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BUCKHANNON -- A Buckhannon man who was allegedly overheard saying he wanted to get revenge against a magistrate has additional charges pending in the court system from January in which he allegedly choked his girlfriend and violated a protective order against a different individual.
McKinley Storm Riffle, 24, was arrested for intimidation of and retaliation against a public officer, a felony, following an allegation that he threatened Magistrate Mike Coffman.
Buckhannon Police Department Lt. Doug Loudin was first notified of a 911 call that was received by the Upshur County 911 Center of a male allegedly making threats of violence, according to the file in the Upshur County Magistrate Clerk's office.
Patrolman Sam Kraemer than began investigating and asked the caller, Durango Warner, to come to the police department for an interview.
Warner told Kramer that while he was exiting his vehicle at his residence on Feb. 8, he was met by a male subject, later identified as Riffle, who was making comments about getting out of jail and wanting to get revenge, according to the criminal complaint.
Riffle reportedly named several people but the only one that stood out to Warner was Coffman.
"Warner also stated that Riffle made comments about watching the world burn and asked if he wanted to join," Kraemer wrote in the criminal complaint.
Riffle was arrested for strangulation, a felony, and domestic battery, a misdemeanor, on Jan. 30 stemming from an incident that allegedly happened Jan. 29. According to the criminal complaint, Officer Angel McCauley and Cpl. Darin Hissam responded to Go Mart to a woman who advised that Riffle, her boyfriend, had allegedly attacked her during an argument.
Riffle allegedly grabbed the victim by her pony tail and continuously hit her head off of a door frame and wall until the victim grabbed a heater and threw it at him to get him to stay away.
In the process, the heater and the chair it was on reportedly broke. The victim stated Riffle then pushed her down, pulled her pants down and started to strangle her but she kicked him between the legs and hit him to get him off of her.
The victim said she could "barely breathe" while Riffle was on top of her. The victim than ran from the residence to Go Mart to call for help.
McCauley observed red marks resembling fingers on both sides of the victim's neck, a scraped left side of the chin, pulled hair on the left side, red marks and slight bruising on the left side collarbone. However, the victim refused medical treatment at the scene.
Coffman arraigned Riffle on a $30,000 bond in that case. Riffle was also arrested for violation of a protective order, a misdemeanor, by Sgt. Marshall Powers with the Upshur County Sheriff's Department.
On Jan. 16, Riffle allegedly went to a residence on Wabash Avenue to pick up mail despite having a protective order against the person living there. Magistrate Kay Hurst had set bond in that case for $5,000 cash or surety.
Riffle was arraigned on the new charge before Lewis County Magistrate Roger Clem, who set bond at $100,000 -- $50,000 cash and $50,000 surety.
If convicted, Riffle faces confinement in a correctional facility for not less than one nor more than 10 years and/or fined not more than $2,000.
∫ In a separate case, Robert James Tiffner, 25, of French Creek, was arrested for prohibited person from possession of a firearm, driving suspended first offense non-DUI, no registration and no insurance second offense, all misdemeanors.
On Saturday, Feb. 9, Trooper J.S. Tonkin with the Buckhannon detachment of the West Virginia State Police observed a black Geo Tracker traveling south on Route 20 in Adrian with a rear registration plate that had a BMW insignia on it.
Tonkin initiated a traffic stop and the driver, Tiffner, stopped at Village Hardware, exited the vehicle and began to walk away, according to the criminal complaint.
The state trooper took Tiffner into custody and did a pat down search for officer safety. Tiffner advised Tonkin he did not have a driver's license and the Tracker did not have insurance.
Tiffner also allegedly admitted to Cpl. V.J. Pyles that there was a sawed off shot gun under the driver's seat.
Tonkin found a Steven's Model 20 gauge shotgun under the driver's seat.
An investigation showed that Tiffner's license had been suspended, he had one previous conviction of no insurance effective September 2018 and a felony conviction of operating a clandestine drug lab form April 2014.
Coffman set bond at $56,000.
If convicted, Tiffner faces up to five years in prison and/or fined up to $5,000 for prohibited person in possession of a firearm, a $200 to $5,000 fine and/or 15 days up to one year or both for no insurance second offense, a $100 to $500 fine for driving suspended and up to a $500 fine for no registration.