Protest at Marfork Coal Company

South Charleston, West Virginia- On Tuesday, February 3, 2009, at approximately 9:00 am, Sgt. M. A. Smith of the Whitesville Detachment of the West Virginia State Police responded to a trespassing complaint at the Marfork Coal Company in Pettus, WV. Five subjects had chained themselves to a piece of heavy equipment in an effort to protest mining activities. The five subjects and additional subject at the scene were issued misdemeanor citations for trespassing under WV code 61-3-33. The citations were issued without incident. The following subjects received citations and were released:

James Gerard McGuinness, Montegut, LA
Rory D. McIlmoil, Locust Grove, VA
Glen Collins, Rock Creek ,WV
Matthew Noerpel, Rock Creek, WV Michael Roselle, Forestville, CA
Chad Stevens, Athens, OH (the additional subject)

At approximately 1:00 pm, additional subjects delivered a letter to a coal company representative at the entrance of the coal company. The subjects refused orders to keep off the coal company property after delivering the letter. As a result, seven subjects received misdemeanor citations for trespassing under WV code 61-3-33. Again, the citations were issued without incident. The following subjects received citations and were released:

Lorelei Scarbro, Rock Creek , WV
Larry Gibson, Charleston, WV
Melissa Petty, Knoxville , TN
Heather Sprouse, Charleston, WV
Charles Nelson, Glen Daniel, WV
Mary Wildfire, Spencer, WV
Vernon Halton, Naoma, WV
Allen Johnson, Dunmore, WV

WV Code 61-3-33 is a misdemeanor offense punishable by a fine not less than five nor more than one hundred dollars; and, in default of the payment of the fine, the offender may, in the discretion of the judge or justice, be committed to jail for not less than five days.

Any questions concerning this release should be directed to Sgt. M. T. Baylous at 304-746-2198 or mtbaylous@wvsp.state.wv.us.

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