Circuit Court

The following hearings were recently held in Pocahontas County Circuit Court before the Honorable Judges Robert E. Richardson and Jennifer P. Dent:

In a hearing on a motion to modify bond in the case the State vs Jeremi L. Kincaid, 28, who is an inmate in the Central Regional Jail, defense counsel asked that Kincaid’s bond be modified to allow the defendant to reside in Mississippi with his girlfriend on home confinement there. The State asked for a denial of the motion, relating that the current bond set in this matter is reasonable and that the defendant had absconded in a prior case before this court. The motion to modify bond was denied by the court. Kincaid is charged with first degree murder, and his bond was set at $50,000.

In the case the State vs John Robert Dockendorf, 61, of Hedersonville, North Carolina, the State advised the court that negotiations are on-going and several options have been discussed. A pre-trial/plea hearing is set for mid-December. Dockendorf was indicted on one count, sexual abuse by a custodian of a child, a felony; one count, sexual abuse, third degree, a misdemeanor.

A hearing on a petition to revoke extended release was held in the case the State vs David Edward Ryan, 50, of White Sulphur Springs, wherein the defendant waived his right to a preliminary hearing. Defense counsel advised that the com- petency and criminal responsibility report have not been received. The matter is continued to December 22. Ryan was indicted in 2017, and was sentenced in 2019 to not less than one year nor more than five years in the state penitentiary for two offenses of sexual abuse in the first degree. Sentences were to run consecutively. The defendant was given 775 days’ credit for time served, and is to have parole supervision for 10 years following his release and is to register in the sex offender program.

A capias was issued for Dustin D. Morrison, 26, of Marlinton, who failed to appear for his status hearing. The State advised the court that Morrison did not appear for sentencing on charges in Randolph County, and Randolph has issued a capias, as well.

David R. Anderson, 33, of Springfield, Tennessee, pleaded guilty to the felony offense of attempted burglary. The court reviewed the pre-sentence investigation report which revealed that the defendant had graduated from the Recovery Youth Program. His sentence was suspended and he was placed on probation for 18 months.