Three Who Entered Mine Face Previous Charges, No New Charges

 

 

By Jessica Farrish

December 17, 2018 - In West Virginia, Raleigh County Prosecuting Attorney Kristen Keller said Friday that a criminal investigation is ongoing in the case of four people who have admitted entering a mine near Clear Creek and were the focus of a rescue effort by West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Office for Miner Health Safety and Training (MHST), West Virginia State Police and the National Guard.

Three of those who went in the mine have charges for past allegations of crimes pending against them in Raleigh County, court records show. Eddie Williams, 43, of Artie, was indicted in May on charges related to copper wire theft from an Alpha Resources mine.

Eddie, his cousin Kayla Williams, 25, of Artie, Erica Treadway, 31, of Pax in Fayette County, and 21-year-old Cody Beverly of Clear Creek entered the idled Elk’s Run Rock House Powellton mine late Friday night and got lost when their lights died. Eddie made it out of the mine, either early Saturday or late Sunday, according to reports by family members.

 

Erica Treadway, 31, speaks with the media at Salamy Memorial Center in Whitesville on Thursday.

 

Photo from the Register-Herald

Authorities learned Sunday night that Eddie had made it safely out of the idled mine. Rescuers found the other three before 7 p.m. Wednesday, around 1,000 feet from the portal they had entered on the Raleigh side of the mine, which straddles Boone and Raleigh.

As Gov. Jim Justice, family members and others celebrated the heroic efforts by rescuers and the safe return of all three lost in the mine, the rescue focused national and state attention on the problem of mine theft and piqued interest in why the four had entered the mine.

It is a felony to enter a mine without breaking or to break and enter a mine with the intent to commit any larceny or a felony. If convicted, the four could spend one to 10 years in the penitentiary.

Raleigh Prosecuting Attorney Kristen Keller would not comment Friday on whether specific charges will be filed against the four but added that authorities are investigating.

“From the very beginning, the emphasis from law enforcement and everyone else was on rescue,” Keller said. “But simultaneously and continuing is an active investigation.”

Raleigh police officials have said charges will likely be filed against the four who are alleged to have entered the mine illegally from the Raleigh side, which had been barricaded with concrete and barbed wire at one time.

Tyler Treadway, Erica’s brother, told reporters Wednesday, hours before the rescue, that he believed the four had entered the mine to steal copper wiring.

“They need help,” Tyler said on Wednesday, hours before the rescue. “They was just — stealing copper... I mean, that’s why they’re in there.

“That’s just the truth of it.”

Copper theft is common in rural southern West Virginia, which is still recovering from a loss of coal-related industry. At the same time the coal industry was stalled, pharmaceutical companies were dumping millions of opioid prescription painkillers into the depressed, rural communities, resulting in an opioid addiction epidemic, higher crime rates and inflated jail bills for counties.

Court documents show that a Raleigh grand jury had indicted Eddie Williams in May on charges of trespassing, destruction of property and grand larceny in relation to allegedly entering another mine less than one year ago and stealing copper.

Authorities report that Eddie had entered an Alpha Natural Resources mine in January and had stolen 60 feet of copper wire, valued at $1,216.

Williams has not gone to trial on the charges.

Kayla’s father, Randy Williams, told ABC News that he believed the four entered the mine for copper wire.

“The reason they’re in there is to get copper,” Randy Williams said in the interview. “It’s worth money. ... A couple years ago it was up to almost $4 a pound.

“You could go into a mine and make $1,000 a day.”

Tyler, a coal miner, suggested that his sister Erica is addicted to drugs.

Raleigh court records show that Erica, the mother of three children, had posted a $25,000 bond for two October charges of possessing a controlled substance without a valid prescription.

She was out on bond when she entered the mine, and Raleigh officials said they would likely revoke her bond Friday, two days after she was rescued.

In 2014, Erica had pleaded no contest to a charge of battery and was ordered to pay a fine and court costs. In 2013, she had pleaded guilty to a charge of domestic assault in Raleigh Magistrate Court and was ordered to pay a fine and court costs.

Kayla’s stepfather, Henry Basham of Artie, said Wednesday that some young people in the cash-strapped, rural communities have gone adrift for lack of opportunities.

“It could happen to anybody,” said Basham. “It’s just hard.

“The young kids today, there’s nothing for them around here. They go the wrong way. They choose the wrong path, and they end up in the situations they’re in now.

“Kayla’s a good kid,” he said. “She made a wrong decision. Now, she’s here where we’re at, today.

“Just make the right decisions,” Basham advised. “That’s all you can do.”

Court records show that Kayla was indicted in Raleigh County in September on a count of possession of a controlled substance (cocaine) with intent to deliver and a count of felony conspiracy.

Beverly’s father, Brandon Beverly, had also been convicted of charges related to entering mines and stealing from mines and from mine sites in Boone, Logan, Mingo and McDowell counties and from Barker’s Junk Co. in Mabscott.

He is an inmate at Parkersburg Correctional Center and Jail, where he is serving time on a string of theft-related charges, many from mine sites. He is scheduled for release in April 2022.

Beverly said Thursday that his maternal grandfather helped to rear him and that Brandon has not been active in his life.

None of the four have said they entered the mine to steal copper wire, and no charges had been filed Friday.

 

Beverly said Thursday that he had gone into the mine for fun.