, 2024 . . . did unlawfully and feloniously engage in sexual intercourse and sexual intrusion with another person . . . a minor, without that person’s consent and the lack of consent resulted from forcible compulsion, against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The second count is for “Abduction of a person, a Felony . . . (he) did unlawfully and feloniously take away another person and detain another person against that person’s will with intent to defile that person . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The grand jury indicted Jashua Kenneth Simmons on three counts
The first count charges Simmons with “Strangulation, a Felony . . . (he) did unlawfully and feloniously strangle another without that person’s consent and thereby did cause the other person bodily injury or loss of consciousness . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The second count charges Simmons with “Domestic Battery, a Misdemeanor. . . (he) did unlawfully and intentionally make physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature to their family or household member . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The third count charges Simmons with “Domestic Assault, a Misdemeanor . . . (he) did unlawfully attempt to commit a violent injury against a family or household member or did unlawfully commit an act which placed said family or household member in reasonable apprehension of receiving a violent injury . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.
The grand jury indicted Mark Shannon Long II on two counts.
The first count charges Long of “Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance, a Felony . . . (he) did unlawfully and feloniously possess with intent to deliver a controlled substance, to wit: Methamphetamine, a Schedule II Controlled Substance, against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.
The second count charges Long with “Conspiracy, a Felony . . . (he) did unlawfully and feloniously, conspire with ADAM THOMAS WHITELAW . . . to commit the offense of Possession With Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance (Methamphetamine) a Felony . . . and that two or more of the party members to the conspiracy did commit acts in furtherance thereof, against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.
The grand jury indicted Nathan Harper Dove on four counts.
The first count charges Dove with “Distribution and Exhibiting of Material Depicting a Minor Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct, a Felony . . . (he) did unlawfully, feloniously, knowingly, and willfully, send, or cause to be sent or distribute, exhibit, possess, electronically access with intent to view, display, or transport fewer than fifty (50) images visually portraying a minor engaged in any sexually explicit conduct . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The second count charges Dove with “Possession and Distribution of Child Erotica, a Misdemeanor . . . (he) did unlawfully, knowingly, and intentionally, being over the age of 18 D.O.B. 4/15/68, produces, possesses, displays, or distributes, in any form, visual portrayals of minors who are partially clothed, where the visual portrayals are (1) Unrelated to the sale of a commercially available product; and (2) used for purely prurient purposes . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The third count charges Dove with “Failure to Register As a Sex Offender or Provide Notice of Registration Changes, Second or Subsequent Offense, a Felony . . . (he) did unlawfully and feloniously and knowingly refuse to provide accurate information when so required by the terms of this article . . . as a person required to register for life pursuant to this article . . . having previously been convicted of ‘Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree’ with a conviction date on or about October 31, 2001 . . . and ‘Distributing and Exhibiting Material Depicting a Minor Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct’ . . . and having previously been convicted of ‘Failure to Register as a Sexual Offender’ . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.
The fourth count charges Dove with “Obstructing an Officer, a Misdemeanor . . . (he) did unlawfully, by threats, menaces, acts, or otherwise, forcibly or illegally hinder or obstruct, or attempt to hinder or obstruct and law enforcement officer, probation officer, or parole officer acting in their official capacity . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The grand jury indicted Donnie Gale Leggett Jr. on one count.
The single count charges Leggett with “Failure to Register as a Sexual Offender or Provide Notice of Registration Changes, 2nd or Subsequent Offense . . . (he) did unlawfully, feloniously, and knowingly provide materially false information or refuse to provide accurate information when so required by the terms of this article . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The grand jury indicted Jason Thomas Sawyers and Jamie Eugene Morgan with nine counts.
