WV KNIFE AND GUN CLUB - More Than You Want To Read

(01/05/2018)
The Knife and Gun Club name came from the old days of newspaper reporting, when most of the action happened on Friday and Saturday night. Now, every night and day is up for grabs.

MAN MURDERED, BODY HIDDEN - Brian Bragg, 30, of Milton, is charged with second-degree murder and concealing a human body. The victim is identified as Michael Sutphin.

Troopers say a man came into the WVSP Huntington detachment saying he had killed a man and had hidden his body in his van. He claimed the van had been stolen, which turned out not to be stolen.

Police discovered the body "to be completely frozen" covered in debris, says a criminal complaint.

Troopers do not believe the murder was random and say it appears other people are involved.

MAN SHOOTS WOMAN IN NECK - A man accused of shooting a family member in the neck in Mercer County has been charged with malicious wounding.

Deputies said the victim was staying with Emmitt Lee Farley, when Farley tried kicking the victim out of his home. Deputies said there was a fight which included a struggle over a gun. During that time, Farley allegedly shot the victim in the neck.

Farley is charged with malicious wounding. He's being held in the Southern Regional Jail on a $50,000 bond.

FLEMINGTON MAN KILLS WIFE - John Hess, who was on house arrest, fatally shot his wife with a 12-gauge shotgun.

The couples 1 1/2-year-old daughter was also home at the time of the crime, but was not hurt.

The couple had recently moved into the house in Flemington.

After the shooting, authorities said Hess went to his parents home in Grafton, told them what he had done, and then called police to notify them of the situation.

At the crime scene, police found several guns, as well as an empty shotgun shell on the floor near a bed.

INMATE STABS OFFICER - An inmate at the Southern Regional Jail in Raleigh County is accused of throwing a bottle of human feces and then stabbing a correctional officer repeatedly with a homemade plastic shank.

Jonathan Jackson, 25, is charged with malicious wounding after the incident that occurred Tuesday, according to a criminal complaint filed in Raleigh County Magistrate Court.

BLUEFIELD SHOOTING RELATED TO DRUG DEAL - Bluefield Police Sgt. Kenny Adams said they responded to the call to the intersection of Carolina Avenue and Elm Street. Upon arrival, they found the victim with a gunshot wound to his head.

The victim was a Baltimore-native. He was transported to Bluefield Regional Medical Center, then airlifted to Charleston Area Medical Center.

Juwan Rowe, 23 of Bluefield, and Joseph Wellman, 20 of Augusta, were arrested in connection to the crime. It is believed they traveled with two others to Bluefield for a drug transaction. They were located in Beckley.

Three others in the vehicle were also arrested and may be charged. Rowe and Wellman face charges of malicious wounding and first-degree armed robbery.

TWO MEN CHARGED IN KIDNAPPING - Two men are behind bars after allegedly kidnapping a Moundsville woman and holding her at knifepoint.

The victim told police that at first, she heard a bang at her back door, which is when she reportedly found that 33-year-old Thomas Blake, a man she previously had a relationship with, had broken down her door to get inside her house.

The victim said Blake reportedly drew a knife on her, knocked her to the ground, and told her he was going to kill her.

She said Blake then allegedly dragged her out of her house by her hair and told her not to make a noise or he'd hit her.

Moundsville Police officers said Thomas Blake took her to a car and his brother, 18-year-old Bryan Blake, was inside.

The Blake brothers allegedly drove the victim to a house on Ruby Street, where they held her against her will.

The victim said she was able to run out the door after Bryan Blake left the room, before being chased down and attacked again this time on Pearl Street.

Moundsville Police Detective Sergeant DeWitt said the victim is lucky she escaped.

MAN STABBED WITH SPEAR - Four people were arraigned on charges in the attack and kidnapping of a woman whose boyfriend was murdered in Cabell County when he was stabbed with a spear-like object.

Mark Duncan, 19, of Barboursville, Cheryl Nance, 33, Robert Nance, 39, both of Lesage and Cynthia Bumgarner, 45, of Ona were charged Thursday with malicious wounding and kidnapping, according to criminal complaints filed in Cabell County Magistrate Court.

West Virginia State Police said on Wednesday the victim arrived at St. Mary's Medical Center with a stab wound to her leg and numerous injuries to her face and body. The victim said she was involved in a verbal altercation with her boyfriend, Michael Sutphin, at a home in Barboursville.