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Grantsville resident thirty-nine-year old John M. Richards will be extradited to
Washington County, Ohio to face criminal charges related to the abduction of a
mother and teenage daughter from a car wash at Reno, Ohio. The incident
happened in 2002.
Richards had appealed to the West Virginia Supreme Court to prevent his
extradition, but the court ruled 3-2 this week not to hear the case.
Braxton County Prosecutor Brian Lanham said the judge will likely process the
matter next week. "He will be going to Ohio," Lanham told the Herald. Lanham became involved in
the case because Richards was being held at Central Regional Jail.
Richards has issued numerous statements to the media indicating an Ohio sex
offender was the party responsible for the Ohio abduction. He claims a sex
offender with similar facial features is the responsible party.
Richards charges in a news release that Washington County officials "began a
public relations campaign in the newspapers and local TV stations in order to
persuade their citizens that they just solved several
recent sex crimes in Washington County, with the arrest of John Richards, a
Registered Sex Offender from West Virginia."
The Braxton prosecutor was looking at revoking Richards' $100,000 bond to
facilitate his extradition, but said "That is no longer necessary since the court
ruling."
Richards has been charged with five crimes in West Virginia, mostly in Calhoun and
Gilmer counties.
Felony and misdemeanor counts are pending against Richards related to receiving
about $13,275 in stolen property from three separate incidents. He has been free on $12,000 cash bond in Calhoun.
The more recent criminal complaint in Calhoun alleges Richards is connected to stolen property from a building site where
work was being done by Mountaineer Log Homes and building material from a shed at Hardman Supply in
Grantsville.
Items from these locations were discovered at Richards' residence in south Grantsville on June 20th, after the Calhoun
County Sheriff's Department and the West Virginia State Police executed a search warrant.
State Police said they received a report of a breaking and entering at Middletown Homes in Gilmer County.
Kitchen items valued at $4,125 were removed from that site. The items were discovered in a shed on the Richards'
property, according to the criminal complaint.
The initial search warrant on the Richard's property was issued after Parson's One-Stop reported beer, cigarettes and
sports equipment valued at about $10,000 was stolen. The merchandise was taken from their establishment during an early
morning burglary a few months ago.
Hardman Supply said underpinning and mulch was taken from their establishment. Items found that belonged to
Mountaineer Homes included wall-mounted heaters, a stackable washer-dryer, assorted tools and a bathroom vanity.
Richards is a registered sex offender and has been found guilty of numerous sex offenses in several different counties.
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