Four people accused of a robbery at the Scholar Hotel in downtown Morgantown and a man who allegedly stabbed someone after skipping an arraignment for charges handed down by a previous grand jury are among those indicted by the May 2021 Monongalia County grand jury.
In total, the grand jury returned 80 indictments Friday. An indictment is not proof of guilt but a required step in the prosecution of felonies.
Joshua Ryan Watson, of Wadestown, was indicted for malicious assault for the March 10 stabbing of a man with the initials P.D.
The Morgantown Police Department said they responded to the reported stabbing in the area of Wall Street near Milan Puskar Health Right about 1:25 p.m. March 10. The investigation found there was an altercation which led to the stabbing.
An arrest warrant was issued for Watson the previous day when he skipped an arraignment in front of Judge Susan Tucker for four counts of sexual assault in the third degree. On March 24, he pleaded not guilty to those charges.
According to circuit court records, Watson was hooked up on home confinement April 21.
Raymond Tyrone Gould Jr., Austin Alexander Francis, Kyler Michael Thibeault and Corrine Nichole McGinnis were indicted by the grand jury for robbery in the first degree and conspiracy to commit a felony, in connection to a robbery at the Scholar Hotel on Chestnut Street. Gould and Francis were also indicted for wanton endangerment involving a firearm.
Gould “discharged a firearm in the Scholar Hotel in the course of an attempted robbery,” according to the indictment. Francis is accused of giving him the gun.
According to a criminal complaint, Gould demanded $600 from the victim, then was handed a gun by Francis and demanded more money. The victim said he gave Gould $100 in cash and was ordered to send $200-$300 more using a cash application, which he did.
An unidentified man wearing a black shirt and a woman were also present, according to the complaint.
As of Monday, Gould is being held in North Central Regional Jail on $250,000 bond. Francis, Thibeault, and McGinnis are not in jail.
