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Beverly man charged with counterfeiting

Ian Carroll McDougal

By Tim MacVean

Staff Writer

ELKINS — A Beverly man was arrested after allegedly passing a counterfeit bill at an area convenience store.

Ian Carroll McDougal, 49, is charged with one felony count of counterfeiting. His bond was set at $25,000 cash or surety by Randolph County Magistrate George M. “Mike” Riggleman.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Randolph County Magistrate Court, on June 20, Patrolman A.M. Wyshyvanuk and Cpl. M.J. Sigley, of the Elkins Police Department, were dispatched to Mountaineer Mart, located on Davis Avenue in Elkins, in reference to a counterfeit bill being received.

Upon arrival, the store manager presented Wyshyvanuk with a $10 bill that a counterfeit detection pen had left a brown mark upon. The bill was placed directly into an evidence bag. The store manager provided a handwritten statement that said “Ian McDougal turned in a counterfeit $10 bill to pay for merchandise he was purchasing from our store.” She added that McDougal was in the store at approximately 10:30 p.m. on June 20, police said.

Wyshyvanuk obtained a copy of the surveillance footage and confirmed a male individual matching the description of McDougal presented the bill in the store at that time, the complaint states.

The bill was mailed to the West Virginia State Police Crime Laboratory both to be confirmed to be counterfeit and to be tested for fingerprints. On Oct. 5, Wyshyvanuk received the laboratory reports that indicated the bill was not genuine. On Oct. 8, Wyshyvanuk received a second report that indicated no fingerprints of comparison were found on the bill, police said.

McDougal’s criminal history report indicates that he has 24 prior convictions for worthless checks, the complaint states.

If convicted, McDougal could be sentenced to not less than two nor more than 10 years in the state penitentiary.

Other arrests recorded in Randolph County:

• Michael Lynn Bennett II, 36, of Dailey, is charged with one felony count of destruction of property. His bond was set at $25,000 cash or surety by Randolph County Magistrate Ben Shepler.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Randolph County Magistrate Court, at approximately 2:09 p.m. on July 17, Trooper First Class C.S. Johnston, of the West Virginia State Police, responded to a 911 call for a welfare check.

Johnston met Bennett’s parents, who made the 911 call, near Armstrong Hardwoods in Dailey. Upon arrival, Bennett’s mother reportedly told Johnston she was at her residence, located along the Back Road in Dailey, with her son when he “became angry” and began damaging property in the home.

She said she left the home to meet her husband and the two left the area and began receiving calls from Bennett that he had harmed himself and was going to kill himself, according to the complaint.

Johnston, along with additional officers, traveled to the residence. Officers did not believe Bennett would be at the home because his mother said when he called her it sounded like he was traveling in a vehicle. While checking the residence with Bennett’s parents, Johnston observed much of the house and its contents were “damaged significantly,” police said.

Johnston stayed on scene with Bennett’s parents while the other officers searched the area and subsequently found Bennett. Johnston was told Bennett voluntarily checked himself into a mental health facility because he had “cut his wrist,” according to the complaint.

At approximately 3:50 p.m. on the same date, Johnston obtained a written statement from Bennett’s mother that said he had problems in the past and felt that she was ignoring him, the complaint states.

She further explained she had not been speaking with Bennett because he had been insulting toward her husband. Approximately three days later, the alleged victim provided Johnston with a list of damaged or destroyed property. Damages totaled roughly $3,590, according to the complaint.

If convicted, Bennett could be sentenced to not less than one nor more than 10 years in the state penitentiary and fined not more than $2,500. Or, at the discretion of the court, sentenced to not more than one year in jail, fined $2,500, or both.

• Kimberly Hope Vandevender, 28, of West Union, is charged with one felony count of forgery and one felony count of uttering. Her bond was set at $20,000 cash or surety by Riggleman.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Randolph County Magistrate Court, at approximately 9:53 a.m. on Aug. 22, Trooper First Class J.J. Cornelius, of the WVSP, received a forgery and uttering complaint from Senior Trooper Waid of the Marlinton Detachment of the WVSP.

In a handwritten statement, the alleged victim said that on Aug. 13, his mother called him and informed him that Vandevender had written a check to Fast Break, in Beverly, in the amount of $97.20.

The alleged victim said Vandevender and another person were cleaning his truck when they found his checkbook. He added he was unaware the checkbook was in his truck and it was still missing at the time of the complaint.

The alleged victim contacted his bank to stop any further transactions and completed affidavits for the disputed transactions.

At approximately 7:45 p.m. on Sept. 7, Cornelius received pictures from the surveillance system at Bobbie’s in Beverly.

The pictures showed a female who was similar in appearance to Vandevender at the counter of the store, the complaint states.

At approximately 1:50 p.m. on Sept. 12, Cornelius took a statement from a clerk at the Mill Creek IGA who said Vandevender came into the store and purchased items with a check. She noted a second check was used in which she purchased items and requested cash back.

The store clerk said she knew it was Vandevender because she had grown up in Pocahontas County and went to school with Vandevender, according to the complaint.

The clerk said Vandevender told her she had permission to use the checks from her father because her money was going into a shared account, the complaint states.

If convicted, Vandevender could be sentenced to not less than one nor more than 10 years in the state penitentiary. Or, in the discretion of the court, sentenced to not more than one year in jail and fined not more than $500.

• Matthew Christian Farrell, 30, of Beverly, is charged with one felony count of grand larceny. His bond was set at $5,000 cash or surety by Shepler.

At approximately 2:28 p.m. on Aug. 26, Cpl. D.R. Wolford Jr., of the WVSP, obtained a statement from Trooper First Class C.S. Johnston, also of the WVSP, regarding a grand larceny that occurred along Forest Road 92 near Beverly. Wolford also obtained a statement from the alleged victim, according to a criminal complaint filed in Randolph County Magistrate Court.

In the statement, the alleged victim said he noticed numerous building materials had gone missing from his property sometime between Aug. 1 and Aug. 26. He added he placed game cameras on his property and captured images of the individual responsible for stealing the items.

The alleged victim provided officers with images of a man and his dog removing the items from his property as well as a list of the missing items. The total value of all the missing items was $2,647.

He identified the man in the video as his neighbor, Farrell.

While reviewing the surveillance footage, Johnston noticed the man in the video was wearing a “very unique style of footware,” described as a type of sandal with straps that start between the first and second toes, wraps around the back of the feet and over the dorsum of the feet, according to the complaint. Johnston further observed that the dog in the video was mostly black.

At approximately 4:22 p.m. on Aug. 27, Johnston conducted an interview of Farrell at his residence, which is less than half a mile from the alleged victims’ residence.

In his report, Johnston notes that Farrell’s residence appears to be “homemade” and is constructed from a wide variety of salvaged materials.

While conducting the interview, Johnston noticed “unique tan lines” on Farrell’s feet that matched the sandals that can be seen on the man in the surveillance footage. Johnston also saw the black dog from the video at Farrell’s residence, police said.

After telling Farrell that he was believed to be the man that appeared to be on the video, Farrell indicated he no longer wanted to speak to the officer, the complaint states.

If convicted, Farrell could be sentenced to not less than one nor more than 10 years in the state penitentiary. Or, at the discretion of the court, sentenced to not more than one year in jail and fined not more than $2,500.

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