Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 6, 1994 TAG: 9404060052
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHARLESTON, W.VA. LENGTH: Medium
The seven agreed to plead guilty to destruction of property charges, said Assistant U.S. Attorney John Parr. In exchange, felony conspiracy charges will be dropped, he said.
The plea agreements would leave only Jerry D. Lowe of Yolyn to stand trial. Lowe is accused of being the trigger man in the July 22 shooting of Eddie York, 35.
York was killed by a bullet to the back of the head while driving in a truck convoy leaving the Ruffner Mine in Yolyn, in Logan County.
The mine, operated by Arch Minerals of West Virginia, was a target of the United Mine Workers' seven-month strike, which involved 17,500 in Virginia and six other states in Appalachia and the Midwest.
The seven miners also have agreed to pay restitution to Arch Minerals of West Virginia and to York's employer, Deskins Contractors, Parr said. The company was a subcontractor at the Ruffner mine.
The amount of restitution has not been determined, Parr said at a hearing before U.S. District Judge John Copenhaver Jr.
The seven miners were UMW Local 5958 President Ernest L. Woods; strike captain Frederick D. Carter of Yolyn; and members Daynor J. Adkins of Yolyn, Curtis R. Browning of Verdunville, Jerry E. May of Chapmanville, Larry R. Perry of Oak Hill and Luther Shell of Monaville.
The seven originally were charged with conspiracy to incapacitate York and disable his vehicle. The charge carried a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison and $500,000 in fines, Parr said.
The misdemeanor pleas carry maximum penalties of a year in jail and $500 fines for each, he said.
The seven signed the plea agreements after defense lawyers negotiated all day Monday with prosecutors.
Their cases will be transferred to Logan County Circuit Court. The seven miners are expected to formally make their pleas within the next two weeks, Parr said.
Gary Collias of Charleston, attorney for Woods, said the misdemeanor charges more accurately reflect the men's picket-line actions.
"We felt this is all they were really guilty of, destruction of property. They were guilty of throwing some rocks that damaged company vehicles," he said.
Lowe, 44, also is charged with using a firearm during a violent federal crime and with conspiracy to incapacitate York and his vehicle. He faces trial May 2, Parr said.
Lowe admitted being near the shooting scene but denied hearing any shots or seeing anyone with a gun, state police Trooper Dallas Wolfe of the Fairmont detachment testified Tuesday.
Wolfe said officers found two guns in Lowe's mobile home, but neither was the .357-caliber pistol suspected of being used in the shooting.
FBI agent Brad Hoffer testified Lowe said "it upset him they [nonunion workers] were working while he was on strike."
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB