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Elkins man being charged with first-degree murder

An Elkins man who allegedly shot another man in the back of the head last week has been charged with murder after the victim died of a gunshot wound at Ruby Memorial Hospital Saturday, police said.

Wade Allen Raese, 25, of Elkins, is being held without bond in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail following his arraignment on a first-degree murder charge Sunday, Randolph County Sheriff Mark Brady said.

The man Raese allegedly shot – 45-year-old Ryan Earl Young of Duncan, S.C. – died Saturday, Brady said. According to the criminal complaint in the Randolph County Magistrate Clerk’s office, Young was pronounced dead at 6:23 p.m. by Jeffrey L. Haught, a Monongalia County medical examiner.

According to previous reports, Raese allegedly shot Young in the back of the “head/neck area” just after 8 p.m. July 15, while Raese, Young and an acquaintance of the two were riding in a car in the Highland Park area of Randolph County.

The acquaintance, whose name was not released, allegedly told police she was driving the vehicle. Young was in the front passenger seat when he was shot, police reports indicated. The acquaintance stated Raese was sitting in the back passenger seat behind Young when he shot him.

The penalty for a conviction of first-degree murder is life in the state penitentiary.

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