ELKINS — A Randolph County grand jury returned indictments against 21 individuals Monday, for alleged crimes including murder, abuse of an incapacitated adult and malicious assault.

Melvin Richard Phillips, Jr., 63, of Elkins, currently being held without bond at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail, is charged with one count of murder and one count of use or presentation of a firearm during commission of a felony, both felonies.

Phillips is charged in the shooting death of Mark Wirth, 67, in May. Police said Wirth was discovered on the porch of a Heavner Acres residence suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. He was transported to Davis Medical Center by Randolph County EMS, where he later died.

Phillips was found at the scene and immediately taken into custody without further incident, police said.

Elkins Police Chief Travis Bennett said in a release, “Preliminary investigation shows that this incident began as a dispute between neighbors that escalated into the shooting.”

According to the criminal complaint, Phillips told police Wirth had harassed him and another individual with a knife. Officers found a “small knife” by Wirth’s head, the complaint states.

Cassie Lynn Pell, 36, of Beverly, was indicted on two counts of abuse or neglect of an incapacitated adult, a felony, one count of strangulation, a felony, and two counts of neglect of an incapacitated adult, a misdemeanor.

In a separate indictment, Pell was indicted on one count of financial exploitation of an elderly person, and three counts of fraudulent use of an access device, all felonies.

In August, the alleged victim told police that Pell “destroyed her house” and had hit her head and chest. The woman, who is in her late 70s, had a bump on her head “consistent with being struck,” according to the criminal complaint. The alleged victim also said she was “in so much pain” that she couldn’t think straight and claimed Pell had also strangled her.

Police said Pell allegedly took the elderly woman’s walker, cell phone and house keys away from her and took them to the camper. Pell claimed that she took the walker due to the alleged victim having hit her with it, though police saw no sign of injury on Pell and she did not complain of any pain.

Everett Junior Hall, 62, of Mill Creek, was indicted on one count of malicious assault, a felony, and one count of domestic battery, a misdemeanor.

In November 2023, police were dispatched to a domestic call in Mill Creek, where an officer found Hall and a woman with blood on her face and a cut under her eye, according to the criminal complaint. 

The women allegedly told the officer that Hall had grabbed her by the arm. When she ran away, he chased her up a flight of stairs, the complaint states. He then pulled her off a bed, causing her to hit her head. She said Hall “began stomping her face,” stomping her five or six times.

Derrick Allen Arbogast, 37, an inmate at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail, was indicted on one count of fleeing in a vehicle with reckless indifference, a felony; one count of reckless driving, a misdemeanor; one count of driving on the wrong side of the roadway, a misdemeanor; and one count of expired registration, a misdemeanor. 

Austin Lee Barber, 33, of Huttonsville, was indicted on two counts of wanton endangerment involving a firearm, a felony; two counts of domestic battery, a misdemeanor; and one count of interfering with or preventing an emergency communication, a misdemeanor.

William Theodore Bishop, Jr., 56, of Mill Creek, was indicted on two counts of delivery of a controlled substance, a felony.

Luca Jovy Byrd, 32, an inmate at Huttonsville Correctional Center, was indicted on two counts of failure to register as a sexual offender or provide notice of registration changes, a felony.

Hailey Hope Collins, 28, of Elkins, was indicted on two counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, a felony.

Cory Alan Duncan, 27, an inmate at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail, was indicted on one count of breaking and entering, a felony; one count of grand larceny, a felony; and one count of destruction of property, a misdemeanor.

William Scott Hammonds, 57, of Valley Bend, was indicted on one count of driving while license revoked for DUI – third offense, a felony; one count of expired registration, a misdemeanor; and one count of no insurance, a misdemeanor.

Eric Lee Martin, 52, of Mill Creek, was indicted on three counts of sexual assault in the third degree; three counts of sexual abuse by a parent, guardian, or custodian; and three counts of incest, all felonies.

Kimberly Dawn Martin, 56, of Mill Creek, was indicted on one count of child neglect resulting in bodily injury, a felony.

Robert William Maxwell, 53, of Elkins, was indicted on three counts of delivery of a controlled substance, a felony.

Gary Michael Mitchell, 42, of Braddock, Pennsylvania, was indicted on one count of uttering, a and one count of obtaining money, property and services by false pretenses, all felonies.

Jeffrey Lynn Nicholson, 56, an inmate at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail, Belington, was indicted on one count of domestic battery, third or subsequent offense, a felony; and one count of destruction of property, a misdemeanor.

Dustin Allen Ray, 36, of Elkins, was indicted on three counts of delivery of a controlled substance, and one count of conspiracy, all felonies.

Joshua Steven Strawder, 35, of Elkins, was indicted on one count of delivery of a controlled substance, one count of attempted delivery of a controlled substance, and one count of conspiracy, all felonies.

Mark Allen Rhodes, 56, an inmate of the Tygart Valley Regional Jail, was indicted on one count of malicious assault, a felony, and one count of domestic battery, a misdemeanor.

Justin Richard Roop, 33, an inmate at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail, was indicted on one count of sexual assault in the second degree; and four counts of sexual assault in the third degree, all felonies.

Freddie Allen Rose, Jr., 33, an inmate at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail, was indicted on one count of fleeing in a vehicle with reckless indifference, a felony; one count of no insurance, a misdemeanor; one count of reckless driving, a misdemeanor; and one count of operating a vehicle without a valid motor vehicle inspection sticker, a misdemeanor.

In a separate indictment, Rose was indicted on one count of fleeing in a vehicle with reckless indifference, a felony, and one count of obstructing an officer, a misdemeanor.

Joshua Michael Taylor, 42, an inmate at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail, was indicted on one count of domestic battery, third or subsequent offense, a felony.

Bond return for the indictments will be on Monday, Nov. 4 at 1:30 p.m., at which time bond will be set and trial dates will be determined.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.