Kip Sears plead guilty to charges emerging from his 2020 shooting of a 14-year-old Brush Road resident on Friday, Oct. 1.
Considered by Greenbrier County Circuit Court Judge Robert Richardson, Sears’ case stems from a January shooting in which one victim was injured and flown to a Virginia medical center for treatment.
“At approximately 12:10 a.m. on January 07, 2020, members of the Greenbrier County Sheriff’s Office and the WV State Police responded to [reports] of a shooting at a residence on Brush Road near Maxwelton,” reads the press release issued by the Greenbrier County Sheriff’s Department after Sears arrest. “During the initial investigation officers would learn that the residents of the home were awakened by someone yelling outside and a vehicle was observed in their driveway. The subjects outside were yelling and inquiring as to the whereabouts of two individuals, neither of whom were known by the occupants of the home. They were then told to leave the premises. One of the subjects then fired multiple gunshots at the residence from a small-caliber firearm. One of those discharged rounds ultimately struck a teenage resident inside the house.”
During the Friday hearing, Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Blake spoke to the state’s position on events, explaining that Sears and other individuals approached the house and were “yelling” for someone.
“[The father of the victim] responded ‘we don’t know [them] leave and don’t come back,’” explained Blake. “At that time, [the father] provided that one of the subjects began shooting at the residence, striking the house three times in the siding and once through the window at the living room, totaling four shots fired. The round that went through the window is believed to be the round that struck [the victim] in the leg.”
Later, after Blake provided the state’s version of events, Sears explained why he acted the way he did the night of the shooting.
“Why did you fire this gun into the house?” asked Richardson.
“To be honest with you sir, we were fired at first,” said Sears. “We were just returning fire.”
“Are you indicating you did this in self-defense?”
“Yessir.”
“That is a defense to this crime, so you’re telling me you’re not guilty?”
“If I could just interject,” said Sear’s defense attorney Dewitt Daniell. “That is a disputed fact between ourselves and the state. Just so you know, in my discussions with Kip, … I did not see self-defense being a legitimate or plausible defense in this circumstance. While they did hear a gunshot, they were already backing up with the car and were about to leave the residence. They were fleeing, there were no longer in any danger.”
“That would depend on the facts as they developed,” Richardson said.
Blake later explained officers processing the scene “inquired [the father] about whether or not he had any firearms and whether or not this was an exchange of gunfire, to which [the father] provided that he was a convicted felon, there were no firearms whatsoever inside his residence, and provided a consent to search. No firearms or rounds or fired cartridges were found about the residence as a result of said search.”
Sears, during Richardson’s questioning, also explained “I know the family, I didn’t know it was their house at the time.” Richardson asked, “You ended up shooting somebody that you knew when you were firing at a house [that you] didn’t know who lived there?” Sears responded, “yes sir.”
Sears was arrested on January 17 on an unrelated charge. During the arrest, however, officers found a small-caliber, semi-automatic handgun in his possession, a weapon the West Virginia State Police Lab found to be the source of the rounds fired during the January 7 shooting. Blake noted that Sears was also arrested on suspicion of being the shooter.
“On January 9, 2020, it was reported to the Greenbrier County Sheriff’s Department that two individuals had been bragging that they were involved with the shooting, Blake said. “[Among those individuals were] Kip Sears. On or about January 17 of 2020, [two corporals] with the Greenbrier County Sheriff’s Department did locate Kip Sears, the defendant, and did find in his possession a small-caliber, semi-automatic pistol.”
During the Friday hearing, Sears pled guilty to five counts overall—four of wanton endangerment with a firearm and one assault during the commission of a felony.
A sentence for the offense is not finalized, the deal outlines what it could entail. Both the first and second wanton endangerment charges would come with a determinate five-year sentence, served one after the other. Next, the third and fourth wanton endangerment charges would carry the same, but Sears would be eligible for home confinement after serving the first set. In addition, the assault in the commission of a felony charge could run from two to 10 years but could be served at the same as the first two wanton endangerment charges.
In order to become parole eligible in regard to the two consecutive, five-year, determinate sentences, the defendant would have to serve a quarter each, which would make him ineligible for parole consideration on those charges until he has served two and half years,” Richardson said.
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