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Mingo grand jury returns 47 indictments; former teacher charged in child sex abuse case
BY ANNIE HOLLER MOUNTAIN CITIZEN WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — The Mingo County grand jury returned 47 indictments during its first session of 2026, including charges against a former Mingo Central High School teacher and coach accused of sexual contact with an underage student. The indictments span a wide range of alleged offenses, from drug trafficking and
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Pike grand jury returns 17 indictments: Arson, kidnapping, attempted murder
BY ANNIE HOLLER MOUNTAIN CITIZEN PIKEVILLE — A Pike County grand jury returned 17 indictments during its Jan. 20 session, including 15 felonies and two misdemeanors. The charges range from arson, kidnapping and attempted murder to drug trafficking, theft, fraud and traffic-related offenses. Marty Eugene Hurley, 50, of Stopover, was indicted on felony charges of
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Sheriff details nightlong effort to keep homeless man alive during brutal weather
BY ANNIE HOLLER MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — As snow fell and temperatures plunged Saturday night, Martin County Sheriff John Kirk spent hours tracking a homeless man through businesses, roadways and neighborhoods in Inez in an effort to keep him alive. The situation first came to the sheriff’s attention shortly after dark, when a call came
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Family of three left homeless after fire
BY ANNIE HOLLER MOUNTAIN CITIZEN LOWMANSVILLE — A propane tank explosion during a winter storm Sunday night destroyed a rented mobile home along U.S. 23 and left three adults with nothing but the clothes they escaped in, according to family members. Michael Maynard, his girlfriend Amanda Harrison and his brother Marty Maynard lost their home
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Sheriff warns residents after door-to-door prowler reported in Tomahawk
BY ANNIE HOLLER MOUNTAIN CITIZEN TOMAHAWK — As temperatures plunged into the single digits Monday night and wind chills dipped below zero, an unknown man was reported walking door to door along Alex Place near Rockhouse, knocking on multiple residences without an apparent reason. Martin County Sheriff John Kirk said the activity raised immediate concern
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Johnson County grand jury returns multiple indictments
BY ANNIE HOLLER MOUNTAIN CITIZEN PAINTSVILLE — The Johnson County grand jury convened for the first time in the new year Jan. 16 and returned 18 indictments, including two cases of sexual abuse of a minor, an assault on a healthcare worker and numerous drug-related cases. Aaron Jones, 41, has been indicted on felony charges
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Student hospitalized; vape store owners charged in sales to minors
BY ANNIE HOLLER MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Two Inez business owners face charges following a police investigation that authorities say linked the hospitalization of a high school student to the alleged sale of THC vaping products to minors at their store. The Martin County Schools Police Department (MCSPD) executed a search warrant Friday at Smokin
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Thompson sentenced to three years in funeral home truck theft
BY ANNIE HOLLER MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — A man will spend three years in prison following sentencing Thursday by Martin Circuit Judge John Kevin Holbrook in Inez. Marcus Thompson, 27, of Ulysses, was sentenced on a single count of theft by unlawful taking (greater than $10,000) after pleading guilty. According to court records, the sentence
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Man already serving 17 years for violent crimes sentenced again
BY ANNIE HOLLER MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — A Warfield man received additional prison sentences Thursday for violence-related crimes, with the new terms folded into a 17-year sentence he is already serving for domestic-violence-related offenses across Martin and Lawrence counties. Martin Circuit Judge John Kevin Holbrook sentenced Jimmy Dale Maynard, 45, to one year each for
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Porter gets 11 years in prison for violence-related crimes
BY ANNIE HOLLER MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Martin County Circuit Judge Kevin Holbrook sentenced a local man to 11 years in prison Thursday in Inez for violence-related crimes. Samuel Porter, 30, of Debord, was sentenced after pleading guilty to two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment and one count of third-degree terroristic threatening. The judge gave
