March 3, 2013

Suspect in Mingo sheriff's murder,Tennis Maynard probably will survive;

Mingo Co. Sheriff Eugene CrumKyle Lovern/Daily News Police officers from the city of Williamson and Mingo County Sheriff's Department were on the scene of a shooting in downtown Williamson. Mingo County Sheriff Eugene Crum was shot and killed while sitting in his vehicle around 12 noon on Wednesday. Read more: The Williamson Daily News - Julia Roberts Goad Kyle Lovern Staff Writers WILLIAMSON Mingo County Sheriff Eugene Crum has been shot and killed in downtown Williamson right by the underpass on Harvey Street

WILLIAMSON - Mingo County Sheriff Eugene Crum has been shot and killed in downtown Williamson right by the underpass on Harvey Street.

Crum, 59, was in his vehicle, witnesses say, when a male drove up to a parking lot on 3rd Avenue, exited his vehicle, walked to Crum’s SUV, and shot him point blank. 

Law enforcement officers were in pursuit of a suspect near Delbarton soon after the shooting.

Mingo County courthouse officials and emergency service personnel were obviously shaken at the scene of the shooting.

Delegate Harry Keith White, D-Mingo, told a reporter that Crum was known to eat lunch outside near the courthouse in the same spot everyday. A county commissioner reports a suspect drove by and shot Crum as he was eating.

"Apparently somebody just drove up and shot him. That's what they told me. Shot him dead," White said. "That's from our county commissioner in the courthouse, who was crying when he called me."

 Mingo Delegate Justin Marcum, the assistant prosecutor in Mingo County, said Crum liked to eat lunch in a spot where he could see a pill mill that had been shut down. Crum feared people were trying to restart the operation.

 A vehicle pulled up beside the sheriff, so he rolled down his window, and was then shot four times, twice in the head, Marcum said.

 By Julia Roberts Goad and

Kyle Lovern

Staff Writers

UPDATE: 2:00 pm Thursday, April 4

Tennis MaynardA West Virginia man, accused of killing a sheriff outside a county courthouse, will likely survive his injuries following a shootout with police, authorities said.
 

Tennis Melvin Maynard, 37, is accused of shooting Sheriff Eugene Crum twice in the head while the officer sat in his car outside the Mingo County courthouse eating his lunch.
 

The sheriff had been cracking down on drug dealing in the area, but a motive for the shooting has not been determined or publicly released.
 

Deputies pursued Maynard to Delbarton, W.Va., where the suspect crashed his car and engaged in a gunfight with cops. He was "shot multiple times," according to West Virginia State Police spokesman Michael Baylous, before he was taken into custody and brought to a nearby hospital.

"At this point, it is believed that Mr. Maynard will survive his injuries," Baylous said.

Maynard has already been charged with attempted murder for the shootout with sheriff's deputies. He has not yet been charged with Crum's murder, but likely will be soon, officials said.

Crum is known for his tough enforcement program known as Operation Zero Tolerance and in 2012 the prosecutor's office saw the third highest number of felony convictions in Mingo County history, WOWK reports.

59News update

Details are still coming in to the newsroom about the shooting, but it has been confirmed that Sheriff Eugene Crum was shot four times and killed on Wednesday, April 3.
 

A person with the Williamson Police Department has confirmed that the Sheriff of Mingo County, Eugene Crum, was shot in front of the county courthouse located in Williamson.
 

We reached out to the West Virginia Sheriff's Association about the shooting, here is a look at what they had to say:
 

"We are stunned and devastated at this situation. When someone walks up and shoots the chief law enforcement officer of the county it knocks you back. We are currently gathering information and waiting for more details. We are just asking everyone to please pray for Sheriff Crum's family and the law enforcement community as we sort out the information."

Police have arrested a suspect, but have not released a name.
 

Crum is known for his tough enforcement program known as Operation Zero Tolerance and in 2012 the prosecutor's office saw the third highest number of felony convictions in Mingo County history.

No further information was immediately available.  For our past coverage on Sheriff Crum click here. 
Crews are on the way to the scene. Watch for updates here and on 59News this evening.

UPDATE 4/3/13 @ 3:50 p.m.

West Virginia State Police say the suspect is Tennis Melvin Maynard, 37. He is currently being treated at Cabell Huntington for a gunshot wound.

Sr. Trooper Jeff Matheny tells WSAZ.com that a witness saw Maynard fleeing the shooting scene in a pickup and got his tag number.

Matheny says a Mingo County Sheriff's Deputy then tried to pull the vehicle over at the intersection of Route 65 and Rockhouse Road.

