KINGWOOD, W.Va. (WBOY) — The March session of the Preston County Grand Jury returned the indictments of 53 people.
One of those people was David Adams, the suspect in the 1985 murder of 13-year-old Jerimiah Watkins. Click here to read more about Adams’ superseding indictment.
DUI With Death
Christopher Smith, 52, of Terra Alta, was indicted on two counts of DUI with death. He was arrested in August 2023 after a single-vehicle crash on Whetsell Settlement Road in Kingwood. Responding deputies said that Smith was the driver, and that when they arrived at the scene, he was “providing CPR to a female,” who was later pronounced dead, along with another occupant of the vehicle. According to a criminal complaint, Smith’s BAC was 0.204 when he was tested at Preston Memorial Hospital.
Child Neglect
25-year-old Madison Nedrow and 27-year-old Matthew Johnson, both of Kingwood, were indicted on:
- Two counts of child neglect creating risk of injury
- Conspiracy to commit a felony
- Two counts of cruelty to animals
- Conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor
The two were arrested back in August 2023 after a three-year-old was found walking along a road, alone, and a responding West Virginia State Trooper went to the child’s home and noticed a “very strong”smell of feces inside the home. The trooper found “feces all over the kitchen floor” that “did not appear fresh but was smashed onto the floor,” and “trash and dirty dishes on nearly the entire counter top and floor.” They were originally charged with child neglect creating risk of injury.
Terroristic Threats
Mark Lambert, 65, of Masontown, was indicted on two counts of threats of terroristic acts. He was arrested in October 2023 after deputies said he threatened an assistant prosecuting attorney during his son’s home inspection with a parole officer, and again during his own arrest. Lambert’s son was facing multiple pending charges at the time of the incident that could have resulted in lifetime recidivism due to a previous prosecution for kidnapping. Lambert allegedly said, “‘If he (Jason) gets life then that prosecutor will get life too. I’ll act like I’m security for her and I’ll get her when she least expects it,'” and allegedly said two more times during his own arrest that he would “‘kill that b****.'”
Seth Johnson, 23, of Albright was indicted on threats of terroristic acts. He was arrested in January 2023 after allegedly sending a message to a student at the Bruceton School in Bruceton Mills through social media saying “You a b**** I will come up to your school and shoot that b**** up and stop f***ing with my sister.”
Drugs
Jimmie McCully, 20, of Akron, Ohio was indicted on one count of possession with intent to deliver fentanyl. He was arrested back in November 2023 after a deputy with the Preston County Sheriff’s Department who was observing noticed a gold Chevrolet sedan with a license plate that belonged to a Ford. The deputy conducted a traffic stop and a K-9 unit later searched the vehicle; 56 grams of suspected fentanyl was found.
Brittany Prunty, 33, of Terra Alta, was indicted on a delivery of a controlled substance charge. She was arrested back in August of 2023 with William Lewis after deputies in Garrett County, Maryland said they witnessed a drug deal and attempted a traffic stop, but Lewis fled into West Virginia. After “another incident transpired” in West Virginia, Lewis, his vehicle and Prunty were found at a Terra Alta home that was less than a mile from the Maryland border, and they were “found to be in possession of approximately 5.5 grams of fentanyl and 49.37 grams of methamphetamine,” according to a criminal complaint filed at the time. Lewis was not included in March’s Grand Jury indictments.
Other
Michael McHenry, 22, was indicted for fleeing with reckless indifference. He was arrested in March of 2023 after a gunpoint robbery in Monongalia County. Garrett Deberry was arrested with him. According to a criminal complaint at the time of the arrests, McHenry was driving a vehicle and Deberry was in the back seat; the two “brandished firearms inside the vehicle and took possession of the victim’s vehicle, car keys, wallet and cell phone by threats of force.” A police chase ensued and ended when the vehicle became disabled in the yard of a Country View Drive home in Preston County. Both were charged with armed robbery and conspiracy at the time of their arrest, and only McHenry was charged with fleeing with reckless indifference.
Click here to read the rest of the indictments.