The first count charges Sawyers with “Murder, a Felony . . . (he) did feloniously, willfully, maliciously, deliberately, and unlawfully slay, kill, and murder George W. Conley, while engaged in the commission of Burglary, a Felony . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The second count charges Morgan with “Murder, a Felony . . . (he) did feloniously, willfully, maliciously, deliberately, and unlawfully slay, kill, and murder George W. Conley, while engaged in the commission of Burglary, a Felony . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The third count charges Sawyers with “Burglary, a Felony . . . (he) did unlawfully, feloniously, and break and enter without breaking the dwelling house belonging to George W. Conley, with the intent to commit a larceny . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The fourth count charges Morgan with “Burglary, a Felony . . . (he) did unlawfully, feloniously, and break and enter without breaking the dwelling house belonging to George W. Conley, with the intent to commit a larceny . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The fifth count charges Sawyers and Morgan with “Conspiracy, a Felony . . . (they) did unlawfully and feloniously, belonging to a conspiratorial group consisting of two or more persons, conspire to commit the offense of Burglary, a Felony . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The sixth count charges Sawyers with “Grand Larceny, a Felony. . . (he) did unlawfully and feloniously steal, take, and carry away money, goods, effects, property, or chattels, belonging to another with the intent to permanently deprive the owner thereof . . . Savage 22-250 Rifle, 22LR Lever Action Rifle, Winchester Wingmaster .20 gauge shotgun, and Beretta PX4-40 Caliber Pistol, having a total value of $2,520.00 and belonging to George W. Conley, with the intent to permanently deprive the owner thereof, against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The seventh count charges Morgan with “Grand Larceny, a Felony. . . (he) did unlawfully and feloniously steal, take, and carry away money, goods, effects, property, or chattels, belonging to another with the intent to permanently deprive the owner thereof . . . Savage 22-250 Rifle, 22LR Lever Action Rifle, Winchester Wingmaster .20 gauge shotgun, and Beretta PX4-40 Caliber Pistol, having a total value of $2,520.00 and belonging to George W. Conley, with the intent to permanently deprive the owner thereof, against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The eighth count charges Sawyers with “Use or Presentation of a Firearm During Commission of a Felony . . . (he) did unlawfully and feloniously, while engaged in the commission of a felony, use or present a firearm . . . while engaged in the commission of Murder, a Felony . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The ninth count charges Morgan with “Use or Presentation of a Firearm During Commission of a Felony . . . (he) did unlawfully and feloniously, while engaged in the commission of a felony, use or present a firearm . . . while engaged in the commission of Murder, a Felony . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The grand jury indicted Rocky Glen Bussard with one count.
The count charges Bussard with “Possession By Prohibited Persons of a Firearm, a Felony . . . (he) did unlawfully and feloniously possess a firearm when he was prohibited from doing so by virtue of a conviction for Delivery of a Schedule II, Narcotic Substance . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The grand jury provided a choice for the first counts for Adam Gregory Keller, as well as a second
The first possible count could charge Keller with “Murder, a Felony . . . (he) did feloniously, willfully, maliciously, deliberately, and unlawfully slay, kill, and murder Miranda Henderson, during the commission of the felony offense of Delivery of a Schedule II controlled substance Fentanyl . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The other first possible count could charge Keller with “Drug Delivery Resulting in Death, a Felony . . . (he) did unlawfully and feloniously, knowingly, and willfully deliver a controlled substance or counterfeit controlled substance . . . for an illicit purpose and the use, ingestion, or consumption . . . proximately causes the death of a person using, ingesting, or consuming the controlled substance . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The second count charges Keller with “Delivery of a Controlled Substance, Second or Subsequent Offense, a Felony . . . (he) did unlawfully and feloniously deliver a controlled substance, having been convicted on one or more occasion of the same or similar offense . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The grand jury indicted Jonathan Dwight Nelson on two counts.
The first count charges Nelson with “Delivery of a Controlled Substance, Second or Subsequent Offense, a Felony . . . (he) did unlawfully and feloniously deliver a controlled substance, to wit: Methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The second count charges Nelson with “Conspiracy, a Felony . . . (he) did unlawfully, willingly, and feloniously conspire with JERRY LEE BENNETT and KIMBERLY LAMBERT belonging to a conspiratorial group consisting of two or more persons to commit the offense Delivery of a Controlled Substance . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The grand jury indicted Kimberly Ann Lambert on one count.
The count charges Lambert with “Conspiracy, a Felony . . . (she) did unlawfully, willingly, and feloniously conspire with JONATHAN DWIGHT NELSON and JERRY LEE BENNETT belonging to a conspiratorial group consisting of two or more persons to commit the offense Delivery of a Controlled Substance . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The grand jury indicted Jerry Lee Bennett on one count
The count charges Bennett with “Conspiracy, a Felony . . . (he) did unlawfully, willingly, and feloniously conspire with JONATHAN DWIGHT NELSON and KIMBERLY ANN LAMBERT belonging to a conspiratorial group consisting of two or more persons to commit the offense Delivery of a Controlled Substance . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The grand jury indicted Dawn E. Lockard on one count.
The count charges Lockard with “Child Neglect Creating Risk of Serious Bodily Injury or Death, a Felony . . . (she) did unlawfully and feloniously, as a parent, guardian, or custodian of a minor child, grossly neglect a child, and by said gross neglect created a substantial risk of serious bodily injury or death to the child . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The grand jury indicted Charles E. Lockard on one count
The count charges Lockard with “Child Neglect Creating Risk of Serious Bodily Injury or Death, a Felony . . . (he) did unlawfully and feloniously, as a parent, guardian, or custodian of a minor child, grossly neglect a child, and by said gross neglect created a substantial risk of serious bodily injury or death to the child . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
