In a complaint filed by Trooper Brian Young, it was stated on March 13th, 2024, 69 year old Chester Cunningham, the accused, contacted WVSP by telephone and reported a
second Breaking and entering at the residence located 246 Trappers Fork Rd, Mount Zion, Calhoun County, WV, within two days.
He informed Trooper Young that there were multiple people in the residence having orgies and threatening to shoot him with
his guns. Trooper Young then traveled to the same residence with his emergency lights activated and a high rate of speed to investigate. For second time in two days this officer found no one at the residence beside the accused and his
girlfriend, Cathy Wall-Brown, who was seated downstairs with the accused when this officer arrived.
She again stated there was no one at the residence besides the two of them and they had only had one visitor earlier that day, which was the cousin of Mr. Cunningham who had left earlier in the day.
Trooper Young searched the residence twice, with the accused insisting they were still hiding. No one was at the residence as stated by the accused.
Mr. Cunningham was charged with Falsely Reporting an Emergency Incident and Interfering with Officers and taken to the WV Central Regional Jail where he is being held on a $1,500 cash/surety bond.
61-6-20 Falsely reporting emergency incident penalties:
A person is guilty of reporting a false emergency incident when knowing the information reported, conveyed or circulated is false or baseless, he: (1) Initiates or circulates a false report or warning of or impending occurrence of a fire, explosion, crime, catastrophe , accident, illness or other emergency under circumstances in which it is likely that public alarm or inconvenience will result or that firefighting apparatus, ambulance apparatus, one or more rescue vehicles or other emergency apparatus might be summoned;
§15-2-16. Interference with officers or members; false information; penalty.
Any person who shall at any time intercept, molest or interfere with any officer or member of the department o f public safety while on duty, or any state, county or municipal officer or person then under the charge and direction of some officer or member of the department of public safety while on duty, or who knowingly gives false or misleading information ot a member of the department, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than two hundred dollars, or
imprisoned ni the county jail for not more than sixty days, or both fined and imprisoned.
It sounds like this gentleman would have been better served by a mental health evaluation rather than an arrest. Expecting our LEOs to serve as mental health professionals, marriage counselors, etc., in addition to being cops is a failed model.
Patrick so true, a lack of common sense