MORGANTOWN — The man accused of leaving a bicyclist to die after hitting him with a car and a man who allegedly swung a dog around in the air were among those who pleaded not guilty Sept. 20 in Monongalia County Circuit Court.
Thirty-one people, nine of them inmates at North Central Regional Jail, pleaded not guilty before Judge Susan Tucker at the Monongalia County Justice Center during the final day of arraignments for those indicted by the Sept. 7 term of the Monongalia County grand jury. The grand jury returned 121 indictments.
Arrest warrants were issued for Dustin Bohna, Hamani Hanible, Angela Floyd and Codey Blaney, who did not appear.
After hearing the not guilty plea of Nathan Edward Steve, 24, Tucker told him and his attorney, Frank Walker, that she would be recusing herself from the case because she could “not possibly be fair.”
Steve was indicted for animal cruelty. If convicted, he faces one to five years in prison and a fine of $1,000-$5,000.
The Dominion Post previously reported that on July 31 the Morgantown Police Department was called to Jones Avenue after MECAA911 received a call informing them their neighbor was beating his dog. The dispatcher noted yelping in the background during the call.
When the officer arrived, Steve was holding the dog in the air and swinging it around while holding the dogs paws with one hand and the dog’s jaw with the other. The complaint stated it did not appear the dog was biting Steve, but that he was using the dog’s jaw to help lift it.
Steve was sweating profusely, his face “dripping with sweat” and he had trouble speaking with the officer for a short while because he was out of breath.
He told the officer the dog used the bathroom in his house when asked why he was using such force on the animal.
Ladon Garrett, 39, of Maryland, also pleaded not guilty Thursday morning.
Garrett was indicted for leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, commonly known as Erin’s Law, after he allegedly struck Divanté Coles with his car.
Erin’s Law requires a driver who hits a person to stop and render aid. If convicted, Garrett faces one to five years in a state prison or a fine of not more than $5,000 and one to five years in prison.
The Dominion Post Previously reported that Coles, 20, was biking home from his job at Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, on Earl L. Core Road, when he was hit about 11:15 p.m. July 6. He died of his injuries just before 6 a.m. the next morning.
Garrett hired a lawyer, Joseph Spano, before turning himself into police.
At a preliminary hearing in Monongalia County Magistrate Court, B. Forsythe, a Morgantown Police detective, testified that Spano contacted him several days after the July 6 collision, told him he was aware of the case and that he was representing Garrett. Spano told him the vehicle involved was in the Harrison County community of Saltwell.
Forsythe said the vehicle, a black Chrysler 300, had front-end damage consistent with witness reports and that blood was collected from the windshield and sent to a lab for DNA testing. He said the damage to the driver’s side of the windshield was “substantial.”
The detective recalled speaking with Garrett’s parole officer in Maryland, who told him Garrett called the day after the crash and said he hit a deer and could not report as scheduled. Later, Garrett said he thought he hit a person and had to deal with it in West Virginia.
Tweet Will Dean @WillDean_DP; wdean@domininionpost.com
