Drug dealer probated for 5 years, with prison term of 6-30 hanging over her head

“You very well may have reached the end of your legal rope,” Bedell told Stevens.

The judge added that he didn’t see a single reason in the court documents to probate Stevens. However, Bedell acknowledged that leaving Stevens enrolled her ongoing efforts at recovery at a long-term inpatient treatment center would serve the ends of justice better than imprisoning her.

Stevens and her attorney, Jordan Dishong, had requested the alternative sentencing. They had noted Stevens’ present success in the substance use disorder recovery program.

Assistant Prosecutor James Armstrong made no sentencing recommendation as part of the plea agreement. However, Armstrong said the physical health of Stevens looked markedly better Monday.

Dishong noted that Stevens had “been clean a long time,” but relapsed when she lost her husband in 2021.

Stevens apologized, saying there were “no excuses for what I did.” She added that she was “willing to go to great lengths” to get free of the clutches of fentanyl.

The Greater Harrison Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force investigated last August, alleging wrongdoing at 17 Coplin Ave., Clarksburg.

Bridgeport Patrol Officer I.F. Thomas III, as well as Harrison Sheriff’s Sgt. R. Harris and police drug dog Filou, assisted, also finding Stevens in possession of hydrocodone and $2,089 in cash last Sept. 27 at a Bridgeport hotel.

As part of the plea bargain, the state agreed not to seek a two-time felon enhancement.

Since Bedell will retire at the end of 2024, part of Stevens’ probation would be under the supervision of Bedell’s successor.

Also:

— The trial for Derrick Emanuel Henley, 42, of Clarksburg, remains scheduled for July 17.

Henley was in court Monday before Bedell. The court denied defense motions to suppress evidence and to suppress Henley’s statements.

Henley was indicted in January and has pleaded not guilty to one count of malicious assault, two counts of possession of a firearm by a person prohibited from doing so, one count of conspiracy to commit malicious assault, one count of use or presentation of a firearm during commission of a felony and one count of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.

Henley was among those accused in the alleged Sept. 23, 2021, pistol whipping/beating of a female on U.S. 19 near Highland-Clarksburg Hospital.

A female has said she had enlisted Henley and another male to exact retribution from a male she told the court had been committing crimes against her and tormenting her for over a month.

Two defendants have pleaded guilty thus far. Assistant Prosecutor Andrea Roberts has the state’s case.

— John Wesley Brady, 42, of Mount Clare, has pleaded guilty to fleeing with reckless indifference, according to the Office of Harrison Prosecutor Rachel Romano.

Harrison Chief Judge Christopher J. McCarthy set sentencing June 27.

Last September, Brady fled at speeds over 100 mph on Interstate 79 “until his vehicle began to smoke just past the Meadowbrook exit,” Clarksburg Patrol Officer A. Moore has alleged.

— Zachary Steven Winstead, 46, of Gypsy and Shinnston, has been charged with felony fleeing with reckless indifference, and misdemeanor second-offense driving while license suspended or revoked for DUI, improper registration, expired motor vehicle inspection, expired registration, no insurance, no proof of registration, and failure to produce operator’s license.

The seven misdemeanor charges were lodged against Winstead following a May 4 traffic stop by Trooper T.J. Roach.

Roach was driving his marked cruiser southbound on U.S. 19 and Winstead was driving a silver GMC northbound when they passed in Shinnston.

Noticing the GMC had an expired inspection sticker, Roach “attempted to turn around on the suspect’s vehicle, before the vehicle accelerated abruptly [and] turned onto Gypsy Hill Road,” the complaint alleges.

Roach “briefly lost sight of the suspect’s vehicle, before observing the driver emerging from a gravel road on Gypsy Hill Road,” at which point the trooper pulled over the GMC, the complaint alleges.

The felony charge dates to last Wednesday, with Shinnston Patrol Officer D. Booth alleging Roach fled from a traffic stop in the city.

Roach almost ran another motorist off the road, and drove “erratically, crossing the yellow lines, driving on the wrong side of the road and taking turns at unsafe speeds where I could hear the vehicle tires squealing,” Booth alleged. “I pursued the vehicle out Saltwell Road at speeds reaching 60 mph. The vehicle then turned onto Spadafore Drive, where the driver fled on foot.”

Winstead remained jailed Monday on a $5,000 cash bond.