Mom pleads not guilty in ATV crash

Cheryl Caswell

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Sissonville, W.Va., mother pleaded not guilty to charges of child neglect relating to injuries her toddler suffered after being thrown from an all terrain vehicle.

Tara Thaxton, 22, of Allen's Fork was indicted by a grand jury in September on charges of child neglect resulting in substantial injury or death and gross child neglect resulting in injury.

The charges came after Thaxton was involved in an ATV accident in April 2007 near her home. The ATV flipped and both mother and 2-year-old Dacoda Thaxton were taken to Charleston Area Medical Center for treatment, according to the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department.

Witnesses told deputies that Thaxton lost control of the vehicle, hit a ditch and flipped several times.

On Monday, Kanawha Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey Walker allowed Thaxton to post bond and remain on home confinement until her March 9 trial date, with the condition that she not operate an ATV or any other vehicle.

Also in court Monday, a former youth pastor was arraigned on charges of sexual abuse. Timothy C. Edmonds of Chesapeake pleaded not guilty and faces a Jan. 12 trial date in front of Judge Irene Berger.

Edmonds was first arrested in May 2006 and indicted on the same charges, but they were dismissed after Berger said prosecutors made errors in the case. Grand jurors presented a superceding indictment in his case in September.

He is free on a $10,000 bond and is not permitted contact with his alleged victim. The family of the girl, who is termed "functionally disabled," settled a civil lawsuit against Edmonds this summer.

Berger also arraigned three on charges of first-degree robbery. Gary Lee Maynor, 36, of Charleston and Eric Lee Neil, 36, of Belle pleaded not guilty to charges relating to a roadside robbery.

Assistant Prosecutor Michelle Drummond said the men attacked and robbed a man who had pulled off to the side of the road to make a cell phone call.

Maynor and Neil are each being held at South Central Regional Jail in lieu of $50,000 and $100,000 bond, respectively. A trial date has been set for Jan. 12.

Another man, Barry L. Patton, 58, of South Charleston pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree robbery, wanton endangerment and burglary. Drummond said Patton held a .38 caliber handgun to his mother's head, robbed her, then took her keys and fled in her car.

Berger set a $10,000 cash bond for Patton, who is being held at South Central Regional Jail because of his long criminal history that includes multiple convictions for domestic battery, driving under the influence and brandishing a deadly weapon.

Patton has a trial set for March 17.

Berger also issued a warrant for the arrest of Christopher Allen Taylor, 22, of Bickmore. Taylor failed to appear for his arraignment after being indicted on charges of negligent homicide.

The charges involve a car accident Dec. 7, 2007, on Elk River Road in which Mary Elizabeth Villa, 25, of Procious was killed. Taylor was driving a vehicle that struck Villa's.

Source: http://www.dailymail.com/News/Kanawha/200812020188

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