An Ohio man was found guilty of murder in the first degree without mercy for a fatal shooting in a Meadow Creek residence in late 2018.
Anthony DeVaughan Johnson of Columbus, OH, was escorted out of the district court by members of the Summers County Sheriff’s Department in Hinton following a five-day jury trial in which it took the jurors less than 45 minutes to return a guilty verdict.
Summers County Circuit Court Judge Robert A. Irons explained the conviction automatically sends Johnson to prison for the rest of his life with no parole.
Thomas Theodore Sanford II from Rainelle was shot and left without an immediate call to 911 on December 18, 2018, according to a criminal complaint filed by West Virginia State Police Cpl. J.B. Frye.
The complaint further stated that Frye “was dispatched to the Meadow Creek area of Summers County in response to a homicide complaint. Upon arrival, the officer discovered that the victim, Thomas Sanford II had been fatally shot in the upper torso. This incident occurred at the residence of James Michael Yancey and James Michael Yancey, Jr., located at 152 South Riverside Road. It should be noted the victim was discovered in the rear bedroom of the residence.”
The complaint by Cpl. Frye states that during an in-depth investigation by him and other members of the detachment of State Police “numerous individuals were interviewed and a large amount of evidence was obtained relating to this crime. It should be noted that several individuals involved implicated the accused person, one Anthony D. Johnson. These individuals stated that Mr. Johnson was involved in an altercation with the victim related to drug sales and criminal drug activity. This altercation escalated in said residence and ultimately resulted in Mr. Johnson shooting the victim with a small handgun. This information was found to be consistent with the statement of a female whom was on scene during this altercation, being a close friend of the acquaintance, one Marshell Pope.”
Frye’s criminal complaint also reported “the accused was later located in Raleigh County and arrested in reference to an active felony capias. During this arrest, Mr. Johnson provided a statement in which he admitted to being at the location of said incident at the time of the death of the victim. Also, at the time of the arrest of the accused, there were numerous drugs present which were consistent with the version of the incident provided by the above-mentioned female [Pope].”
The complaint indicated probable cause and a warrant was issued.
Guns taken into evidence from the scene, as well as some clothing and fiber samples, and gunshot residue tests were conducted.
Johnson, according state police investigators, has told at least three different stories about where he was that night. Those who were in the Meadow Creek residence, according to Pope’s and Johnson’s statements, pointed to a night of drug use by the Yanceys and Sanford, except for Pope and Johnson.
A video presented by the defense showed the younger Yancey nodding out standing on his feet. Why no one called for help until hours after the murder was a repeated question throughout the prosecution and defense.
Johnson’s defense attorney repeatedly attempted to place blame on somebody else. During the Thursday, April 8, session of the trial, forensic experts provided testimony on what they learned from evidence sent to their crime labs.
Much of the testimony revolved around guns.
Several guns were taken into custody and processed by trained forensic scientists with the West Virginia State Police crime lab.
Nicole Macewan testified she administered two gunshot residue kits to test for particles on two firearms owned by James Michael Yancey as the murder was committed in Yancey’s bedroom. Macewan said gunshot residue was not detected on either the firearm, clothing and tennis shoes taken from the Yanceys residence.
Joel B. Harvey with the state police forensics lab examined evidence of blood on the clothing and tennis shoes. He testified that testing detected a small amount of blood on the drawstring of the pair of the victim’s sweatpants.
Hanna Foreman, state police forensic crime scientist, ran various DNA tests and identified the DNA as that of the murder victim, Thomas Sanford.
Fire Examiner Calissa Carver matched bullets and guns. She testified the bullet involved in the shooting was “a copper-jacketed hollow point 38 caliber class, and didn’t match up with the guns submitted into evidence.”
Carver said the bullet also cleared Mike Yancey’s antique Pietà black powder revolver. She testified, “that the revolver was not involved in the murder.”
According to investigators, the gun used to murder Sanford was never found. The elder Yancey testified he had seen Johnson holding a gun and had put it in his pocket.
Investigators also did not find Johnson’s black leather coat that he wore at the time of the murder.
Jurors listened to days of recorded audio from cellphones and jail calls discussing alleged illegal and addictive drugs imported from out of state, like Columbus, Ohio, and Detroit, Michigan, and filtered into Summers County, Beckley and Rainelle.
Johnson, who admitted drug trafficking in recorded evidence, was referred to by Summers County prosecutor Kristin Cook as “the plague” people here fear, “bringing in drugs and selling them.”
In the courtroom observing the entire trial were close relatives of the deceased Thomas “Tommy” Sanford. Sanford’s sister, Amber D. Sanford said “we have been impressed by the tireless efforts of the prosecutor and law enforcement. I believe they have done everything possible to lead to a conviction.”
As the trial wound down early Friday afternoon, the jury exited the courtroom following closing arguments and deliberated for approximately 45-minutes.
The jury’s guilty verdict of murder in the first degree, carrying a sentence of life in prison with no parole, was “what we prayed for,” Amber Sanford said. She said the family has been seeking closure for a long time.
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