Spencer

ELKINS — Probable cause was found in the case of a Randolph County woman accused of wanton endangerment involving a firearm, after she allegedly fired several rounds with a shotgun at “people spying on her.”

Cassandra Nicole Spencer, 52, appeared in Randolph County Magistrate Court Wednesday for a preliminary hearing. Spencer is charged with one count of wanton endangerment involving a firearm, a felony. She is currently being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $10,000 cash-only bond.

At the hearing’s start, attorney Paul Gwaltney, who was appearing on behalf of Spencer’s attorney, James Hawkins Jr., asked Randolph County Magistrate Mike Dyer for Spencer’s bond to be modified, citing that she has no prior criminal history and that she did not have “a great financial situation.”

Assistant Randolph County Prosecutor Leckta Poling argued against any bond modification, stating that bond was sufficient as set due to the use of a firearm in the incident.

Dyer denied the bond modification and agreed with the prosecution’s later amendment that, if Spencer were to make bond, she would not be allowed to stay in any residence with firearms. The bond already stipulated that, if Spencer were to make bond, she would not be allowed to own any firearms.

Deputy J. Wolfe with the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, who was the arresting officer, was called to the stand by the prosecution to give witness testimony. Wolfe stated that he responded to a call from Spencer on Feb. 15 at Georgetown Road. He said Spencer had previously called the police due to seeing “people spying on her.”

“Ms. Spencer believed there was people across the road spying on her, and she had pictures of the trees and stuff, and there was nobody there,” Wolfe told the court.

Wolfe stated that, while speaking with Spencer, she pointed to shell casings on the porch and in the yard, and said, “This is where I fired off tonight.”

According to the criminal complaint, written by Wolfe, Spencer advised that she used a .16 gauge shotgun and that she shot “high” because she wasn’t “trying to hit anybody.”

“Well, I shoot it at the tree tops, but they’re… they sit over here and I’ve got pictures of them, they sit over here day and night, they wear camo, it’s hard to pick them out you know, unless you know what you’re looking for,” Spencer said, according to Wolfe’s criminal complaint.

Spencer allegedly told Wolfe that the people “harassing” her are “kids” that “talk loud.” Spencer also allegedly told Wolfe that she usually shoots every night because “they come every night.”

When asked by Poling as to how far Spencer’s residence was from the roadway, Wolfe explained that Spencer’s home is approximately 20 yards from the road way and is near a blind S-turn and two other homes. Wolfe also clarified that the porch Spencer said she fired the shots from faces the roadway.

Wolfe said Spencer initially pointed out that she had shot across the road, but when later asked to demonstrate where she aimed with the unloaded shotgun, Spencer aimed “northbound, up Georgetown road,” and said she fired in that direction.

Wolfe stated that there is usually a heavy level of traffic on Georgetown Road, mostly due to people trying to avoid U.S. Route 219. Wolfe also said that he frequently drives that route himself and sees people walking, walking their dogs and riding bikes.

Wolfe said he also spoke to Spencer’s mother, who was in the residence at the time, who confirmed that Spencer had fired several shots that night. The mother also told Wolfe that she had not seen anyone in the woods, “just the pictures.”

During cross-examination, Gwaltney asked Wolfe if he knew the lethality range for a .16 gauge shotgun, to which Wolfe responded that he did not know the exact range.

Gwaltney also asked if Wolfe had gone to speak to Spencer’s neighbors, if there had been any 911 calls from any of Spencer’s neighbors, or if he was aware of any missing individuals in Randolph County around the time of the incident. Wolfe responded no to each question.

“So at this point and time, there’s not believed to be anyone that was actually injured by these firings, is that correct?” Gwaltney asked.

“Yes, sir,” Wolfe responded.

Spencer had also been separately charged with one count of false reporting, a misdemeanor. Poling said the allegations of false reporting appeared on Jan. 28. A bond modification hearing for that charge was held after the preliminary trial. She is being held in Tygart Valley Regional Jail for this charge on a $500 cash-only bond. 

Gwaltney told Randolph County Magistrate Benjamin Shepler that, because the bond modification had been denied for Spencer in the felony case and she had yet to post that bond, the necessity of bond in the misdemeanor case “seemed to be negated.”

Poling stated that she was not opposed to change in the form of the bond, but there was reason to believe Spencer may or may not be in an altered mental state due to what led to the separate felony and misdemeanor charges, and that there may be need for further proceedings because of that.

Gwaltney clarified that he believed that Hawkins would likely be requesting a mental evaluation for Spencer in Randolph County Circuit Court.

Shepler stated that he was not going to make any modification to Spencer’s bond for the misdemeanor; however, he added that if bond was modified at the Circuit Court for the felony case, he’d be “more than happy to entertain” the bond modification for the misdemeanor.