BECKLEY – A Raleigh County judge has ordered the bond be increased from $10,000 to $75,000 for a Beckley attorney that is facing drug and embezzlement charges.
Richard Eichart Hardison Jr.’s bond was set at $10,000 after he was charged in September 2012 for delivery of cocaine and conspiracy. Hardison has since been charged with two counts of embezzlement after he allegedly embezzled a $95,758 settlement check from a victim in July 2014 and a $27,500 settlement check from a second victim in September 2015.
Raleigh County Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tom Truman also anticipates two additional criminal complaints from similar conduct and asked Judge Robert A. Burnshide Jr. to revoke Hardison’s bond, according to a report from Beckley's Register-Herald newspaper.
Hardison’s attorney, David White, argued that Hardison’s bond should remain as set.
Burnside ordered the increase on July 11 and gave Hardison 24 hours to satisfy the new terms of the bond.
A pre-trial hearing for the drug charge is scheduled for July 21.
