Across the state, court dockets are full, prisons and regional jails are at capacity and authorities are searching for solutions to alleviate the problem. Some magistrate and circuit courts are reporting an increasing number of felony arrests throughout the area. These arrests often lead to convictions, and in turn, clog up the prison system and drain valuable resources.
The Division of Corrections currently has more than 6,000 state-sentenced inmates assigned to its care and only 5,000 beds in correctional facilities statewide. The remaining 1,100 inmates are housed in the state's regional jail system awaiting bed space in a correctional facility.
Randolph County
Randolph County Prosecuting Attorney Frank Bush believes the crime rate has been consistent over the past three years. On the other hand, Magistrate Michelle Good said she is seeing an increase in felony offenses coming before the bench. Both do agree that a majority of the crimes are drug related.
Bush, who took office in January 2006, said the increase in felonies being presented to magistrates may be due in part to law enforcement officers increasing the number of charges issued in their criminal complaints. He noted that the number of cases presented in magistrate court also do not take into consideration direct indictments and defendants who pleaded guilty to an information charging them with a felony without an indictment.
During 2008, the Randolph County grand jury met three times and returned indictments charging 54 individuals with a total of 117 felonies. Of those, more than 20 percent of cases directly involved drug charges, while an undetermined amount of crimes can be linked to drugs.
"I don't think there is a drastic increase in the crime in the area," Bush said. "I think it's pretty steady. Looking at the numbers, we probably have the same amount - about 150 cases - going through circuit court. I think it's pretty steady. I do think we made some headway with the drug problem, but I still think drugs are the major emphasis behind most cases. It's a component in a majority of the cases."
Bush said another "serious issue" is domestic violence. He said most of those cases don't typically rise to the level of felony until a third offense is committed, so they are typically magistrate court cases.
"I see major issues and problems with domestic violence," Bush said. "I believe it can be attributed to the economy. I think it's pretty well established that people who find themselves in desperate situations, do desperate things. It wears on the person and their family. It causes some people to abuse alcohol and drugs and that just leads to more problems. It's definitely attributed to economic circumstance. There is a segment of our culture or society that uses that as an excuse to misbehave."
Bush said the community corrections program is a viable way to handle non-violent offenders who have substance abuse problems. He said the program helps the county save money on incarceration fees and works to reduce recidivism.
"There are a certain number of people who say we are not tough enough on crime," Bush said. "But somebody is getting prosecuted. Somebody is going to jail. We have no more room. How many more people can we prosecute? We are beyond capacity. There are people sitting in the regional jails waiting to go to prison because the prisons are packed."
Good said the amount of citations presented in magistrate court in 2008 show an increase in felonies, but misdemeanors have stayed consistent. She said a large number of domestic violence cases have been presented recently.
"Our misdemeanors are pretty close to what we had last year and the year before. And actually over the last several years, they are down a little bit," Good said. "However, our felonies are substantially up for the year. We are almost double what we finished last year at."
Good said the majority of cases she sees are drug related.
"Without looking (at each specific case) I couldn't say for sure, but I would pretty much bet they are either drug charges or drug related charges, where there has been a breaking and entering or a burglary and the intent of the defendant was to obtain money or goods that could be traded for drugs. That's what I have seen, especially this year and last year I would say are the two years where there has been a noticeable increase."
Lewis County
Lewis County Magistrate Dan Moody recalled hearing the case of a woman facing a misdemeanor charge after being caught with less than 15 grams of marijuana. The woman was scared of being sent to prison as she stood before the magistrate.
"I had to chuckle," Moody said. "I told her that we have a lot more serious problems than this."
According to Lewis County Magistrate Court statistics, in 2006 magistrates have heard 1,018 misdemeanor cases and 88 felony cases; in 2007 they heard 1,031 misdemeanor and 77 felony cases; and as of Nov. 14, the magistrates have heard 920 misdemeanor and 86 felony cases.
Moody said he is seeing more and more cases involving the abuse of prescription medication, particularly pain medication. He said "grandma and grandpa are becoming the biggest drug dealers in the county."
"The kids are going to the medicine cabinets and getting their pills," he said. "These pills are so available. I can cry to a doctor that I have back pain, and then I get the pills I need to get high or they sell them. Some of these people are doctor shopping."
The 31-year magistrate said the majority of the crimes are drug-related, adding that people are breaking into homes to steal drugs, stealing items they can trade for or get money to buy drugs and even killing one another over drug disputes.
"We're getting them in here, and they want help," he said. "Of course, everyone wants help when they are going to jail. But it's easier to get them the help they need to quit smoking cigarettes than it is to get help to get them off drugs and alcohol."
Though he did not have specific details, he said it seems the case load has been increasing.
"The whole criminal case load has been high this year," Lewis County Magistrate Assistant Beth Cross said. "I issued 26 misdemeanors Thursday afternoon."
