Lewis grand jury hands up indictments

In the homicide case, Randall Warner was indicted on a murder charge, accused by Weston Officer Dave Clevenger of mortally injuring 82-year-old George Wolverton Hess Jr. to death in November 2013, Prosecutor Christina Flanigan said.

Hess, a former paratrooper, died from his injuries Dec. 10, 2013, at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center.

Warner is accused of beating Hess over the head with a cane, Flanigan said. The beating occurred at Hess’s residence, which the Weston Democrat previously reported was an apartment on Broad Street.

This marks the first time there’s been a charge in the case, so bond for Warner will be taken up by Judge Jake Reger when he conducts arraignments.

In the wreck investigation, Kyle Scott Wilson, 19, of Weston, has been indicted on charges of felony DUI with death and misdemeanor reckless driving, Lewis County Assistant Prosecutor Kurt Hall said.

Timothy Brian Eckes, 34, was pronounced dead at the scene of the July 13 wreck, Lewis County Sheriff’s Deputy J.R. Moran has said.

Eckes was a passenger in a Chevrolet pickup that collided head-on with a Ford pickup about 6 a.m. near the Plantation Inn, Moran has said.

The driver of the Chevrolet — Wilson — was flown by HealthNet helicopter to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown with injuries that weren’t life-threatening, Moran said a day after the collision.

Wilson was driving north and passing another vehicle when his Chevrolet collided with the Ford in the southbound lane, Moran has said.

The driver of the Ford — Delmos Graham, 27, of Elkins — was not injured, Moran has said.

This also marks the first time Wilson has been charged.

In the meth case, Nicholas Grant Cutlip, 50, of Weston, was indicted on 20 counts alleging operation of a clandestine laboratory, and one count alleging possession of a meth precursor, Hall said.

Cutlip had shake-and-bake bottle meth labs throughout his dwelling on Mulberry Avenue in Weston, Sheriff Adam Gissy said following a July 8 raid.

The grand jury met from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Flanigan said. Fifty-six individuals were indicted. Special prosecutors from Barbour, Upshur, Taylor and Braxton counties presented a total of seven cases, Flanigan added.

She praised grand jurors for remaining attentive the entire time, and for asking “appropriate and considered questions.”

It was the first time Flanigan has presented to a grand jury. She was elected in November to complete the unexpired term of former prosecutor Mike Smith, who retired.

Names of others indicted by grand jurors weren’t available Tuesday, but a list is expected to be released Wednesday by the office of Circuit Clerk John Hinzman.