Richardson
CHARLESTON – Two times in less than a year after he was released early from prison on a kidnapping and torture conviction, a Charleston man was re-arrested for domestic violence-related crimes.
In November 2003, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appelas reduced the sentence of Raymond A. Richardson when it found his conviction for kidnapping and wanton endangerment was "disproportionate to the crime committed, and that the sentence is, as a consequence, unconstitutionally impermissible."
Kanawha County Circuit Judge Louis H. "Duke" Bloom in 2001 sentenced Richardson to 30 years for kidnapping, the maximum allowed by state law, and five years for wanton endangerment after Richardson agreed to plead guilty to interrogating his then-girlfriend Angela Franks for 14 hours in 1999 over her alleged sexual relations with another man.
The Court remanded Richardson's case back to the circuit court and ordered Richardson's kidnapping sentence reduced to 10 years to run concurrently with the wanton endangerment charge. Because of his reduced sentence, the time Richardson had to serve to be eligible for parole also was reduced.
According to prison records, Richardson was released from Huttonsville Correctional Facility on May 17, 2004.
Convicted for unlawful wounding
On Jan. 26, 2005, Richardson was back in jail. He was arrested, court records show, after Ashley Marie Sheets of Dunbar alleged Richardson held her hostage with a gun and questioned her about a relationship with other men.
Court records show the charges were dropped when no probable cause was found.
Richardson was arrested again on June 7, 2005, after Jessica Rae Parsons of South Charleston pressed charges against him.
According to court records, Sheets, who has an 11-year old daughter by Richardson, alleged he came to her home early the morning of June 7, and slapped and punched her several times in the face and stomach when she refused to answer questions about her relationships with other men.
Before he left, Parsons alleged Richardson warned her not to talk to police or he would harm her family.
Two charges of domestic battery against Richardson in Magistrate Court were dismissed as he was later indicted for unlawful wounding and a misdemeanor charge of domestic battery. After pleading guilty to the charges on Dec. 15, 2005, Richardson was sentenced on Jan. 20 by Bloom to an indeterminate term of 1-5 years on the unlawful wounding charge, and to time served, 137 days, on the domestic battery charge.
Dead woman in car
While on bond in the Parsons case, Richardson, 28, was pulled over for speeding on Sept. 26 near Elkview. According to court records, Richardson said he was rushing a friend, Clorissa Fields, to the hospital.
However, there was nothing he or the state trooper who pulled him over could do, as Fields was already dead. An investigation cleared Richardson of any wrongdoing in Field's death, but he was still charged with speeding, no proof of insurance and driving on a suspended license.
A bench trial in Magistrate Court is scheduled for those charges on Oct. 10.
