By Jean A. Flanagan
Special to Examiner
The Hardy County Grand Jury convened earlier this month and returned indictments against 16 individuals. They were arraigned in Hardy County Circuit Court on Tuesday, Oct. 22, with Chief Judge H. Charles Carl III presiding.
James Thompkins of Moorefield was charges with one count of domestic battery, third offense, and one count of domestic assault, third offense. The penalty for each of the charges is not less than one year and not more than five years in prison, up to a $2,500 fine or both. Thompkins pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to charging documents, on May 31, West Virginia State Police received a complaint of a domestic incident. One victim alleged Thompkins threatened violence and a second victim alleged Thompkins tried to drag her outside.
Thompkins was convicted of domestic battery and domestic assault in 2013 and 2023.
Thompkins is being held on $10,000 bond. His attorney, Grant Sherman requested he be released on a personal recognizance bond as he has no resources to post bail.
Hardy County Prosecuting Attorney H. Orrin Staggers III argued Thompkins communicated with one of the victims from jail, which is a violation of terms of bond release.
Judge Carl said he would consider a bond reduction at the next hearing and remanded Thompkins to Potomac Highlands Regional Jail.
Pablo G. Barreto, 33, of Moorefield, was charged with one count of domestic battery, third offense. The penalty is not less than one year and not more than five years in prison, up to a $2,500 fine or both. Barreto pleaded not guilty.
According to charging documents, on Oct. 31, 2023, West Virginia State Police received a complaint of a domestic incident. Upon investigation, Troopers found the victim with injuries and a broken cell phone.
Barreto was convicted of domestic battery twice in 2022.
Barreto’s attorney, Kevin Sponaugle, requested a reduction in Barreto’s $20,000 bond. “He has been incarcerated for a long time,” Sponaugle said.
Prosecutor Staggers said Barreto was on probation for the 2022 charge and it was revoked on March 12. Staggers said the victim is the same in all both cases and opposed any bond reduction.
Judge Carl remanded Barreto to PHRJ “for the safety of the public.”
Yordanos S.Shalemu, 30, of Moorefield, was indicted on one count of malicious assault. The penalty is not less than two years and not more than 15 years Shalemu pleaded not guilty to the charge.
According to court documents, on July 13, Moorefield Police responded to a report of a stabbing. The victim told MPD Shalemu stabbed them with a butcher knife after a verbal altercation.
Shalemu’s attorney, Josh Orndorff, said Shalemu was from Ethiopia and may need a translator going forward.
Heather D. Lucas, 39, of Mathias, was charged with one count of grand larceny and one count of fleeing law enforcement with reckless disregard for the safety of others. The penalty for grand
larceny is not less than one year and not more than 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $2,500, or one year in jail and a fine up to $2,500. The penalty for fleeing law enforcement in snot less than one year and not more than five years. Lucas pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to charging documents, on May 17, Moorefield Police received a call from a local business reporting a female in a blue Ford Focus rammed a construction site gate and removed items from the construction site. The vehicle and driver were captured on closed circuit TV.
Later that day, the vehicle was located at a gas station and the driver identified as Lucas.
Lucas is receiving services through the South Branch Valley Day Report Center and was released on bond.
Curtis M. Smith, 42, of Fisher was indicted on a total of 10 counts of failure to register as a sex offender. The penalty for failure to register as a sex offender, first offense is not less than two years and not more than 10 years in prison. Smith pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to court documents, West Virginia State Police was contacted on Feb. 11, 2022 about a alleged sex offender registration violation. Further investigation revealed between November 2021 and February 2022, Smith allegedly failed to register a change of address, the addition of several social media accounts, location of employment and the addition of several email addresses.
David L. Moton Jr., 40, of Baker, was charged with three counts of failure to register as a sex offender. Th penalty for failure to register, first offense, is not less than two years and not more than 10 years in prison. Moton pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to charging documents, Moton completed his annual sex offender registration in January. In the course of verifying the information provided, West Virginia State Police allegedly found the employment information was not correct, the address was not correct and the vehicle information was not correct.
The following people were charged with sex abuse/assault related to juveniles. Some of the defendants were assisted in court by a translator. In order to protect the victims and because of the heinous nature of the offenses, Judge Carl sealed the files and no further information is available:
- Jerson Munguia-Ortiz, 36, of Moorefield was indicted on 20 counts of sexual abuse by a parent, guardian or person of trust and 20 counts of incest. The penalty for each of the charges is not less than five years and not more than 15 years in prison.
- Andrew S. Davis, 23, of Morgantown, was indicted on nine counts of sexual abuse by a parent, guardian or person of trust; three counts of sexual assault and six counts of sexual abuse. The penalty for each of the charges is not less than five years and not more than 15 years in prison.
- Duglus Mucu-Bolon, 34, of Moorefield was indicted on one count of sexual abuse by a parent, guardian, or person of trust and one county of sexual assault, third degree. The penalty for sexual assault is not less than one year and not more than five years in prison.
- Cecilio V. Morales, 59, of Moorefield, was charged with nine counts of sexual abuse by a parent, guardian or person of trust, two counts of incest, two counts of sexual assault in the first degree and seven counts of sexual assault in the third degree.
- Alexis E. Duncan, 21, of Fisher, was indicated on one count of sexual abuse by a parent, guardian or person of trust and one count of sexual assault in the third degree.
All of the above defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Sonel Guerrier, 29, of Moorefield and Isiah T. Ford, 35, of Moorefield were indicted by the Grand Jury but did not appear for the aggaignment. A Capias order was issued, which means the men can be arrested and held without probable cause.
Judge Carl scheduled pretrial hearings for Tuesday, Oct. 29, Thursday, Nov. 3 and Tuesday, Dec. 3.
All of the charges contained in the above-referenced indictments are merely accusations and not evidence of guilt, and each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
