When the victim is someone we don't like, then it's just fine.

It's just like freedom of speech. We don't like the message? Shout it down.

Presumption of innocence until a finding of guilt in a court of law? Depends.

The Duke lacrosse players? People like that are always guilty. Of course they did it; just look at them. No trial for them.

Well done!

Police: Pair plotted to steal coal exec's SUV and sell it

John Raby, Associated Press

Updated 4:02 pm, Thursday, May 26, 2016

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Two suspects in the fatal shooting of a former coal chief executive in southern West Virginia were planning to steal his vehicle and sell it, authorities said Thursday.

The body of Bennett Hatfield, 59, was found Monday at a cemetery where he had been visiting his wife's grave near the Kentucky-West Virginia border the day before. His SUV was found nearby.

Anthony Arriaga, 20, of Delphos, Ohio, was arraigned on a first-degree murder charge Thursday

Based on interviews with Arriaga and others, authorities believe Arriaga and Brandon Lee Fitzpatrick, 18, of Louisa, Kentucky, hatched a plot to steal a vehicle, Mingo County Prosecutor Teresa Maynard said.

More:
http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Prosecutor-Pair-plotted-to-steal-slain-ex-coal-7947339.php#photo-10132430

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Brandon Lee Fitzpatrick



Anthony Arriaga [/center]

Killing for an SUV, what a sad state of affairs.

I'm still not completely sure this is the whole story.

There are probably a lot of people who'd be interested in keeping a truth like that concealed from the country, to protect themselves, if they were involved in ignoring safety standards for the miners.

A man visiting his deceased wife's grave is murdered for his car and it is karma because he is a coal exec? Any other professions you would like punk-ass killers to off?

I am always shocked when I hear supposed liberals acting like wingers.

He was running a company that killed 12 men. Not all coal executives are bad but there are a few who skimp on safety for profits.

The original article references that as well as the thread.

The guy was probably an asshole. I just really dislike hearing liberals celebrate murder.

With all the vitriol on here now it is nice to remember that most of the time we are a cordial and polite community.

Suspect arrested in West Virginia death of former Patriot Coal CEO Bennett Hatfield

By John Raby • Associated Press
May 24, 2016

. . .

At Sago, Ben Hatfield was overcome with emotions in discussing a miscommunication that led to an announcement that the 12 miners were alive. He said the owners expressed regret that families erroneously believed that information for three hours before it was corrected.

"In the process of being cautious, we allowed the jubilation to go on longer than it should have," a choked-up Hatfield said at a January 2006 news conference.

Federal investigators determined lightning created an electric arc that moved into a pump cable, creating a spark for a methane explosion that trapped the miners. By the time searchers reached them about 40 hours later, only one man had survived in the carbon monoxide gas.

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/suspect-arrested-in-west-virginia-death-of-former-patriot-coal/article_23902ebc-4be8-55dc-8995-3571b081805f.html

[center]~ ~ ~[/center]
The earlier announcement to the public:

12 Miners Found Alive 41 Hours After Explosion

By JAMES DAO

Published: January 4, 2006

SAGO, W.Va., Wednesday, Jan. 4 - Forty-one hours after an explosion trapped 13 men in a West Virginia coal mine here, family members and a state official said 12 of the miners had been found alive Tuesday night.

Earlier Tuesday evening, the body of one miner was found 11,200 feet from the mine entrance, within a few hundred feet of a vehicle used to transport the workers deep into the mine, company officials said. The miner was not identified, and the cause of his death was unclear.

Joe Thornton, deputy secretary for the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, said the rescued miners were being examined at the mine shortly before midnight and would soon be taken to nearby hospitals. Mr. Thornton said he did not know details of their medical condition.

Outside the Sago Baptist Church, where people had gathered across the street from the mine, family and friends of the miners hugged each other and shed tears of joy as they learned the news.

More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/04/national/04mine.html?hp&_r=0

Whole lot of sneaking going on!

Thanks for pointing that out.

They still have a way to go in figuring this out!

They can't include car theft in the charges, can they?

Typically you don't mug someone at a cemetery. Typically you don't kill a mugging victim. They mentioned meth so maybe logic is not the best guide for their mindset.

UPDATE: Three charged in murder of former coal executive

UPDATE 5/25/16 @ 8:45 p.m.
ELSMERE, Ky. (WSAZ) -- A call about a possible kidnapping led to the arrest of a murder suspect.

Elsmere Kentucky Police were dispatched Wednesday morning to a business in the 4300 block of the Dixie Highway for a report about a possible kidnapping.

The suspect had left before police got there, but they were able to catch up with the driver a short time later.

Brandon Fitzpatrick, 18, of Louisa, was driving the vehicle. He had been named as a person of interest in the murder of Ben Hatfield, a former coal executive in West Virginia.

More:
http://www.wsaz.com/content/news/Body-found-in-Mingo-County-380554721.html

[center]

Ricky Peterson [/center]