By Stephen Smoot
Last week, the Pendleton County Grand Jury released its indictments.
The grand jury is called together to review charges brought before it by the prosecutor. It analyzes the charges to see if the evidence present warrants an indictment. Indictments merely state that there is enough evidence to put the case before a petit jury, the 12 men and/or women who judge the case brought before it by the prosecutor.
Grand juries date back to the Assize of Clarendon under the reign of King Henry II Plantagenet. Petit jury trials did not appear until later when trials by battle or ordeal were deemed unreliable to their stated purpose.
If a plea deal is not reached and a petit jury hears the case, it then renders a verdict of guilty or not guilty. This is because juries cannot know for certain of a person’s true guilt or innocence, just the strength or weakness of the case brought before it. By law, names of alleged victims are included on the indictment at times, but will not be shared in this published report. Victims of crimes ask neither for the original offense, nor, generally, for unwanted attention after the fact.
The grand jurors brought forth 10 indictments.
Michael Eugene Moats received three indictments. The first count came for Wanton Endangerment Involving a Firearm, a Felony.” Moats “on or about January 9, 2026 . . . did unlawfully and feloniously and wantonly perform an act with a firearm which created a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to another person . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The second count is “Use or Presentation of a Firearm During Commission of a Felony, a Felony . . . Moats did unlawfully and feloniously use a firearm while engaged in the commission of (the first count) . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The third count is “Assault During the Commission of a Felony, a Felony . . . Moats . . . did unlawfully and feloniously, in the commission of a felony, did unlawfully shoot another person . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The grand jury issued one count against Jerri L. Harris for “Shoplifting, Third Offense, a Felony, . . . Harris, on or about February 10, 2026 . . . did unlawfully and feloniously, commit the offense of shoplifting . . . with the intent to appropriate merchandise without paying the merchant’s stated price of $26.99 for . . . a bag of beef jerky. (Harris was) convicted on two occasions prior for the same offense of shoplifting . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The grand jury returned five counts against Chandler Austin Hartman. The first count was “Fleeing In a Vehicle With Reckless Indifference, a Felony . . . Hartman, on or about December 11, 2025 . . . did unlawfully, feloniously, and intentionally flee . . . in a vehicle from Deputy M. J. Kontyko of the Pendleton County Sheriff’s Department . . . and did operate the vehicle in a manner showing reckless indifference . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The second count was “Fleeing in a Vehicle While Driving Under the Influence, a Felony . . . Hartman . . .did unlawfully, feloniously, and intentionally did flee in a vehicle from a law enforcement officer . . . and was under the influence of alcohol . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The third count is “Possession of a Stolen Vehicle, a Felony . . . Hartman . . . did unlawfully and feloniously, with intent to procure and pass title to a vehicle which they knew and had reason to believe had been stolen and unlawfully taken and did receive or transfer possession of the same . . . and had reason to believe had been stolen . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The fourth count is “Possession of a Controlled Substance, a Misdemeanor . . . Hartman . . . did unlawfully, knowingly, and intentionally possess a controlled substance . . . Fentanyl, a Schedule II narcotic . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The fifth count is “Destruction of Property, a Misdemeanor . . . Hartman . . . did unlawfully destroy property . . . that was not their own . . . having a value of less than $2,500, against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The grand jury brought five counts against Denver Franklin Bennett. The first was “Escape By Persons In the Custody of Institutions or Officers, a Felony . . . Bennett, on or about December 11, 2025 . . . did unlawfully and feloniously escape, or attempt to escape by any means from the custody of an . . . alternative sentence of home confinement . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.
