Arrests netted following city Christmas parade
ELKINS – While families were enjoying the annual Christmas parade in the city, blocks away local law enforcement were addressing what has become a crime-laden area of Elkins, netting roughly a dozen drug-related arrests Wednesday night.
The arrests came after several search warrants were served at 62 11th St. in Elkins.
Jason Richard White, 36, of Elkins, is charged with one felony count of possession of controlled substance with intent to deliver. He is incarcerated at Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $100,000 cash-only bond, set by Randolph County Chief Magistrate Rob Elbon.
Nakeia Alisa Moore, 32, of Mill Creek is charged with one felony count of conspiracy. She is at TVRJ on a $25,000 cash-only bond, set by Elbon.
Marlena Samantha Hernandez, 37, of Elkins, was charged with one misdemeanor count of child neglect. She is at TVRJ on a $25,000 cash or surety bond, set by Elbon.
Nine other individuals were arrested for felony possession of controlled substance with intent to deliver and one other person was charged with misdemeanor possession, according to a written statement from Elkins Police Chief C.D. Cross. However, the magistrate office indicated the charges against some of those arrested were sent back to the Elkins Police Department by officials with the Randolph County Magistrate Court, as the charges may have been wrongly filed as felonies as opposed to misdemeanors based on West Virginia code.
No information regarding those arrests has been made available at this time, and the suspects’ identities in those cases are unknown.
According to criminal complaints filed in Randolph County Magistrate Court, at approximately 8:07 p.m. Wednesday, Patrolman C.G. Boatwright, of the Elkins Police Department, responded to the home to assist the EPD Tactical Response Unit in serving a search warrant.
While police were nearing the residence, a white Jeep Grand Cherokee pulled into the driveway. Boatwright and Patrolman J.D. George, also of the EPD, approached the vehicle and spoke with the occupants.
The female driver was identified as Moore, and a male passenger was identified as White. Moore placed both hands on the steering wheel of the vehicle while White put his hands into his pockets despite both being directed to place their hands on the dashboard, the complaint states.
George opened the passenger door of the vehicle and “guided” White out before doing a pat-down search for weapons. Boatwright did the same with Moore, reports indicate.
George retrieved a silver and black Taurus .38 Special handgun from White’s right front pant pocket. He also located a baggy containing a substance believed to be methamphetamine as well as a large amount of paper money, according to court documents.
Moore told officers she knew White “had a lot of money on him,” and the gun belonged to her. She also said she knew they were coming to a residence “she should not be coming to.”
After placing both White and Moore in custody, a search of the vehicle revealed a small glass container with a green, leafy substance appearing to be marijuana inside.
George also indicated he discovered the handgun had three live rounds of ammunition and two spent rounds.
At that time, both White and Moore were transported to TVRJ. After returning to the police department, Boatwright untied the baggy that was found in White’s pocket. Inside he found a second baggy that contained a light brown, powder substance believed to be heroin, weighing approximately 7.61 grams.
The brown substance was sent to the West Virginia State Police Crime Laboratory for further testing, the complaint indicates.
The substance believed to be methamphetamine tested positive for methamphetamine and weighed roughly 14 grams.
The marijuana weighed approximately 0.12 grams, and the currency found on White was $2,411, the complaint states.
In a separate criminal complaint filed in Randolph County Magistrate Court, Deputy Z.T. Pingley, of the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, assisted the EPD at the scene.
Inside the residence, Pingley noticed drugs and paraphernalia, including methamphetamine, heroin and needles, the report indicates.
Hernandez was at the house at the time of her arrest but does not live there. However, she brought her 9-year-old son to a “known drug area,” according to the complaint. Pingley believed the drugs created a “substantial risk of bodily injury to the child,” the complaint states.
During a search of the home, it also was discovered that an armed man attempted to reach near his pants where the gun later was found.
“Had their been a confrontation, the child could have been shot in a potential crossfire,” Pingley said in the report.
Child Protective Services was notified of the incident, and a grandparent of the juvenile was contacted to retrieve the child.