Elizabeth Anderson and John Anderson

Upshur County couple attend truancy hearing for their child while under the influence of illegal substances

BUCKHANNON – An Upshur County man and woman were arrested Friday after allegedly attending an Upshur County Magistrate Court hearing under the influence of illegal substances.

Elizabeth Anderson, 35, and John Anderson, 44, both of Buckhannon, were arrested for child neglect creating a risk of injury, a felony.

According to the criminal complaint in the Upshur County Magistrate Clerk’s Office filed by Upshur County Sheriff’s Deputy Cpl. T.R. Collins, on Friday, Sept. 29, Elizabeth Anderson and John Anderson came to a truancy hearing at Upshur County Magistrate Court regarding their 15-year-old child.

Due to Elizabeth Anderson being on bond and because she was displaying “erratic movements,” she was ordered to provide a urine sample. According to the report, during the urine sample, Elizabeth Anderson admitted to Collins that she and her husband had a drug problem.

Elizabeth Anderson also allegedly admitted to using marijuana, methamphetamine and a pain pill. She also admitted her husband smokes more marijuana than she does, the file says.

Elizabeth Anderson allegedly told police she used those drugs that morning and was “feeling high” while her 15-year-old son was in her custody, according to the report. Elizabeth Anderson also admitted to allowing her husband to drive them to court while he was under the influence of drugs.

During a separate interview with her husband, John Anderson, he allegedly confessed to ingesting the same illegal drugs. John Anderson also admitted to feeling “high all the time” and told law enforcement officers that he should not have driven to court that day.

Bail was set at $25,000 cash only by Upshur County Magistrate Mark Davis.

The potential penalty for a conviction of child neglect creating a risk of injury is a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $3,000, imprisonment in a state penitentiary for one to five years or both.

News Feed