Four pleas were made by three individuals in Wetzel County Circuit Court Sept. 29. Judge Mark A. Karl presided as five cases were heard.

James R. Bradley, 39, of HC 60, Box 18, Reader, pleaded guilty to three counts of the misdemeanor offense of brandishing a deadly weapon. These charges are the lesser included offenses to his original charges of three counts of wanton endangerment involving a firearm wherein he allegedly pointed a firearm at Deputy R. L. Scott Jr., Deputy M. L. Koontz, and Deputy R. L. Hayes. As it was determined the rifle Bradley pointed was unloaded, the state agreed to allow Bradley to plead to the lesser offenses. Karl sentenced Bradley to confinement in the Northern Regional Jail for one year per count with credit for 241 days served to run concurrently with his federal sentence of 24 months. He is also ordered to pay all court costs and restitution for the repair of a broken door during the incident detailed in his indictment.

At this plea hearing Bradley apologized to the Wetzel County Sheriff’s Office. “I would never dream of doing what I did,” he said. “My family’s the one who paid for all this.” While he claimed alcohol played a part in his offense, Bradley did not request drug or alcohol counseling while incarcerated.

Bradley also pleaded guilty to his new charge of one count of felony failure to pay support to a minor wherein he, having been court-ordered to pay support to a minor, allegedly failed to pay court-ordered support to his minor daughter for 12 months or more. For this offense Karl sentenced Bradley to one-three years in the West Virginia State Penitentiary for Men. He was further ordered to pay $45,536.45 to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources for the owed child support in addition to all court costs.

Per his two plea agreements, these two sentences will run concurrently with a federal sentence of 24 months. Bradley was transferred to the Northern Regional Jail Division of Corrections to then be placed into federal custody.

Bradley pleaded in federal court in Wheeling for his offenses on or about Feb. 1 wherein Bradley, having been previously convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for at least one year, conspired to commit aggravated assault, and performed aggravated assault by a firearm. Bradley was also federally indicted and pleaded to possession of a sawed-off shotgun, which was not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, on or about Feb. 1.

Fred Leslie Kirk, 40, of 332 Jackson Ave., Sistersville, will serve out his original sentence of one-five years in the West Virginia State Penitentiary for Men with credit for time served following his admission to violating the conditions of his probation wherein after a meeting to modify his probation terms to include no contact with minors, Kirk was spotted at Town and Country Days-employed by Deshler Amusements-helping children on and off rides. For this breach Kirk’s probation was revoked and his original sentence was reinstated.

Before his hearing concluded, Wetzel County Prosecutor Tim Haught forewarned Kirk that a second offense of failure to register as a sex offender carried a penalty of 10-20 years. “We’ve had such a problem with sex offenders not following the regulations,” Haught said. “The penalty for the next offense is quite severe.”

On Sept. 4, 2009, Kirk pleaded guilty to a felony count of failure to register as a sex offender in the month of his birth (October) to the State Police detachment.

On Jan. 8 Kirk stood before Judge Hummel for a motion for sentence modification after serving 120 days of his one to five-year sentence in the West Virginia Penitentiary for Men. At that time Judge Hummel was taking the motion under consideration. On Feb. 19 Hummel granted Kirk’s Rule 35 B motion and Kirk was placed on two year’s probation.

William Carmen Hadley, 41, of P.O. Box 83, Hundred, pleaded guilty to all four counts of his indictment. For counts one and three, felony offense of nighttime burglary, Hadley was sentenced to one-15 years per count in the West Virginia State Penitentiary for Men. For counts two and four, misdemeanor offense of petit larceny, Hadley was sentenced up to a year in the Northern Regional Jail Division of Corrections per count. These sentences will run concurrently and Hadley is given credit for 220 days served. He is also ordered to pay all court costs and pro-rated restitution. For these offenses Hadley simply said, “I’m sorry all this happened.”

On May 26 Hadley entered innocent pleas on all four counts of his indictment for the same offenses as those of Nicholas Chad Fletcher. On or about Feb. 9 Hadley and Fletcher allegedly committed the felony offense of nighttime burglary (counts one and three) for breaking into the residences of Thelma Hunt of Burton and Cody Nichole Sturm of Hundred.

Counts two and four charged Hadley and Fletcher with the misdemeanor offense of petit larceny. Count two charges the two men with stealing medications belonging to Thelma Hunt, and count four charges them with steeling a Ruger Model 860 44 magnum revolver belonging to Cody Nichole Sturm.

Lastly, Christina K. Rexroad, 31, of Rt. Box 132, New Martinsville, appeared before Judge Karl alongside her attorney, Jeremiah Gardner. Gardner submitted a motion for supervised probation, of which the state did not oppose. The court further addressed the necessity for Rexroad to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Judge Karl motioned a stay of execution on the matter until a psychiatric evaluation was completed. The court also declared a finding of indigence, or lack of ability to pay appointment of legal counsel and/or other legal fees. Her bond continues.

Rexroad pleaded guilty by way of a plea agreement to eight misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty in Wetzel County Magistrate Court in connection with the conditions at her farm located approximately four miles from New Martinsville on Whiteman Hill. Six horses and two cows were found on July 23 to have no clean water, food, or shade.

For each of the eight counts Rexroad was ordered to pay $160.80 costs as well as restitution to the county, to be determined. She was also sentenced to 30 days in the Northern Regional Jail for each count, with a stay of execution for 60 days to petition in circuit court for alternative sentencing. Prosecutor Tim Haught said the agreement is for her to serve two years probation in lieu of the jail time. Also, she cannot possess any animals other than her household pets for five years. Eight felony counts were dismissed.