MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Two men are facing charges of attempted burglary after attempting to force their way into a hotel room, police said.
Charles K. Eads, 29, of Rolla, Mo., and Travis Gehr, 23, of Bridgeport, were charged with attempted burglary and conspiracy. Gehr also was charged with DUI.
Deputies responded to a report of two men attempting to break into room 25 of The Morgantown Motel, on Smithtown Road, about 4:30 a.m., on Sunday, according to a criminal complaint. Dispatchers said one of them had a pistol.
The deputies saw damage to the door of room 25 and the victim said the two men left just before the deputies arrived. A witness said the two men went south on Grafton Road in a white Ford F150. A deputy found the truck in the GoMart parking lot, a short ways down Grafton Road.
Eads and Gehr, the truck’s occupants, were identified as the men involved by both the victim and witness. Gehr voluntarily admitted he was involved and told the deputy the gun was in the truck’s console, the complaint said.
The deputy recovered the gun, a black semiautomatic Smith & Wesson .45, Chief Deputy Al Kisner said, and arrested both men. They were taken to the sheriff’s department where Gehr, who was driving the truck and smelled of alcohol with bloodshot, glassy eyes, failed two-of-three field sobriety tests. According to the complaint, Gehr blew a .181 blood-alcohol level, more than twice the legal limit.
The two were arraigned in front of Magistrate Jim Nabors who set bond at $10,000 each. Both men posted bond as of Monday.