The second count was “Grand Larceny, a Felony . . . Bennett . . . did unlawfully and feloniously steal . . . a home confinement monitor, having a value of more than $1,000 and belonging to West Virginia Parole . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The third count was “Destruction of Property, a Misdemeanor . . . Bennett . . . did unlawfully destroy . . . property . . . a home confinement monitor . . . having a value of less than $2,500 . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The fourth count was “Burglary, a Felony . . . Bennett . . . did unlawfully and feloniously . . . break and enter, the dwelling house . . . with the intent to commit a crime . . . did steal and carry away a 2008 Yamaha TTR 125 Dirt Bike, a Milwaukee Power ratchet, and a Milwaukee Impact Driver of a total value of $1,000 or more . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The fifth count is “Grand Larceny, a Felony . . . Bennett . . . did steal (items listed in previous count) . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The grand jury returned one count against Ronald Wayne Forbus II for “Failure to Register As a Sex Offender Or Provide Notice of Registration Changes, Second or Subsequent Offense, a Felony . . . Forbus II, on or about May 2024 . . . did unlawfully and knowingly refuse to provide accurate information when so required . . . or did knowingly fail to provide notice of his social media account . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The grand jury returned one count against Thomas A. Hawk for “Failure to Register As a Sex Offender Or Provide Notice of Registration Changes, Second or Subsequent Offense, a Felony . . . Hawk, on or about December 22, 2025 . . . did unlawfully and feloniously, and knowingly . . . fail to provide accurate information . . . of obtaining his vehicle, a 2005 Toyota Sequoia . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The grand jury brought three counts against Jesse Colton Kramer. The first was for “Child Abuse Resulting In Bodily Injury, a Felony . . . Kramer, on or about November 4, 2025, did unlawfully and feloniously, as a parent, guardian, or custodian of a minor child, did abuse a child, and by such abuse did cause said child bodily injury . . . by other than accidental means . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The second count was “Domestic Battery, Third or Subsequent Offense . . . Kramer . . . did unlawfully, feloniously, and intentionally make physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature with his or her family household member . . . or did cause physical harm to (victim) who was a family or a household member at that time . . . having been convicted on at least two prior occasions of the same or similar offense . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The third count was “Domestic Battery, Third or Subsequent Offense, a Felony . . . Kramer . . . did unlawfully, feloniously, and intentionally . . . did cause physical harm to (victim), who was a family or household member . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The grand jury returned six counts against Stacey Austin Gardiner. The first was for “Retaliation Against a Public Official or Employee a Felony . . . Gardiner, on or about May 21, 2024 . . . did unlawfully and feloniously threaten to cause injury or loss to a person or property, with the intent to retaliate against a public official . . . Senior Deputy M. J. Kontyko. . . for the performance of a public duty . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The second count was for the same alleged crime, but against Master Deputy B. H. Raines
The third count was for the same alleged crime but against Trooper First Class K. C. Raymond
The fourth count was for “Driving While Being a Habitual User of Narcotic Drugs or Amphetamines, or Any Derivative Thereof, a Felony . . . Gardiner . . . did unlawfully drive a vehicle on the public roadway while being a habitual user of Methamphetamine. . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The fifth count was for “Possession of a Controlled Substance, a Misdemeanor . . . Gardiner . . . did unlawfully . . . possess a controlled substance . . . Methamphetamine . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The sixth count was for “Obstructing an Officer, a Misdemeanor . . . Gardiner . . . did unlawfully, by threats, menaces, acts, or otherwise . . . hinder(ed) … Sr. Deputy M. J. Kontyko, who was acting in his official capacity, against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The grand jury came with four counts against Nicholas F. Arcure. The first is “Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance, a Felony . . . Arcure, on or about March 28, 2024 . . . did unlawfully and feloniously possess with intent to deliver a controlled substance . . . Marijuana, a Schedule I controlled substance, against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.
The second count was “Conspiracy, a Felony . . . Arcure . . . did unlawfully and feloniously conspire with Justin Tyler Mallow, belonging to a conspiratorial group . . . to commit (the offense listed in the first count) . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The third count was “Manufacture of a Controlled Substance, a Felony . . . Arcure . . . did unlawfully and feloniously manufacture a controlled substance . . . Marijuana . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.
The fourth count was “Attempt to Commit a Felony, a Felony . . . Arcure . . . did unlawfully attempt to commit (the offense listed in the first count) against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The Grand Jury returned three counts against Matthew C. Gilbert. The first was for “Escape By Persons In the Custody Of Institutions Or Officers a Felony . . . Gilbert, on or about June 27, 2025 . . . did unlawfully and feloniously escape from the lawful custody . . . of Home Confinement Officer, Bradley D. Kimble, of the Pendleton County Sheriff’s Department . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The second count was for “Grand Larceny, a Felony . . . Gilbert . . . did unlawfully and feloniously . . . steal, take, and carry away a home confinement monitor, having a total value of more than $1,000 . . . against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
The third count was “Destruction of Property a Felony . . . Gilbert . . . did unlawfully destroy . . . a home confinement monitor . . . having a value of less than $2,500, against the peace and dignity of the State of West Virginia.”
