Alleged victim gives testimony in burglary case
ELKINS — A judge heard testimony from the alleged victim in a case whose former romantic partner is accused of physically assaulting and threatening to kill her.
Randy Gerald Bennett, 31, of Elkins, is charged with one felony count of nighttime burglary. He is incarcerated at Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $50,000 cash-only bond, set by Randolph County Chief Magistrate Rob Elbon.
The prosecution called the alleged victim, Bennett’s former romantic partner, to provide testimony on what happened during the alleged incident.
“I was standing in my living room and I saw a car go past my house and stop in front of my driveway. We have a big picture window. I went to look out and see who it was, I thought it was my husband,” she said. “It was dark. I saw somebody get out of the driver’s side. I knew it wasn’t my husband. I went to lock the door and whenever I did the door just came in.”
She said after the door came in toward her, she heard Bennett, with whom she shares several children, start to threaten her.
“When the door came in, I heard Mr. Bennett say, ‘F— you, (expletive). I want my kids,'” she testified. “After that it was hands on my throat and I ended up going through the glass screen door. I remember his hand on my throat. I didn’t know if he was kicking or smacking at me. I couldn’t tell the difference. It didn’t really hurt that much or I wasn’t paying attention.”
She testified that she called for a friend who was at the home because she didn’t feel safe being at the residence alone.
“I yelled for (my friend) I had there because I didn’t feel safe there. I had already heard a lot of threats that he was coming …,” she said. “(My friend) came running and I crawled on the floor then ran back to my kids. My kids were crying and I put them in the bottom of the closet underneath the toy box and I called 911. I couldn’t hear what the 911 lady was saying because I was trying to hold the phone and listen. The only thing I could hear was glass breaking.”
A total of $7,650 worth of damage was done to her residence, according to an estimate she received.
“Anything that could be picked up and thrown through the living room was picked up and thrown through the living room,” she said.
The investigating officer in the case, Randolph County Sheriff’s Deputy A.M. Channel, also testified during the hearing. He said Bennett was no longer at the home when he arrived but the residence was in “total disarray.”
“I observed a female and a male outside the residence when I pulled in,” Channell said. “The front door was busted in, there was glass on the porch. The inside of the house was in disarray in the living room area. A broken lamp, glass on the inside, coffee table and end tables flipped upside down, the front picture window was knocked out and there was a dry erase board that was in the hallway that was torn off the wall.”
Channell said he did not witness any injuries to the alleged victim except for her hands, which were photographed as evidence.
Bennett was taken into custody in the early morning hours of the following day by members of the RCSO and West Virginia State Police, according to Channell’s testimony.
During closing arguments, Randolph County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Leckta Poling requested that probable cause for Bennett’s arrest be found and the case be bound over for presentation to a grand jury.
“Based upon the testimony the state has provided today I would ask the court to find probable cause of burglary. There has been sufficient testimony that this was the residence of (the alleged victim). She has testified that he entered the residence through a door that was shut while she was attempting to lock it,” Poling said. “He entered by making threats of physical harm and also by striking her.”
Bennett’s defense counsel, Brent Easton, said he did not believe this to be a burglary because testimony indicated the altercation took place on the porch as opposed to inside the residence.
“Burglary requires that the perpetrator actually makes an entry and I don’t think that the complaint supports that nor do I believe the testimony here today supports that. I think the testimony shows, and (the alleged victim) stated in her testimony, that the altercation she alleges between herself and Mr. Bennett took place on the front porch of the home,” Easton said. “That’s how it’s described in the complaint as well. Even if she was pulled from the home as she says, it doesn’t make the allegation that Mr. Bennett actually entered the residence.”
Elbon ruled that probable cause had been met and bound the case over to the Randolph County Circuit Court for presentation to a grand jury.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Randolph County Magistrate Court, on Feb. 5, Channell was dispatched to a Pritt Lane residence in Beverly regarding a burglary that had recently taken place.
Channell spoke to the alleged victim, who said Bennett came to the residence, kicked the front door in, grabbed her by the throat and jerked her through the glass screen door and onto the porch, according to the complaint.
She said Bennett kept yelling “I told you I was going to get you (expletive) and now I’m here,” and “Your (sic) already dead (expletive),” the complaint states.
The alleged victim said she began screaming and was able to get back into the residence when a male at the home came in and attempted to pull Bennett off the female. She then ran to the bedroom of the home where the children were and hid them in a closet while she called 911, according to the complaint.
Channell took a statement from the male at the residence who said he heard Bennett tell the alleged victim he was going to kill her, according to the complaint.
He added that when he came down the hallway, he saw Bennett grab the alleged victim by the neck but she was able to get away and flee to the bedroom. At that time, the man said Bennett started throwing items at him and punched him in the face before leaving the residence in a vehicle. He said he then went to the bedroom to check on the alleged victim and the children, according to the complaint.