$2 Million Bond Set
Murder case bound over to grand jury
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ELKINS -- Bond was set at $2 million Wednesday during the arraignment of a Randolph County man charged with second-degree murder.
Stephen Ray Cross, 54, appeared before Senior Status Magistrate Mike Riggleman, who set the $2 million bond amount with conditions. Cross's case will be bound over to the Randolph County Circuit Court Grand Jury. Cross is still held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail.
A heavy presence of law enforcement was stationed around the Magistrate Court Office during Wednesday's arraignment, with police officers stationed at each door of the building.
After the hearing, Cross was seen leaving the facility wearing a bulletproof vest, as a host of officers from the Randolph County Sheriff's Office, the Tygarts Valley Regional Jail and other agencies escorted him to a transport van.
Cross was arrested and charged with second-degree murder after an incident that took place on Chenoweth Creek Road on March 27. He is accused of taking the life of Jonathan Chenoweth, 48, a resident of Chenoweth Creek.
According to the criminal complaint, on the evening of the incident at around 5 p.m., officers with the Randolph County Sheriff's Office and the West Virginia State Police responded to a shots fired call on Chenoweth Creek Road. Once on scene, officers located a shooting victim, but were unable to get to him because the shooter was still in the residence.
Cross later exited the residence.According to the criminal complaint, officers observed a UTV with a man -- later identified as Chenoweth -- slumped over the center console, who appeared to have suffered a fatal gunshot wound. Police observed at least three bullet holes through the front windshield of the UTV.
After Cross was placed under arrest, he was transported to the Randolph County Sheriff's Office to be interviewed, the complaint states. Cross advised law enforcement officers that he did not want to speak to them and would like to speak with an attorney.
Officers with the Mountain Region Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force obtained two search warrants from the Randolph County Magistrate Court and responded to the crime scene to serve the warrants for clothing and firearms, according to the criminal complaint.
The complaint states officers obtained a written statement from a witness to the incident. The witness told police that he was speaking to Cross, who admitted to shooting a dog that might have belonged to a relative of Chenoweth. The witness said he observed Chenoweth, who he said had no weapons, pull into the driveway, after which Cross opened fire, shooting five to eight times.
According to the complaint, before the incident took place, officers received a call about a person shooting a dog on Chenoweth Creek Road. Law enforcement was redirected to Cross' residence.