A Rainelle man is now at Southern Regional Jail after being arrested on a felony charge.
According to the criminal complaint filed in Greenbrier County, on December 14, 2021, a Rainelle police officer had a vehicle towed from the area of 15th and Ohio Avenue due to a parking violation.
The driver of the vehicle, Joseph David Herndon Jr., 29, was not the vehicle’s registered owner, but later provided two separate bills-of-sales to the Rainelle Police Department, one signed by a notary, stating that he had purchased the vehicle back in March.
During the officer’s investigation into the matter, the registered owner of the vehicle stated that her name must have been forged on the notarized bill of sale. After questioning a witness, the officer was allegedly told that it was Herndon who had signed the victim’s name on the bill-of-sale and that the “notary was a friend of [Herndon’s] and she does it for him all the time.”
The officer also notes in the criminal complaint that voicemails and text messages were provided to the police department showing that Herndon had tried to “intimidate” the victim into telling the officer that she had signed the bills-of-sale, the complaint continues. She has since obtained a protective order against Herndon.
Herndon is being charged with one felony count of forgery and two counts of uttering. He is currently at Southern Regional Jail. His surety/cash bail has been set at $5,000.
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