By Lyra Bordelon
The subject of a missing juvenile search in early 2020 plead guilty to reckless fleeing from an officer on Monday, January 4. Entered under Greenbrier County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Dent, the plea does not directly deal with the missing juvenile, but instead with a high-speed chase that emerged after officers attempted to pull him over.
Officers with the Greenbrier County Sheriff’s Department and law enforcement, Chief Deputy Joshua Martin and Deputy Brandon McCormick, sought to find Wolfe after receiving a call concerning a missing juvenile. A press release issued on January 15, 2020, noted that the missing juvenile was believed to be with Wolfe, then aged 22.
The plea here, however, does not have to do with the then-missing juvenile – Bethany Burdette, an attorney appearing on behalf of the Greenbrier County Prosecutor’s Office, explained “he had a passenger with him, and I believe there was a BOLO (be on the lookout) out for him, so officers went looking for him. … That is not the event that he was charged with that we would look to prove today or at trial.”
The plea agreement instead deals with the results of a chase that emerged during the search. Wolfe was charged with reckless fleeing from an officer in August 2020 by a Greenbrier County Grand Jury.
“What we would expect to prove is after …. Sergeant Smith with the Greenbrier County Sheriff’s Department located him in Quinwood around school streets and activated his lights and sirens, Mr. Wolfe was in that vehicle that was spotted,” Burdette explained. “He did not stop, drove through a couple of stop signs. There were speeds in excess of 70 miles per hour in a 35 mile per hour zone. There were near collisions with a couple of vehicles.”
A press release on January 17, 2020, shortly after his arrest by Greenbrier County Sheriff Bruce Sloan further explains the chase.
“The vehicle traveled on a dead-end street and subsequently traveled through several residential yards before entering WV Route 20 traveling north,” wrote Sloan. “Sergeant Smith continued north on Route 20 and lost visual contact with the vehicle. Moments later he located the vehicle after it had been involved in a single-vehicle accident in a curve. The accident occurred in Nicholas County approximately 1.3 miles north of the Greenbrier County line. Both occupants were treated for minor injuries at a local hospital and released.”
Wolfe declined to give the court his version of the story, agreeing with the state’s story. In addition, defense attorney Josh Edwards stated that there was not a meritorious defense should the charge go to trial.
The plea could carry a potential sentence of one to five years in the state penitentiary and a fine, totalling between $1,000 and $2,000. However, both the state and Wolfe’s defense have recommended probation, including restitution owed as a result of vehicle or property damage. The case will move forward to sentencing after the probation department conducts a pre-sentencing investigation.