Maynard then led the deputy on a chase through parts of Delbarton before both crashed into a barrier on the Dr. JR Bob Farley Memorial Bridge.

From there, both the deputy and Maynard got out of their vehicles. At that point, Trooper Matheny says the deputy shot Maynard.

No word if Maynard was armed at the time

Also, no word on Maynard’s condition.

There will be a candlelight vigil in honor of Sheriff Eugene Crum Thursday at 8:00 pm on the front steps of the Mingo County Courthouse

Keep clicking on WSAZ.com for the latest information.

'Buckwild' production suspended as key player is found dead after mudrunning; 2 others afoul of law...

GandeeMTV has indefinitely suspended shooting for the second season of the West Virginia reality series "Buckwild" after one of its stars, Shain Gandee, right, was found dead with his uncle and another man. "Shain and David Gandee were last seen at Larry's Bar in Sissonville at about 3 a.m. Sunday, and said they were planning to go four-wheeling in the younger Gandee's Ford Bronco," reports Zac Taylor of The Charleston Gazette. (Gazette photo)

The truck was found "partially submerged in deep mud," the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department said. "The truck's muffler was completely below the surface of the mud," Taylor reports. "That might seem to indicate the men were overcome by carbon monoxide poisoning, but a cause of death was not released. Humphreys said the bodies would be taken to the state medical examiner's office."

"While Shain was outgoing and adventurous, some of his recklessness may have been fueled by the MTV show itself," Taylor writes, quoting Swanna Frampton, a close friend of the Gandees: "'Buckwild' made him famous, and he took risks that I didn't think he would normally take." Taylor reports that Gandee was "referred to by some of the other cast members as a 'redneck MacGyver' [and] was the architect of many of the show's stunts and hijinks." (Read more)

The Associated Press notes that other cast members have made news lately: One "was sent back to jail for violating the terms of her bond following a February arrest" on drug-possession charges and another was charged in February with driving under the influence." (Read more)

The New York Times ' Bill Carter notes, "During its first season of 12 episodes, which began in early January, 'Buckwild' was the No. 1 show in cable television with viewers ...12 to 34, the base audience for MTV. Overall the series averaged 3.2 million viewers per episode, a good total for cable television. MTV had already ordered a second season of the show. But its future is now in some doubt." (Read more)

University of Kentucky philosophy instructor Alexandra Bradner, whohas written about "Buckwild," opines on Salon, "We know Shain, because he was the one who wanted, but never quite got, the prettiest girl in the room." She says comments on MTV's website make "clear that his edited character was an audience favorite. Viewers found him 'real' and unaffected, contrarian and creative, the perfect wingman. They liked everything about him — his accommodating attitude, his reckless love for his truck(s), and his 'can do' spirit. They’re wondering if the series, renewed for a second season, can possibly survive such a loss." (Read more)

Settlement Is Reached In Fatal

Semi Wreck In Rowan County

Michael Cornett is killed; wife, son are injured

MOREHEAD—An out-of-court settlement has been reached by attorneys Phillip Wheeler and Shellie Hayes of Kirk Law Firm on behalf of the occupants of a 2009 Toyota that was involved in a crash on I-64 near Morehead with a tractor-trailer on May 14, 2012, a crash in which Michael Cornett, 59, was killed.

Passengers in the vehicle, operated by Michael Cornett, were his wife, Leslie, and son, Kevin, both of whom were seriously injured. Emergency crews from KSP, Rowan County Sheriff’s Department and the Farmers’ Fire Department, responded to the accident. The victims had to be extricated from the car by cutting away the roof. They were taken to St. Clair Medical Center where Michael Cornett was pronounced dead.
 

Leslie Cornett and Kevin Cornett were transported to the UK Medical Center with “serious injuries” where they remained hospitalized for several weeks. The Cornett family, former residents of Ashland, were traveling to their home in Lexington at the time of the crash.

According to eye witnesses and investigating KSP Officer, Scott Caudill, “heavy rains and wet road conditions played a role in the accident” involving a collision of the passenger vehicle and the truck. The semi-truck driver, David Crowder, 56, of Doniphan, Mo, was not injured.

“After going through the tragedy that this good family experienced,” said their attorney, Phillip Wheeler, “I am grateful that Mrs. Cornett and Kevin do not have to relive this awful event by having a trial and I am thankful and pleased that the right thing was done and that a settlement was reached without a trial.”

The amount of settlement was not disclosed. “Out of consideration of the privacy of the Cornett family, we cannot reveal the terms of settlement,” Wheeler said, “but I can say that the right and just thing was done. All of us at the Kirk Firm feel honored to have represented these good people.”