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Driver Pleads Guilty to Negligent Homicide

By Shelley Hanson - Staff Writer | Oct 23, 2024

NEW MARTINSVILLE – Joseph Andrew Tucker, 27, pleaded guilty to negligent homicide in an information count during an Oct. 16 hearing before Wetzel County Circuit Court Judge Richard Wilson.

Wilson accepted the plea and ordered that a presentence report be conducted before a sentencing hearing to be scheduled at a later date. Tucker, who resides in Harrison County, W.Va., was originally charged with DUI with death after he lost control of the vehicle he was driving, resulting in the death of a passenger. The passenger was a co-worker and friend of Tuckers.

As part of his plea, Wilson asked Tucker to state why he believed he was guilty. Tucker said on Aug. 19, 2023, he was driving a truck, lost control of the vehicle and the passenger was ejected from the vehicle. The vehicle rolled on top of the man, he said.

Tucker apologized for his actions and said he was praying for the man’s family. When asked by Wilson, Tucker said the man who died “was a good friend.”

Wilson asked Wetzel County Assistant Prosecutor Justin Craft to give a statement regarding evidence the state would have used if the case had gone to trial on the original indictment. Craft said Tucker was driving the vehicle when he lost control of it, killing the man and injuring two other passengers. He said during a field sobriety test there was no evidence of alcohol use. A blood draw showed evidence of THC and other metabolites, possibly cocaine. A blood draw conducted on the deceased person showed similar toxicology.

Tucker remains free on bond. His attorney is Harley Wagner.

Meanwhile, Wilson presided over two other hearings on Oct. 16:

A disposition hearing for Edward Darrell Curtis was set for 9 a.m. Nov. 4 by Wilson. Curtis is expected to find and enter an inpatient treatment drug rehabilitation facility. His attorney Dean Williams suggested that he may be able to enter the Hope Center in Wheeling. Curtis was in court Oct. 16 because the probation office filed a petition to revoke his probation because he failed to continue outpatient treatments.

An extradition hearing was held via live video for Willie Leon Long. Long agreed to voluntarily be returned to South Carolina to face charges there. Wilson told Long, who is in the Northern Regional Jail, if South Carolina authorities did not come get him in 14 days a bond would be set for him.