by Ron Gregory
ronjgregory@gmail.com
WILLIAMSON — Mingo County’s beleaguered Prosecuting Attorney, Teresa Maynard, is stepping down.
As reported first in the Corridor Chronicle a week ago, Maynard officially made her intentions known Wednesday. In a letter, Maynard said her resignation will be effective at 11:59 p.m., Monday, September 12.
Speculation has followed that the Commission will appoint Williamson attorney Duke Jewell to replace Maynard. Jewell soundly defeated Maynard in the May Primary election and would have been poised to assume the office January 1, 2017, regardless.
By moving Jewell’s position as Prosecutor to an earlier date, one political source said, “The Commission will be showing that they actually understand and accept the will of the voters.”
During her short tenure as Prosecutor, replacing the tainted former Prosecuting Attorney Michael Sparks, Maynard spurred more controversy than praise in her efforts. One major issue became her failure to prosecute those responsible for the May 30, 2015 beating of 18-year-old Dawson Isom.
Isom was beaten into a coma on Second Avenue in Williamson that May morning. He has been in the coma ever since and requires 24-hour-per-day medical attention.
The best Maynard told Isom she could do was obtain a misdemeanor indictment with a $500 fine and six months probation for Erik Rash, one of those shown on videos of the incident as attacking Isom. That indictment was eventually dismissed and no further information has been made available by law enforcement.
Before leaving office, however, Maynard managed to cooperate with Rash attorney, Brian Abraham, in having the files of the case sealed by Circuit Judge Miki Thompson. Thus, when Isom’s attorney, Mike Clifford, who has sued both Erik Rash and his father, Gary, in the case, subpoenaed records of the case investigation, he was told none exist.
Clifford said in a telephone interview Saturday that he still “intends to see the records of that investigation. The new Prosecutor can move to unseal them or I will but there is absolutely no good reason for them to be sealed.”
The Isom case became a major issue in the campaign, although Jewell has never stated his intentions with regard to the matter. Charleston attorneys asked about the case have consistently pointed out that there is no statute of limitations concerning felonies. “A new Prosecutor can present that case to a grand jury for a felony indictment any time,” one defense attorney said.
The County Commission is scheduled to meet Monday at the Courthouse to name a new Prosecutor. Presumably, he or she will be sworn in later in the day and assume office at midnight.
An attorney familiar with lawyer ethics laws said there is no reason Jewell cannot be appointed now. “Even if he still has some cases pending in his private practice, all he has to do is give proper notice and disclosure,” the attorney said.
The Chronicle strongly supported Jewell in the May election and has editorially urged the County Commission to appoint him.