Capias issued for one man leads to arrest of a second on weapon, drug-related charges

Katie Kuba
March 12, 2019

TALLMANSVILLE – A search for a wanted person on Monday led to the arrest of another individual – a Tallmansville man who state police allegedly found to be in possession of two firearms, several knives, brass knuckles and materials typically used to distribute methamphetamine.

Sgt. A.S. Taylor with the Buckhannon detachment of the West Virginia State Police said Levi Douglas Reed, 22, of Tallmansville, was arrested Monday, March 11 for possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, methamphetamine, a felony, and use of a firearm during the commission of a felony, also a felony.

According to the criminal complaint in the Upshur County Magistrate Clerk’s office filed by investigating officer Trooper J.S. Tonkin with the WVSP, at approximately 10:30 a.m. Monday, Tonkin, Taylor and Senior Trooper J.P. Robinette traveled to a residence on Big Bend Road in Tallmansville with members of the Upshur County Probation Office.

Probation officers and law enforcement were searching for a wanted person, David Blagg, for whom a capias had been issued.

“How it all started was we went out with the probation office because there had been a capias issued for David Blagg, and we had received word he was passed out in a driveway at an address along Big Bend Road,” Taylor told My Buckhannon on Tuesday. “We found him passed out in a vehicle parked in a driveway.”

According to the complaint, Blagg was found in a white Kia Sportage and taken into custody. Shortly after Blagg was handcuffed, Taylor spoke with the passenger, who was identified as Reed.

The report states Reed allegedly informed Taylor he had a 9mm handgun located inside his boot and a controlled substance, methamphetamine, inside his pocket.

Taylor said the handgun found in Reed’s boot was loaded.

“Then, he had a pair of brass knuckles and three different knives in his pockets,” Taylor added.

State police took Reed into custody, and a search of the vehicle yielded methamphetamine, marijuana, a digital scale, a glass marijuana smoking device, a loaded .12-gauge shotgun and a black nylon bag allegedly containing more than 50 small plastic bags “consistent with the distribution of controlled substances,” Tonkin wrote in the report.

The penalty for a conviction of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance is imprisonment for a term ranging from one to five years and/or a fine of up to $15,000.

In addition, the possible penalty for being found guilty of use of a firearm during the commission of a felony is confinement in a state correctional facility for up to 10 years.