The final Monongalia County grand jury of 2019 returned 91 indictments including a man accused of setting off fireworks in his apartment, a Westover grandmother whose grandchild reportedly got into her pills and had a stroke and a man accused of using a volunteer fire department’s account for personal use.
The September 2019 term of the grand jury met on Thursday and Friday. The final grand jury of the year also returned the smallest number of indictments for the year. The May grand jury returned 112 indictments and the January grand jury returned 132.
Indictments are not proof of guilt. They are simply a formal step in the prosecution of a felony.
Donna L. Snow, 62, of Westover was indicted for child neglect resulting in serious injury.
Snow was arrested March 3 by the Westover Police Department.
Snow left her grandson home alone while she went to get food, according to a criminal complaint. While she was gone, the 2-year-old got into a pill bottle and took an unknown amount of clonidine, a blood pressure medication, and hydrochlorothiazide, a water pill.
According to Snow’s indictment, the grandchild was taken to the hospital where he coded numerous times and had a stroke.
Snow faces one to 10 years in prison and/or a fine of $300-$3,000 if convicted.
Christopher D. Grimes, 44, of Granville, was indicted for first-degree arson and felony destruction of property.
Grimes allegedly set fireworks off inside his apartment on Brookhaven Road on July 1.
Brookhaven Volunteer Fire Department responded to the call and found Brooks partly unconscious and partly inside of his refrigerator, according to a criminal complaint.
Grimes was taken to UPMC Mercy in Pittsburgh by helicopter for smoke inhalation.
First-degree arson is punishable by two-20 years in prison. Felony destruction of property is punishable by one-10 years in prison, a fine of $2,500 or less, or both.
David Tennant, 57, of Morgantown, was indicted for embezzlement of more than $1,000.
According to the indictment, Tennant used the Cassville Volunteer Fire Department’s debit card for personal expenses from 2016 to 2018 while acting as the fire company’s treasurer.
Tennant allegedly used the funds for car rentals and veterinarian bills, according to a criminal complaint.
The investigation began in September 2018 when someone contacted the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department because there were un-cashed checks donated by her mother to the department and she suspected embezzlement, according to the complaint.
If convicted, Tennant faces a minimum of 10 years in prison.
Everyone indicted by the September 2019 term of the Monongalia County grand jury will be arraigned in Monongalia County Circuit Court next week.
