PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — A Freedom of Information Act request by The Parkersburg News and Sentinel has been denied for documents related to the case of a deputy sheriff in Wood County charged with driving under the influence and reckless driving.
The newspaper last week requested correspondence about Deputy Sheriff Cory B. Six, 26, 615 Ridge Road, Vienna, who was arraigned in April on charges of DUI and reckless driving and was released on a $2,000 personal recognizance bond. Six was not taken into custody at the scene of the traffic stop and a warrant was issued four days later on March 8.
The request was filed with Wood County Sheriff Ken Merritt, Prosecuting Attorney Jason Wharton and Wood County Commissioners Steve Gainer, Blair Couch and Bob Tebay for:
“All correspondence, electronic or written, from the Sheriff of Wood County or his representatives to Deputy Cory Six or his representatives from March 2016 to the present.”
“All correspondence, electronic and written, from Deputy Cory Six or his representatives to the Sheriff of Wood County or his representatives from March 2016 to the present.”
“All correspondence, written or received by any county official in regard to Deputy Six or his representatives from March 2016 to the present.”
”The request for information is denied,” a letter to The Parkersburg News and Sentinel from Assistant Prosecutor Patrick Lefebure said. ”The reason for the denial is that the information being sought is exempted pursuant to WV Code 29B-1-4(a)(4) and WV Code 29B-1-4(a)(8).”
WV Code 29B-1-4(a)(4) specifically exempts “Records of law-enforcement agencies that deal with the detection and investigation of crime and the internal records and notations of such law-enforcement agencies which are maintained for internal use in matters relating to law enforcement,” the letter stated.
WV Code 29B-1-4(a)(8) specifically exempts “Internal memoranda or letters received or prepared by any public body,” the letter stated.
Lefebure’s letter said the response ended the responsibility of Merritt, Wharton and the Wood County Commission in regard to the newspaper’s request.
According to the criminal complaint filed in Wood County Magistrate Court, Deputy Sgt. J.W. Allen on March 4 was observing traffic on W.Va. 14 and saw an SUV on Frontage Road driving toward W.Va. 14. The SUV turned right from Frontage Road onto Elizabeth Pike and onto the northbound entrance ramp of I-77, the complaint said.
In the complaint Allen said as the vehicle merged onto the interstate he was traveling at a high rate of speed in an attempt to catch up with the SUV. While trying to negotiate a curve on the interstate, Allen said, he lost sight of the SUV, but then observed it on the exit to W.Va. 95.
Allen caught up with the SUV while it was stopped at a stop sign at the end of the ramp, the complaint said. Allen activated his emergency lights, approached the vehicle and discovered Six was in the driver’s seat, the complaint said.
Six’s breath had an odor of alcohol and his eyes appeared bloodshot and glassy, the complaint said. Allen asked Six if he had been drinking and Six said he “had a couple,” the complaint said.
Allen contacted Deputy Sheriff Lt. D.C. Massey, who responded to the traffic stop, the complaint said. When Massey arrived, Six was asked to get out of the SUV and was offered a preliminary breath test, the complaint said.
Six tested 0.178 percent blood-alcohol concentration and was not arrested at the scene on West Virginia 95. He was picked up and taken home by two off-duty officers from the Vienna Police Department, who used their own personal vehicles on their own time, officials said.
A warrant for Six’s arrest was obtained four days later on March 8, but Six entered into a treatment program at a facility in California. He turned himself in on April 5.
A special magistrate has been assigned to the case, which is scheduled to be heard in Wood County at 10 a.m. July 22 before Wirt County Magistrate Dave Roberts.
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