Published: September 16, 2009 09:25 pm      

Probable cause found in Glenwood area slaying

BLUEFIELD — A Mercer County magistrate found “probable cause” to have the first-degree murder charges against a Kegley-Spanishburg area man bound over to the next term of the grand jury.

Bruce Lee Milam, 33, appeared for his preliminary hearing Wednesday afternoon before Magistrate Charles N. Poe, who denied a defense motion to have the state’s charges dismissed due to an invalid warrant.

Mercer County Public Defender Lynn Fuda asked Poe to dismiss the charges against the defendant, arguing that the state’s warrant did not “correctly charge” his client.

Assistant Mercer County Prosecuting Attorney Kelli Harsbarger argued that that the state’s warrant did not need to contain the details that Fuda claimed made the warrant defective. “The essential facts are that he committed first-degree murder,” Harsbarger said. Poe let the hearing proceed.

Detective R.M. Combs of the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department testified that he was called on July 16, to a residence on Harley Drive in the Glenwood area to investigate the scene of a possible homicide. Inside the kitchen of the home, he observed a man, “in the kitchen area of the home, covered in blood.” He testified that the victim “suffered several wounds in the neck area” and that the victim was “pretty covered in blood.”

During the course of his investigation, Combs testified that neighbors of the victim — Lester Sloane, 58 — told him they observed a male and a female arguing with Sloane the previous day. A telephone call about an abandoned white Chevrolet Blazer on Sandlick Road yielded Milam’s name as a potential suspect. Combs said he visited Milam’s family home and a motel in Princeton, and eventually tracked the suspect to a residence in Lindside, Monroe County.

After investigators read Milam his rights, Combs testified that “he, in fact, killed Lester Sloane.” Combs testified that Milam told investigators that he frequently bought drugs from Sloane with his food card, cash or on credit. Combs testified that Milam said he and Sloane argued over the amount of money Milam owed Sloane, and when the argument escalated, Milam opened the blade of the knife he had in his pocket.

“Combs testified that the defendant said that when he (Milam) saw Sloane reach for a revolver, he (Milam) stabbed him in the neck. Combs testified in detail as to the manner in which the defendant explained how he allegedly killed the victim.

Under cross-examination by Fuda, Combs testified that the victim, Sloane, had been indicted for dealing drugs and was the target of an investigation by the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force.

Combs testified that Cpl. A.P. Christian of the West Virginia State Police recovered the suspect vehicle, and that the vehicle had Sloane’s blood on the steering wheel. Combs also testified that he recovered Sloane’s revolver as well as a prescription label when he apprehended Milam. He also testified that Senior Trooper S.A. Murphy of the West Virginia State Police as well as Detectives D.W. Sparks and L.B. Murphy were present when the defendant gave his statement to police.

– Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com