Wagoner

BUCKHANNON — An Upshur County man is facing felony and misdemeanor charges after allegedly striking several mailboxes while driving under the influence and possessing drugs.

Joseph Michael Wagoner, 42, is charged with one count of possession with intent to deliver, a felony, as well as one count of striking fixtures on highway, one count of driving with a revoked license third offense and one count of driving under the influence impaired state, all misdemeanors.

He is currently being held at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $104,000 surety/cash bond.

According to the criminal complaint, filed by Trooper C.C. Jones with the West Virginia State Police, on June 20, Jones was dispatched to Vicksburg Road in reference to a “reckless driver that struck several mailboxes.”

Witnesses, according to the complaint, claimed that the vehicle, a black Ford F-150, was driving recklessly on Vicksburg Road with “heavy front-end damage” and went eastbound on Old Elkins Road. When Jones arrived on the scene on Vicksburg Road, he observed four damaged mailboxes.

Several hours later, Jones was dispatched to a residence on Vicksburg Road where Buckhannon Police officers had located the black Ford F-150 and Wagoner, the complaint states. The resident of the home said the truck had pulled into her driveway and that Wagoner had been the only person with the vehicle. Jones observed that the truck had “heavy damage” to the front passenger side.

When Jones asked Wagoner for his driver’s license, five “rubber-banded bundles of blue wax paper” fell from Wagoner’s pocket, the complaint states. Jones writes that a total of 48 blue wax stamps “containing suspected heroin/fentanyl” also fell from Wagoner’s pocket. Nine blue wax stamps were retrieved from Wagoner’s wallet.

According to the complaint, Wagoner allegedly told Jones that he had been driving the truck, had struck mailboxes and that “the ‘dope’ was his.” Jones noted that Wagoner seemed lethargic and could not maintain balance as they spoke to each other. 

Wagoner consented to a CDDP blood draw, the complaint states. The investigation found that Wagoner’s operator license was suspended and that he had previous guilty convictions for driving with a suspended license.