Bond reduced for suspect in attempted murder case
Summer Lee Anne Thornton, 22, of Bluefield was scheduled Thursday morning for a preliminary hearing before Magistrate William Holroyd. Thornton is facing charges including attempted murder and wanton endangerment in connection with a shooting Feb. 1 which left another woman with life-threatening injuries.
Thornton waived the preliminary hearing, so the case will be forwarded to the Mercer County Grand Jury.
A bond hearing was convened after the preliminary hearing was waived. Attorney Patrick Erickson, who is representing Thornton, moved that his client's $100,000 cash-only bond be changed to an $80,000 cash or surety bond with a condition of home confinement if that bond is posted. Magistrate Holroyd approved the motion. Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Jennifer Poff represented the state.
An investigation began Feb. 1 around 3:09 a.m. when Detective M.T. Hatfield with the Mercer County Sheriff's Department received a call from Sgt. G.C. Paitsel with the sheriff's department about a gunshot wound victim, according to a criminal complaint filed at the Mercer County Magistrate Clerk's Office.
'He said that the shooting had occurred inside a vehicle, in a wide spot off W.V. Route 20 just outside the town of Athens and requested I respond and take the lead in the investigation,' Hatfield said in the complaint. 'Also, Paitsel told me that a female who was in the vehicle at the time of the shooting was on-scene and a male who was in the vehicle at the time of the shooting had called into Mercer 911 requesting to speak with law enforcement.'
A Taurus Spectrum .380–caliber handgun was found in the front passenger seat and a live round was in the front passenger floorboard as well as a fired cartridge case, Hatfield said in the complaint.
When Detective Hatfield interviewed Thornton at the sheriff's department, she said that the victim was driving when they were traveling south on Route 20 towards Athens, according to the criminal complaint. The victim said they were running out of gas and started parking in a wide spot just outside of Athens. That was when a gunshot went off. Thornton said she did not see where the gunshot came from, but noticed the victim had been shot.
Hatfield later went to the Charleston Area Medical Center and spoke with the victim, according to the criminal complaint. The victim said that when she pulled over in the wide spot after the vehicle ran out of gas, 'that is when she felt and saw Summer (Thornton) place the gun against her side and fire the handgun.'
The victim also said 'she thought Summer shot her due to jealousy' because a male individual who was with them had been rubbing her shoulder and Thornton had seen that, according to the criminal complaint.
Contact Greg Jordan at
gjordan@bdtonline.com
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