CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK)—The West Virginia Department of Homeland Security was ordered to search the devices of people within the West Virginia State Police administration.
In a memo issued on March 2, 2023, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s Chief of Staff Brian Abraham directed the WVDHS to investigate “multiple allegations of potential improper or alleged criminal actions within the administration of the West Virginia State Police.”
The scope of the search laid out by the memo included daily activity logs, emails, text messages, and duty logs for the daily activity of 13 WVSP employees between Monday, Feb. 13, 2023, and Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. The employees mentioned in the memo were:
- Colonel Jan Cahill
- Lieutenant Colonel David Nelson
- Major James Findley
- Major Shallon Oglesby
- Captain Roy Moss
- First Sergeant Oakey Starsick
- First Sergeant William Huddleston
- Sergeant Chris Snodgrass
- Sergeant Robert Richardson
- Sergeant Brandon Meeks
- Sergeant Brent Kieffer
- Sergeant Chad Whetzel
- Sergeant Craig Weaver
An investigation was launched after a five-page anonymous letter was sent to Governor Jim Justice, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, and a host of state lawmakers.
The most serious allegations include sexual assaults, thefts, and damage to state-owned property at the state police academy. Other accusations include a hidden camera in the women’s locker room, misuse of taxpayer funds, and some troopers billing for overtime they did not work.
Amid the investigation, a WVSP trooper was arrested for domestic battery and felony strangulation. The attorney for that trooper says he plans to sue WVSP for retaliatory conduct and defamation.
