Logo
Search
Close this search box.
Ours

Upshur man arrested for allegedly taking metal detector, tobacco pipe and damaging property

BUCKHANNON – An Upshur County man who was pulled over for a loud exhaust last week was arrested on an outstanding warrant for allegedly stealing a metal detector and other items from a property on the Tallmansville Road.

Billy Joe Ours, 42, of Buckhannon, was arrested Wednesday, Feb. 23 on several charges, including one felony, entry of building other than a dwelling, and four misdemeanors: petit larceny, destruction of property, possession of a controlled substance and third-offense driving with a revoked operator’s license.

According to the most recent criminal complaint filed in the Upshur County Magistrate Clerk’s Office by investigating officer Upshur County Sheriff’s Deputy W.T. Chidester, Chidester had been patrolling the Teter Road and was headed toward Route 20 on Wednesday, Feb. 23 when he passed a silver Dodge Durango with “an extremely loud exhaust.”

The deputy subsequently conducted a traffic stop at the intersection of Teter Road and Winding Lane and identified the driver as Billy Joe Ours, whom he knew had outstanding warrants related to an incident that reportedly occurred earlier in February.

Chidester detained Ours while a search of his vehicle was performed. According to the report, the search allegedly yielded several glass smoking devices commonly used to smoke methamphetamine and a broken mirror “with a white powder substance that was cut in lines.”

Sheriff’s deputies then conducted a second search during which they discovered a small bag of crystal-like substance believed to be methamphetamine concealed in the driver’s seat.

Chidester noted Ours had two previous charges of driving with a suspended operator’s license with conviction dates of Jan. 6, 2021, and Jan. 28, 2022, the file states. The deputy was also aware Ours had an outstanding warrant related to the removal of items from a property on Tallmansville Road, according to the file.

Chidester arrested Ours for possession of a controlled substance and driving with a revoked operator’s license, third offense, as well as on a warrant related to a separate incident.

According to a second police report in the magistrate clerk’s office, filed by investigating officer Deputy Cole Bender, on Feb. 11, 2022, Bender received a complaint at the sheriff’s office about damaged property from property owner James Reger.

Bender met James Reger and Benjamin Reger at the scene on Tallmansville Road and Benjamin Reger informed Bender that when he and James were away, several items had been stolen and it appeared as if someone had attempted to cut the catalytic converter off of a white GMC Yukon parked on the property.

The property owners also informed deputies that security cameras on the property had been “pushed up to keep them from recording the subjects,” the file says.

Benjamin Reger told Bender that he had allegedly seen Ours loading items into a gray Dodge Durango with another individual, and when he had shouted Ours’s name, Ours “immediately looked back at him,” according to the report.

Items missing from the property reportedly included a metal detector, 15-inch ‘sub speakers’ and a white tobacco pipe, the file states. Additionally, Benjamin Reger informed Bender, the investigating officer that he had found a DeWalt 20-volt battery lying adjacent to the Yukon with ‘B. Ours’ and ‘BJO’ etched on it. Bender then investigated the property and found that the doors of two outbuildings were left slightly open.

“Both Regers advised they were locked when they left,” Bender wrote in the report. “I observed where the lock mechanism had been cut in order to gain access to the building.”              

The estimated value of the items allegedly stolen amounted to $660, while the Yukon had sustained about $100 worth of damage.

Upshur County Magistrate Mark Davis set bail at $21,500 cash or surety on all five charges and as of Tuesday, March 1, Ours remained incarcerated in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail, according to the West Virginia Regional Jail & Correctional Facility Authority.

The penalty for a conviction of entry into a building other than dwelling, the felony charge, is confinement in the state penitentiary for not less than one but not more than 10 years.

News Feed

Subscribe to remove popups, or just enjoy this free story and support our local businesses!