Murder Case Hearing
Security increased at courthouse
The Inter-Mountain photos by Brad Johnson Stephen Ray Cross is led by law enforcement officers from the Randolph County Courthouse Wednesday morning after a hearing in his murder case.
Cross was placed in a black van by law enforcement officers and driven from the courthouse. An officer carrying a rifle can be seen behind the van.
The Inter-Mountain photos by Brad Johnson Stephen Ray Cross is led by law enforcement officers from the Randolph County Courthouse Wednesday morning after a hearing in his murder case.
Cross was placed in a black van by law enforcement officers and driven from the courthouse. An officer carrying a rifle can be seen behind the van.
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ELKINS - A hearing in a Randolph County murder case was held behind closed doors Wednesday, as law enforcement officers, one carrying a rifle, secured the parking lot outside the courtroom.
The hearing in the case of Stephen Ray Cross was held in camera, a Latin legal term meaning the public was excluded from the courtroom proceeding.
A representative for Circuit Judge David Wilmoth's office told The Inter-Mountain that no information about Wednesday's hearing could be released at this time.
Security at the Randolph County Courthouse was heightened Wednesday, with one entrance to the building restricted, and a heavy law enforcement presence in the parking lot during the 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. hearing.
Multiple law enforcement officers patrolled the lot, including at least one carrying a rifle, until Cross was brought outside at about 11 a.m. and placed inside a black van, which promptly left the lot.
A new special prosecutor has been appointed in the case, John Ours of Grant County.
The original special prosecutor, Upshur County Prosecuting Attorney Bryan Hinkle, requested removal from the trial in April after learning a witness in the case was a childhood friend.
Hinkle was selected as a special prosecutor for the case last year after Randolph County Prosecuting Attorney Michael Parker recused himself and his office because of a potential conflict of interest.
Cross, 54, is accused of taking the life of Jonathan Chenoweth, 48, a resident of Chenoweth Creek.
In March 2023, Cross was arrested and charged after an incident at his home on Chenoweth Creek Road. According to the criminal complaint, once police arrived at the home, Chenoweth was found slumped over the center console of a UTV and appeared to have suffered a fatal gunshot wound.
According to the complaint, police observed at least three bullet holes through the windshield of the UTV. Officers obtained a written statement from a witness to the incident who said Chenoweth was unarmed, and that when he pulled into Cross's driveway, Cross opened fire, shooting five to eight times.
The complaint stated that a witness saw Cross standing approximately 5 to 10 feet away behind a white van and observed him produce a sidearm and open fire. According to the complaint, a total of seven spent shell casings from a 9mm gun were located. No weapons were found near the victim.
According to the complaint, before officers with the Randolph County Sheriff's Office and West Virginia State Police were dispatched to the shooting scene, Randolph County 911 had received a call about a person shooting a dog on the Chenoweth Creek Road, and officers were en route to that call before they were redirected to Cross's home.
Cross is currently an inmate at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail.