Published: November 18, 2008 06:58 pm         

Man charged in 2001 murder

WELCH — Another chapter has opened in the brutal 2001 “Mother’s Day shooting” in McDowell County with the arrest of a Buchanan County, Va., man on murder charges in connection with the crime.

Amos Gabriel Hicks, 45, of Whitewood, Va., was charged with murder, malicious assault and conspiracy to commit murder in a sealed indictment returned last month by the McDowell County Grand Jury, Prosecuting Attorney Sid Bell said.

“He (Hicks) is alleged to have been an accessory before the fact of the murder of Jamie Chantel Webb,” Bell said.

Webb, 22, of Raysal, died as a result of injuries sustained in the shooting, which occurred around 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 13, 2001 — Mother’s Day.

Two companions who were with Webb that day, Jeffrey Mullens, 30, of Raysal, and Don Ball, 44, of Jolo, were also shot, Sgt. D.W. Miller, with the Welch Department of the West Virginia State Police, said.

The shooting occurred on Payne Fork Road near Jolo. “They were apparently lured up there to do some drugs and when they got up there and got out of the car they were both shot,” Bell said.

“Ms. Webb received gunshot wounds to her head and hip area, which resulted in her death,” Miller said.

“Jeffrey Mullens was shot in the head with a 9 mm pistol,” Bell said. “It’s a miracle he survived, but he was very seriously injured.”

Miller said Ball was shot multiple times, but none of the wounds were life threatening and he, too, survived.

Two men from the Bradshaw area, Mose Douglas “Doug” Mullins Jr., 42, and James Blaine “Rusty” Waldon, also 42, were arrested and charged with murder and malicious assault the same day the crime was committed, authorities said.

Miller said the crime occurred in a secluded area.

“It was very brutal,” he said. “After Mr. Mullins had shot the three individuals, Jeffrey Mullens and Chantel Webb were lying in the road and he drug their bodies over a hill to conceal them. And Don Ball, who received lesser injuries, was able to run down the road to a house and call for help.”

Miller, who investigated the case along with lead investigator Trooper J.K. Cooper, said the crime was not “a random act of violence.”

“There was a connection between the perpetrators and the victims,” he said.

Miller said only one handgun involved in the crime was recovered. “It was Doug Mullins that had the handgun and did the shooting,” he said. “We don’t have any evidence Waldon did any shooting.”

Bell said after the shooting, Mullins and Waldon traveled across Bradshaw Mountain and “threw the murder weapon into the woods.” They then proceeded into Whitewood, Va., where they washed and disposed of the clothing they were wearing.

Soon after they arrived back in McDowell County, they were arrested by state troopers, Bell said.

Bell said Mullins pleaded guilty to second degree murder and two counts of malicious assault. He was sentenced to the maximum term by Judge Booker T. Stevens — 40 years for the murder and two indeterminate sentences of not less than two nor more than 10 years for the malicious assault convictions.

Waldon, who cooperated with police and led them to the murder weapon, was convicted by a jury of voluntary manslaughter, Bell said. He was sentenced to seven years, with an additional five years for a previous charge.

Bell said Waldon has since been released on parole.

Although it has been seven years since the murder, Bell said he never considered it a “cold case.”

“We never stopped the investigation of this case,” he said. “It’s continued since 2001. It was just a matter of getting enough evidence and getting certain witnesses to come forward.”

Hicks was arrested Oct. 23 in Whitewood. Bell said he waived extradition and was arraigned Oct. 31 in McDowell County.

Due to the nature of the case, the state objected to bail for Hicks, Bell said. Judge Stevens did deny bail, but he instructed Hicks’ attorneys to file a written motion for their bond request. The bond hearing will be held today in McDowell County Circuit Court.

Miller said it is unusual to make an arrest in a homicide case several years after the crime has occurred. “Most of the time, especially in a murder case, if the arrest is not made within a couple of days — within 48 hours — it’s really hard to make an arrest.”

— Contact Samantha Perry at sperry@bdtonline.com

     

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