West Virginia State

martinsburg@herald-mail.com David Eugene Munday was sentenced Monday to serve life in prison for shooting a West Virginia State Police trooper in the head more than a year ago, and will serve additional time in prison for related charges. Before Circuit Court Judge David Sanders announced the sentence, Trooper R.J. "Bobby" Elswick, the trooper who was wounded, spoke, as did Elswick's wife, father and a friend, Sgt. Eric Burnett. Terri Elswick responded to a comment made in court by Robert Barrat, one of Munday's defense attorneys, that the case had been blown out of proportion because a state trooper was involved.

marlob@herald-mail.com The bidders at Sunday's auction for West Virginia State Police Trooper R.J. Elswick included fellow officers who came from several states, some avid sports enthusiasts and even Elswick family members who drove four hours for the event at Hagerstown's Four Points Sheraton. "The rest of the family got snowed in," said Linda Elswick Bolen, aunt of the trooper who is recuperating at a Georgia hospital after being shot in the head in October. She and her sister, Susan Elswick Fisher, and their husbands were spirited bidders during the auction, which attracted more than 70 people and raised more than $10,000.

GERRARDSTOWN, W.Va. - A Gerrardstown man wanted in five states on bank robbery charges was rousted out of bed and arrested early Sunday after a short spot on "America's Most Wanted" led a tipster to call police. John Dennis Grubb, 55, charged in five bank robberies and suspected in 22 others, was in his underwear when he answered the door of his trailer off Loop Road and was greeted by police and a camera crew, said Mike Molnar, a spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based television show.

A Harpers Ferry, W.Va., man died following a head-on accident Sunday morning near the intersection of W.Va. 9 and Bloomery Road, according to West Virginia State Police. The crash was reported at 4:11 a.m., according to a news release. Police said a 1994 Buick four-door sedan driven by Steven Michael Bernath, 53, of Harpers Ferry was traveling on W.Va. 9 when it crossed the center line and collided with a 2008 work van. Bernath, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was later pronounced dead by Jefferson County Medical Examiner Donald Shirley, the release said.

Five people were arrested and about an ounce of crack cocaine was seized after police conducted a search Saturday at 118 Centre St., according to the Martinsburg Police Department. More than $1,300 in cash also was seized when members of the Eastern Panhandle Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force, city police and West Virginia State Police searched the home off East Burke Street, according to a news release from Sgt. J.E. Darby. According to Darby, those arrested were Shasta C. Myers, 21, of 35 Perry Drive, Falling Waters, W.Va.; Luis M. Delgado, 21, of 3551 East Tremont, Bronx, N.Y.; Eric Junior Donaldson, 19, of 35 Perry Drive, Falling Waters; Bobby T. Hoyt, 40, of 118 Centre St.; and Eusebio D. Booth, 33, of 118 Centre St. All five were charged with possession with intent to deliver crack cocaine/conspiracy.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - One person was killed Saturday evening in a collision on W.Va. 45 at the entrance to the Glenwood Forest subdivision near Martinsburg, said a dispatcher at the West Virginia State Police headquarters in Martinsburg. West Virginia State Police responded to the scene at about 7:30 p.m., the dispatcher said. No other information was available by 10 p.m. Saturday.

A Hedgesville man was found dead Saturday morning next to a car that West Virginia State Police determined went off the road and collided with a tree, according to a news release from state police. Police identified the man as Donovan Travis, 27. State police were notified of a traffic accident with a possible fatality near the 4300 block of Allensville Road at approximately 7:14 a.m. Saturday, the release said. Police found a 2007 Toyota Corolla off the east edge of the road and saw a deceased man lying on the ground near the car's passenger door, the release said.

The ROCS convenience store in the 1600 block of West King Street outside Martinsburg was robbed at about 2:15 a.m. Tuesday, a Berkeley County Emergency Services supervisor said. The supervisor said West Virginia State Police was handling the investigation. State police said Tuesday morning that further details were unavailable.

WILLIAMSPORT - Two rescue boats combed the Potomac River near here Friday night after West Virginia State Police said a man they were chasing jumped into the water, Washington County emergency workers said. The man, last seen in the Sportsmen's Paradise area on the West Virginia side of the river, had not been found by Saturday afternoon, a Washington County 911 dispatcher said. The call came in at 7 p.m. Friday, a 911 dispatcher said. A trooper at the West Virginia State Police barracks in Martinsburg said Saturday he could not release any information.

The West Virginia State Police are investigating a reported robbery at the Hedgesville, W.Va. Dollar General store, according to police and a Berkeley County 911 Central Dispatch supervisor.