Wood County man appears for hearings
By JEFFREY SAULTONPARKERSBURG - A Wood County man who was charged with concealing two deceased bodies was in circuit court Thursday for two hearings.
One hearing was for a bond reduction and the other was for a plea to two counts from the September grand jury.
James Rodney Walters Jr., 26, in custody at North Central Regional Jail, was denied a motion by Judge Robert Waters to reduce his bond. After his Sept. 8 arraignment in magistrate court on two charges of concealing a deceased human body, his bond was set at $400,000 surety. He has been in custody since then.
According to the criminal complaint, on Sept. 4, Walters assisted another with moving a deceased body from a residence at 1109 Pike St. to a remote location in Wood County. The deceased have only been identified as John Doe No. 1 and John Doe No. 2, who were murdered at the Pike Street residence.
Before Judge J.D. Beane, Walters entered a plea agreement to plead guilty to possession of a controlled substance, more than 15 grams, a lesser included offense to the charge of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, marijuana, and fleeing from an officer in a vehicle from a September indictment. His sentencing was set for 11 a.m. Jan. 13, 2010 before Beane.
In other hearings:
* Three Wood County men were convicted Thursday after a three-day trial. Christopher Corey Griffin, 25, Joseph Alen Nelson, 25, and Peter John Nolan Sr., 27, were convicted on charges of burglary and conspiracy to commit burglary as indicted by the May grand jury. Griffin and Nelson will be sentenced Jan. 12 and Nolan will be sentenced Jan. 13 before Judge Jeffrey Reed. They face the possibility of 1-15 years on the burglary conviction and 1-5 years on the conspiracy to commit burglary conviction.
* Amy Dawn Abshire, 32, No. 3 Meadowbrook Acres, Parkersburg, was in court for a bond revocation hearing. Judge J.D. Beane denied a state motion to remand her to custody until new pending charges against her are resolved. Judge J.D. Beane reinstated her to bond with home confinement and the day report center. On Wednesday she entered a plea agreement to plead guilty to burglary and forgery in an indictment from the January grand jury. Beane set sentencing for 9:30 a.m. Jan. 13, 2010.
* Michael Thomas Powell, 21, in custody at North Central Regional Jail, entered a plea agreement to plead guilty to a charge of burglary as charged by the September grand jury. His sentencing was set for 1:30 p.m. Jan. 14 before Beane. A motion for a bond reduction was granted, set at $1,000 with home confinement.
* Jurors in the case of Benjamin A. Cumberledge, 31, returned verdicts acquitting him of charges of two counts of battery of a corrections officer and one count of child neglect creating risk of injury. Counts of burglary and entry of a dwelling were dismissed in earlier hearings.
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sowhat
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11-09-09 9:03 PM
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OK. THANKS WEEJAY! I AM GLAD THAT I JUST MISUNDERSTOOD THAT. THANKS AGAIN
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WeeJay
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11-09-09 5:10 AM
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i think you did misunderstand it. Walters had two separate hearings. the first hearing concerned reducing his bond for the 2 counts of concealing bodies; that motion was denied. (He is still awaiting trial on those charges.) In his second hearing that day he entered a plea to other charges (posession, etc.) from a completly different incident. (He will be sentenced in Jan 2010 for the charges that he pled to.) I'll admit it was a bit difficult to sort it all out. I had to read the article twice myself to make sure I had it straight.
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cntrygrl
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11-06-09 1:16 PM
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Our justice system at work. Gotta love it!!
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sowhat
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11-06-09 10:52 AM
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what? hes getting off with taking the dead bodies and DUMPING them along the road and leaving them and letting their families worry about where they are. and he gets away with that? for real,did i read that correctly or am i misunderstanding something?
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