Eric Cravey, Times West Virginian, Fairmont
·4 min read
Oct. 9—FAIRMONT — The October session of the Marion County Grand Jury returned indictments on 36 people, including one man indicted for first-degree murder.
The Grand Jury indicted Ryan Ray Lane, 37, of East Side, for first-degree murder for the September 2022 killing of Henry Silver that took place outside a residence in Carolina. Both men were members of the Pagan's Motorcycle Club.
The Grand Jury also indicted Lane on one count each of operating an organized criminal enterprise and conspiracy to commit a felony.
Lane is one of six men charged in Silver's murder. The circumstances of his death surround a love affair between Silver and fellow Pagan's member John Lee Wolfe's girlfriend. The affair came to a bloody end on Sept. 9, 2022, after the Pagans gunned down Silver in the parking lot of the Carolina Arbors in Carolina. A police report and several court filings reveal what may have happened the night Silver died.
According to evidence obtained in the investigation, Lane sent Wolfe a text message about the affair multiple times. Lane reportedly texts Wolfe in one message that they need to "handle that [expletive]."
Police said that 10 minutes before the killing, Wolfe sent Lane a text telling him to "keep ur phone on I might need bail money." Deputies said Lane kept communicating with Wolfe and traveled to a place where they could discuss the killing.
Lane remains in the North Central Regional Jail without bond until his trial.
In another case, the Grand Jury indicted 19-year-old Peyton Fritts, of Fairmont, for one count each of attempted first-degree murder, use or presentation of a firearm in commission of a felony, wanton endangerment involving a firearm, carrying a concealed firearm by a prohibited person & possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine.
Police and court records show Fritts and Hunter Satterfield traded shots with each other on Billingslea Street. The gunfight took place near Woodlawn Cemetery around 3 o'clock in the morning on March 12. According to police, Fritts and Satterfield traded shots with each other on Billingslea Street. Jacker said the gunfight took place near Woodlawn Cemetery around 3 o'clock in the morning.
After his arrest last March, Satterfield told police that Fritts followed him in a vehicle while he walked to his home on Billingslea Street. The two got into verbal confrontation, which ended when Fritts fired shots at Satterfield. Satterfield took cover in a wooded area, and fired back after retrieving a firearm from his backpack. Fritts circled the block and fired a second time at Satterfield before leaving the area.
Fritts admitted to police that he fired shots at Satterfield, and told police the weapon would be located in his car along with a small amount of marijuana and a bulletproof vest. Fritts was arrested after police responded to calls of a gunfight stopped a blue SUV with its headlights off. Officers identified empty holsters, spent casings and other firearm accessories in the vehicle.
Fritts remains in the North Central Regional Jail where his bond is set at $750,000.
A former North Marion County teacher is also among the group of 36 men and women indicted this week by the Marion County Grand Jury.
The Grand Jury indicted Ernest Yeager, 34, of Mannington, on one count each of soliciting a minor via computer and traveling to engage minor in sexual activity, sexual intercourse, sexual intrusion, or sexual contact, against students by school employees, sexual abuse by a parent, guardian, custodian or person in position of trust to a child.
According to the criminal complaint, White Hall Police accused Yeager of performing sex on a 17-year-old juvenile from a local high school in the Tygart Valley Walmart parking lot in White Hall. Police said he paid the student $100 and later admitted to exchanging nude photos with the student after admitting to the incident, the complaint states.
Other indictments include that of Joshua Hammock, 32, Eric Melton, 22, and Ronald Rowan, 40, all of Fairmont.
Grand jurors indicted Hammock on charges of first-degree sexual assault, first-degree sexual abuse, and sexual abuse by parent, guardian or person in a position of trust.
Grand jurors indicted Melton on charges of first-degree sexual assault, first-degree sexual abuse and incest.
Grand jurors indicted Rowan on charges of third-degree sexual assault and sexual abuse by parent, guardian or person in a position of trust.
An indictment, which is a formal charge lodged by the prosecution, is not a conviction.
Reach Eric Cravey at 304-367-2523.
