In Around West Virginia today: a wrongful death lawsuit filed after an officer-involved shooting, alleged thieves are displeased by their $1 heist, a new drug court in Jefferson County, and more.
n The estate of a Morgantown woman who was shot and killed by a Monongalia County sheriff's deputy has filed a wrongful death lawsuit, according to The Dominion Post. Christie Cathers, 45, was killed following a car chase in June 2015. Police accused her of striking a police cruiser. The lawsuit says she was shot and killed after already driving around the cruiser, so she was no longer a danger.
n After allegedly stealing $1 from a bar and grill in Clarksburg, two men accidentally called 911 on a cell phone, according to The Exponent Telegram. Dispatchers heard them "describing their displeasure (at) only getting one cash dollar," police said. Jason Ryan Taylor, 23, of Anmoore, and Joseph Buck Thompson, 29, of Clarksburg, are each charged with breaking and entering and conspiracy. On Thursday, Taylor waived his probable cause hearing. Thompson waived his probable cause hearing in October.
n Berkeley County 911 received 519 overdose calls in 2015, according to The Journal. Of those, about 150, or 42 percent, were in Martinsburg.
n Jefferson County held a ceremony marking the grand opening of the county's first adult drug court, The Journal reports. Seven people in Berkeley and Jefferson counties participated. State Supreme Court Justice Brent Benjamin said the program could eventually save the state $30 million in incarceration costs. He also said that of drug court participants, only about 10 percent return to criminal behavior after about two years.
n U.S. Attorney Bill Ihlenfeld says that stores selling synthetic marijuana have been able to evade detection by becoming more discrete, MetroNews reports. "They're doing it behind the counter," he said. "You have to ask for it. You have to know who to ask for and what to ask for to get it."
Reach Erin Beck at erin.beck@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5163, Facebook.com/erinbeckwv, or follow @erinbeckwv on Twitter.