PARKERSBURG - Joshua Vensel, a sergeant with the Parkersburg Police Department, Thursday morning pleaded guilty to battery, Wood County Prosecutor Jason Wharton said.
Vensel, charged with assaulting Jerry Seabolt, will be required to permanently surrender his law enforcement certification and not seek employment as a law enforcement officer in West Virginia, any city or the federal government, Wharton said.
The prosecutor's office issued a statement. In its entirety:
Joshua A. Vensel pled guilty to battery this morning in Wood County Circuit Court.
Vensel was indicted Oct. 31, 2011 by a Wood County Special Grand Jury for the October battery of Jerry Seabolt following an investigation conducted by the West Virginia State Police at the request of the Wood County Prosecutor's Office. At the time of the battery, Vensel was employed as a sergeant with the Parkersburg Police Department.
Under the terms of the plea agreement Vensel will be required to permanently surrender his law enforcement certification and will not be permitted to seek employment as a law enforcement officer in this State, any other State, any municipality, or with the federal government.
Vensel faces the possibility of confinement in jail for not more than 12 months, or a fine of not more than $500, or both a fine and imprisonment. The prosecutor's office reserved the right to show the surveillance video from the Wood County Holding Center which depicts the acts alleged in the Indictment at the sentencing hearing prior to the Court imposing sentence.
Sentencing will take place Aug. 23, 2012.
