The long list of indictments against Larry Ayers was dismissed after he accepted a guilty plea to felony escape on Monday, Oct. 4.
Ayers was indicted in April on a list of charges, including burglary, grand larceny, fleeing from an officer while driving under the influence of a controlled substance, reckless fleeing from an officer, destruction of property, attempt to disarm an officer, obstructing an officer, battery on a law enforcement officer.
However, the plea itself is a felony criminal information, charging Ayers with escape, and was filed without being considered by a grand jury.
“The named victim of the burglary and grand larceny over time has, as is my understanding, … does not have much of a desire to have Mr. Ayers be prosecuted at all, to be honest with you,” explained Greenbrier County Prosecutor Patrick Via said. “It is because of that that we moved this off of a victim crime to a victimless crime, largely due to that.”
Instead of witnesses and victims, the felony escape information comes from a corporal at the Greenbrier County Sheriff’s Department who Via stated “presented the case to the grand jury and I have relied on him to speak on behalf of the Sheriff’s Department.”
“On the 29 of January 2021, Mr. Ayers was in the custody of the … Sheriff’s Department for an alleged felony offense at that time. While in custody … Mr. Ayers attempted to escape. He did so by trying to remove himself physically from the custody of [the corporal].”
Ayers could have required the felony escape charge to be brought before a grand jury before moving forward, as felonies can only be charged through indictment and not from information filed with the court, but agreed to move forward with the plea.
“I’m pleading guilty to the felony of escape,” said Ayers. “It is my first felony, that’s why I’m pleading guilty to it. It comes with a maximum of five years. … [The remaining charges] are going to be dropped. [For restitution], I will pay whatever the court agrees to. … I’ve actually stopped and paid the seven dollars two times after that, which is besides the point, but I’d like to get it taken care of.”
Ayers also declined to dispute Via’s version of events and did not offer an alternative narrative.
After the hearing, Defense Attorney Michael Whitt also indicated to the West Virginia Daily News that the plea deal emerging from the information was better for Ayers than any deal that could have arisen from his initial set of charges or indictments. Whitt also noted that the public is not always privy to the stakes of talks between the prosecution and defense during plea agreement bargaining. During the hearing, Whitt also specified that he had no meritorious defense for the escape and that taking the deal was in his best interest.
Once the guilty plea was entered, Via moved to dismiss the list of April indictments arising from his January arrest.
According to the criminal complaint, shortly after 9 a.m. on the morning of Jan. 29, officers were dispatched to investigate a reported hit-and-run incident that occurred on Route 60 in the area of Charmco. Witnesses alleged that the driver of a red Ford F-150 pickup truck, later identified by police as Larry Sherman Ayers, had been driving erratically, stopping unexpectedly, forcing other vehicles off the roadway and had struck another vehicle.
Officers observed Ayers driving said vehicle on Route 60 in Charmco, and attempted to perform a traffic stop. Ayers pulled into the parking lot of an abandoned church in Hines. The complaint states that the lead officer pulled his vehicle in front of Ayers in an attempt to prevent him from once again driving away, but Ayers drove his vehicle into the officer’s Dodge Durango.
The officer then exited his vehicle and ordered Ayers to do the same. Ayers allegedly refused to comply, which resulted in the officer deploying pepper spray on Ayers. Ayers then allegedly exited his vehicle on the passenger side and attempted to flee on foot. Both officers pursued Ayers west off of Route 60 while issuing repeated commands for him to stop running.
Ayers refusal to comply resulted in both officers deploying their tasers in an effort to subdue him. However, Ayers continued resisting, which resulted in a physical altercation with both officers. The complaint states that the officers successfully managed to take Ayers to the ground, despite his attempt to remove the lead officer’s firearm. Officers restrained Ayers through the use of handcuffs and leg shackles before carrying him back across Route 60 and placing him into an ambulance that had arrived on the scene.
Ayers was then taken to the Greenbrier Valley Medical Center for treatment and observation, where blood tests confirmed that he was under the influence of methamphetamine.
The court next considered sentencing, with Greenbrier County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Dent noting the plea deal has a “sentencing recommendation. Both parties are recommending that you be sentenced to the maximum period of incarceration. That would be a determinate, five-year period.”
Although some discussion around immediately going into sentencing was had due to the joint recommendation, instead it was delayed several months in order for the probation department to complete a pre-sentencing report. Even with both the defense and prosecution recommending five years, Dent makes the final decision on sentencing, and Ayers agreed to wait, giving her more information to work with.
Ayers was booked into Southern Regional Jail on Jan. 29, where he remains incarcerated.
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