Barbour County
Barbour Magistrates Kathi McBee and Tina Mouser have handled 72 felonies and 623 misdemeanors in 2008. They said the numbers are comparable to years past, and both said they believe crime has maintained a steady rate over the past five years.
"The one thing that we've noticed in the past few months seems to be an increased number of people who are driving suspended for unpaid citations," Mouser said. "For whatever reason, people are not paying their fines and court costs and are getting their licenses suspended. It is a never ending circle, they don't have the money to pay the fines, so they lose their license, then they can't work because they can't drive, or they drive anyway and get caught again and have more fines to pay and get suspended for a longer period of time.
"There also seems to be an increased number of domestic violence related offenses," McBee said. "I don't know if it's the economy or just the time of year."
Tucker County
Tucker County Magistrate Carol Irons says the county is just about average in terms of criminal activity as of Nov. 12.
"We're running about the same as the previous year," Irons said.
Tucker County Magistrates heard 329 misdemeanor and 38 felony cases in 2006; in 2007 they heard 302 misdemeanor and 30 felony cases; and as of Nov. 12, they have heard 223 misdemeanor and 35 felony cases.
An increase of check, loan and other bank/money related crimes was noted by the magistrate. Irons thinks that these types of crimes will continue to increase due to the economic problems as more loan defaults may be ahead, according to Irons.
"People just aren't going to be able to pay," she says.
Theft is another area in which Irons expects to see an increase. People trying to "make a quick" buck as they struggle to make ends meet. Irons says that there is the possibility for "a lot of theft" in the county. On all accounts, Irons cites the economy as the reason people will be drawn to commit these crimes.
The majority of people who appear before the magistrate committed misdemeanors.
Pocahontas County
According to Pocahontas County Officials, it is not that there has been a decrease in crime in the county, but instead a fewer number of arrests.
"It's difficult to say, but probably fewer arrests because there wasn't a full compliment of deputy positions in the Sheriff's Department," Prosecuting Attorney Walt Weiford said.
Weiford indicated his office has seen an increase in drug and alcohol related cases as well as property crimes.
Pocahontas County Magistrate Court statistics show there were 460 cases heard from January to November 2008.
In 2006, Pocahontas Magistrates heard 559 misdemeanor and 65 felony cases; in 2007 they heard 611 misdemeanor and 77 felony cases; and so far in 2008 they have heard 409 misdemeanor and 60 felony cases.
Magistrate Kathy Beverage said she had seen a decline in cases in 2008 and attributed it to fewer arrests.
Beverage said the cases she sees most often are domestic battery, DUI and breaking and entering.
Upshur County
In 2007, the Upshur County Sheriff's Department reported 580 misdemeanor arrests compared to 346 for 2008 through the end of October. The county reported 181 felony arrests in 2007 compared to 171 so far in 2008, according to Sheriff Virgil Miller.
Misdemeanor crimes that are currently down in 2008 include destruction of property, a decrease of 27 to 19; domestic battery, from 29 to 20; obstructing, down from 20 to zero; possession of marijuana, from 33 to 29; public intoxication, from 17 to two; unlawful consumption, from 91 to 38; and worthless checks, down from 170 to 86. The only area of increase was battery, up from 14 to 17.
The county also reported a decrease in felony crimes. Those include breaking and entering, down from 11 to three; burglary, from 14 to eight; conspiracy, from 34 to six; embezzlement, from 11 to four; forgery and uttering, from 27 to 11; grand larceny, from 28 to eight; and manufacturing a controlled substance, down from five to two, according to Miller.
Buckhannon police reported a slight rise in misdemeanor crime from 2007 to 2008 and a decrease in felony crimes during the same period, according to Lt. Keith Rowan. In 2007, there were 344 misdemeanor arrests compared to 399 so far in 2008. Felony arrests in 2007 numbered 66 compared to 64 so far in 2008.
Misdemeanor crimes showed an increase in the following areas: possession of marijuana, up from 10 to 12; intoxication, from 37 to 41; petit larceny, from 19 to 30; and trespassing, up from 10 to 13. Misdemeanor crimes that show a decrease are: shoplifting, down from 28 to 23; battery, from 44 to 41; assaults, from nine to eight; and unlawful consumption, down from 71 to 66.
The city reported a decrease in most felony crimes in 2008 compared to numbers in 2007. Those felonies that showed a decrease included: breaking and entering, down from nine to six; felony DUI, from two to one; forgery, from seven to three; and conspiracy down from six to two. Those felony crimes that showed an increase included sexual assault with six in 2008 compared to zero in 2007. There were four felony drug charges in 2007 compared to 16 in 2008, and grand larceny cases remained the same, with four for both 2007 and 2008.
"We currently have several grants in place for law enforcement in the city," Rowan said. "These grants help us with increased patrols and also DUI checkpoints."
