The investigation into the November 2020 death of James Alvis III came to a close with a second plea deal entered on Tuesday, April 12. Two men, a father and son, have now both pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter, respectively, in Alvis’ death.
Jonathan Gaige McClung, 18, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter. The maximum potential penalty listed is incarceration for up to a year and/or a fine of up to $1,000. The state will be able to argue for the maximum sentence, while the defense will have a chance to argue for an alternative sentence.
Gaige McClung explained what happened on Nov. 7, 2020, upon questioning from Greenbrier County Circuit Court Judge Robert Richardson.
“When I was acting in concert with my dad, my dad hit him multiple times and I only hit him a few,” McClung said. “[Alvis] fell and hit his head.”
“What about your actions shows such a reckless disregard for human life?” Richardson asked.
“The attack and hitting him repeatedly. The unprovoked attack,” said McClung.
“You participated in an unprovoked attack on Mr. Alvis to such an extent that he ended up dying as a result of that attack. Is that correct?” Richardson asked.
“Yes,” responded McClung.
“Are you pleading guilty to this crime because you are in fact guilty of this crime?” Richardson asked.
“Yes sir,” responded McClung.
On March 15, Jonathan Cole McClung, 49, of Charmco, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. The deal came with a definite minimum sentence of three years and a maximum sentence of 15 years.
He told the court he agreed to enter the plea for a specific reason.
“Because of my son, so he won’t get a felony. I kind of got him into it, and that’s why I’m doing it,” said McClung during the hearing. The younger McClung was a minor when the crime was committed but has been charged as an adult in the Greenbrier County Circuit Court.
Greenbrier County Prosecuting Attorney Patrick Via further explained what the state would expect to prove in the case, should it have gone to trial.
“The evidence can be interpreted both ways,” Via said. “The case is not devoid of evidence that this was an intentional act, an intentional killing. However, there is substantial [evidence], not only in amount but in terms of quality, that would mitigate to an unlawful act that is very violent but lacking the intention to kill. We have spent months going over this. … The decision that I made to offer this plea opportunity to [McClung] was a result of the belief, on my part, that he was not the primary perpetrator. … The primary perpetrator of that unprovoked attack was clearly his father. The evidence indicates that his father was in search of his wife and found her in a situation that led to an outburst of anger on his part that resulted in an attack and a death. [McClung] was there, present, and participated, without any question, but … [McClung] was following the lead, the bad lead, of his father.”
McClung’s defense attorney, Larry Harrah II, agreed, explaining that “given the facts and evidence in this case, I believe that if this were to go to a jury, I believe they would find, reasonably, that my client is in fact guilty of involuntary manslaughter or a higher charge, potentially. It would be in his best interest for the court to accept this plea.”
During the hearing, Thomas Vance spoke on behalf of the victim’s family.
“My name is Tommy Vance and I am representing the family of James Alvis III. That includes his sons, James and Garrett Alvis, his sister Cindy Vance, and his sister Kathy Vance,” stated Vance. “All of the feelings expressed today are a cumulative gathering of our feelings. It was previously stated that this plea deal was derived from multiple meetings with the family. Pat Via and his office have been very informative and very good to meet with us about various concerns, but one issue that we want to clear up is that this plea deal is not one of our ideas and our feelings. It was not generated through how we feel this should happen. Quite honestly, we do not feel this was a just conviction of Jonathan Gaige McClung. We did not previously give our full support of this.
“When this deal was presented to us, and learning that it was a misdemeanor, the same level of charge if he had stolen a loaf of bread at Walmart or wrote a bad check, it was unimaginable to us as a family.
“His father and he changed our lives forever. The fact that this would be no more than a blemish on his record was very hurtful and very hard to accept. That being said, we, as a family, realize the risk of if we let this go to trial. We realize his father could possibly receive the same misdemeanor conviction he is receiving. We realize this plea ensures that someone pays for that crime and the change in our family.
“We debated this, whether I was going to come in today to be more informative or whether I was going to come to you and ask you not to accept this plea deal. My purpose today is not to ask you to not accept this. My purpose today, for our family, is to inform the court, the prosecutor’s office, all the attorneys involved, and especially the two defendants, that we do not feel this is just punishment for Gaige.
“We do not believe, as his dad previously stated, that he got him into this. He was there because he chose to be. He was equally brutal in the attack, and I hope it’s on his mind for the rest of his life. The choice he made resulted in a man’s death,” said Vance.
Richardson accepted the plea deal, allowing the younger McClung to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter. He also addressed the family’s concern with the misdemeanor charge.
“Acting in a manner of negligence that is so gross and wanton and culpable that it shows a reckless disregard for human life is a serious manner,” Richardson said. “People could certainly debate if the legislature made the right choice in assigning a misdemeanor penalty to the offense of involuntary manslaughter. The court is obligated to follow the law as enacted by our legislature.”
The case will next go to the probation department, where his background will be reviewed prior to Richardson issuing a sentence. The elder McClung is expected to be sentenced in May.
