Marshall County Man Waives Right To Hearing In Shooting Case
A Marshall County man facing charges for allegedly firing a gun into the air near police earlier this summer waived his right to a preliminary hearing in Magistrate Court Thursday.
While on an unrelated call around 2:30 a.m. July 30, several Moundsville police officers responded to the sound of gunshots near the Marathon gas station.
After speaking with three witnesses, officers located Christopher Wright, 36, of 380 Alpine Ave. in Glen Easton, walking away from the scene. Wright was charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, shooting across a road, obstruction and wanton endangerment, a felony.
Wright appeared before Magistrate David Buzzard at 3 p.m. Thursday after failing to arrive for his first scheduled hearing earlier this month.
During the hearing, Wright claimed he had not received any mail regarding the case or when to appear, which magistrate office staff confirmed to be due to a postal delivery issue.
When Wright’s public defender John Gainer requested his bond be reduced to the original amount due to the mistake, Assistant Prosecutor Andrea Poling requested it stay the same due to a flight risk.
“After reviewing the defendant’s criminal history he has a long list of felonies from Pennsylvania to California. It is our belief that he would be a flight risk and due to his past, we request that the bond be kept,” she said.
Following the comments, Buzzard reinstated Wright’s original bond.
“It appears to not be in dispute that he did not get a notice,” Buzzard said. “He should be reinstated the original bond and the evidence is pretty clear he did not get the notice.”
Wright will appear on wanton endangerment charges before the Marshall County Circuit Court at the next grand jury in November.
COMMENTS