Court

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- A Berkeley County couple is accused of depriving four children in their custody of food, shooting the children with BBs and bottle rockets, and other abuse amid conditions that one child described to police as "living hell. " Nathan Allen Snyder, 25, and Christina Ann Snyder, 40, of Bunker Hill, W.Va., on Thursday were in Eastern Regional Jail on $200,000 bonds set by Berkeley County Magistrate Sandra L. Miller. The Snyders each were arraigned by Miller on four counts of child abuse resulting in injury, according to court records.

By MARLO BARNHART Staff Writer The case of a woman who was charged after throwing a Thanksgiving turkey into the yard and allegedly attacking her husband with a Scrabble game board has been placed on the inactive docket. Julie Carol Meadows, 32, of 9735 Sharpsburg Pike, was charged with second-degree assault following the Nov. 27 incident. Washington County District Judge Ralph France on Tuesday placed the charge against Meadows on the "stet" - or inactive - docket, meaning it will not be prosecuted.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Waynesboro attorney Todd Dorsett, charged with hindering in the apprehension of one of his former clients in November, waived his right to an arraignment, a spokesman in the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office said Wednesday. The next step in the case against Dorsett, 38, will be the setting of his trial date in the Court of Common Pleas in Chambersburg, said Kevin Harley, spokesman for the AG's office. Dorsett also waived his preliminary hearing in December.

gregs@herald-mail.com The legal fight to build a CVS pharmacy at the corner of Eastern Boulevard and Leitersburg Pike in Hagerstown's North End was revived this week. Evergreen Properties LLC, which owns the piece of land in question, has filed for judicial review of a recent Hagerstown City Council decision to change the zoning on its land to an agricultural use. The council's decision prevents the company from building the drugstore. James Stone, a Hagerstown attorney, filed the appeal in Washington County Circuit Court Thursday on behalf of Evergreen Properties.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- A former American Red Cross executive director apologized to the leaders of the now-dissolved Berkeley County chapter for bilking thousands of dollars from the nonprofit organization at his sentencing Monday afternoon in circuit court. "I am prepared to take responsibility for my actions," Jonathon Alexander Jarrell, 43, of Martinsburg, told presiding 23rd Judicial Circuit Court Judge David H. Sanders in Martinsburg. Sanders accepted Jarrell's binding guilty plea to one felony count of embezzlement, noting the defendant's presentence investigation yielded no record of prior conviction on any charge, even traffic or parking tickets.

A Sharpsburg man who erroneously believed his wife had been sexually assaulted by his best friend was sentenced Tuesday to serve 18 months in jail for holding a gun to the friend's head in April 1999, in full view of the friend's 10-year-old son. Daniel Ray Kretzer, 47, of 5625 Mondell Road, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and reckless endangerment before Washington County Circuit Judge Kennedy Boone. The April 16, 1999, incident occurred at 19007 Manor Church Road near Boonsboro where Roy Leon Shoemaker and his son, Zachary, both of Hagerstown, were checking out turkey hunting spots for the upcoming first day of the season, court records said.

Man sentenced for abuse of son By MARLO BARNHART / Staff Writer Prosecutors on Tuesday recommended an 18-month jail sentence for a Hagerstown man charged with "starving, neglecting and beating up" his 2-year-old son. Donald Lee Kennedy faced up to 15 years in prison. Based on the prosecution's recommendation, Washington County Circuit Judge Kennedy Boone imposed a 10-year prison sentence and suspended all but 18 months, to be served in the Washington County Detention Center.

Two Washington County Circuit Judges running for 15-year terms last week said they saw nothing wrong with a letter their campaign sent to local lawyers, urging them to ask their current and former clients to support their ticket. Their lack of vision is troubling, for reasons we'll explain. Imagine for a moment that you're someone with a case coming up in court, and your attorney approaches you and tells you that Judges Donald Beachley and Kennedy Boone III (one of whom may hear your case)

Music By Jesenia Jaquez Special to Pulse Music is the elixir of our souls. The notes are forms of expression. The melody flows with happiness. The harmony, the glue, ties everything together. Musicians are the creators of it all. The lyrics are the most important message. Baseball By Kyle Smith Special to Pulse Baseball is my favorite sport. It beats being out on the court. When I hit, pitch and play on the field, There are no words that show how I feel.

For some of the kids, it's about soccer. For others, it's just about having fun, whether spinning in circles while the action happens around them or climbing the padded walls around the court. After all, this is the soccer league for 4- and 5-year-olds. What could be simpler than running around chasing a ball or chasing each other? Approximately 90 children from the Tri-State area are playing on eight teams in the Hagerstown YMCA league, which plays Sundays and Thursdays, said Dan Prescott, senior program director.