Two men accused of attempted murder pleaded not guilty on the second day of arraignments for those indicted by the June 2020 term of the Monongalia Country grand jury.
Kyle Brandon Rocha, 27, appeared by video from North Central Regional Jail and pleaded not guilty to all charges. The grand jury indicted him on two counts of first-degree sexual assault, malicious assault, and attempted first-degree murder.
Rocha allegedly sexually assaulted a woman then hit her with a glass jar on Feb. 18 at an apartment on Forest Avenue, according to a criminal complaint.
Officer A. Arthurs of the Morgantown Police Department, testified the victim had a large wound on her left cheek, near her eye, at Rocha’s preliminary hearing.
He is being held on $200,000 bond.
William Shifflett, 73, also pleaded not guilty to all four charges. He was indicted for malicious assault, attempted first-degree murder and two counts of wanton endangerment involving a firearm.
The victim said he was parked with his juvenile son waiting for someone on May 3 and when he got out of his vehicle, Shifflett pulled up beside him and shot him in the face with a pistol, according to Monongalia County Sheriff Perry Palmer.
The victim got back in his car and drove off, Palmer said. Shifflett chased him at a “high rate of speed” and fired at least one more round that hit the victim’s vehicle. Shifflett then crashed his vehicle. The victim stopped in a parking lot and waited for police.
Shifflett pulled into the parking lot while deputies were there and was arrested, Palmer said.
Gaujot was assigned 23 cases from the June 2020 grand jury.
Warrants were issued for the arrest of Shawn Capocelli and Willis Dalton – neither of whom showed for their arraignment.
