| By Bob Weaver
Circuit Judge Thomas Evans III has issued a gag order to the West Virginia State
Police and the Calhoun Sheriff's Department over an alleged problem regarding the
release of information about a juvenile case.
The order was apparently given after the Parkersburg News published stories
related to a 16-year-old Calhoun youth who has been charged with offenses related
to the double murder of Ward Groves and Mary Hicks.
The Parkersburg News said the Calhoun Sheriff's Department identified the youth
as Ronnie Rush of Sand Ridge, and then published a Circuit Court docket which
listed "R. Rush." Docket information, which is issued by the Circuit Court, said a
hearing for "R. Rush" was being held related to a blood sample and competency
issues.
Calhoun Sheriff Allen Parsons said his department has not released information to
the Parkersburg News or any media regarding a juvenile court case.
The gag order says police agencies are "restrained" and "enjoined" from releasing
information about the case.
"I am well aware of the statutes protecting the rights of juveniles," said Parsons,
who said he was baffled why the Parkersburg News reporter continues to use or
imply the Calhoun Sheriff's Department is a news source about the juvenile
case.
The name of the juvenile has been published by the Hur Herald and other media
outlets. The Herald, because of the heinous nature of the crime, chose to
publish the juvenile's name, after he was charged as an accessory to the double
murders.
The publishing of juvenile names and their associated crimes is legal, with the
burden of protection of the information resting with the law enforcement and the
court system.
The protection of the court arises when juvenile offenses are placed in juvenile
court, otherwise names for minor offenses are often published.
No law enforcement agency has given information to the Hur Herald regarding the
juvenile, but information has been obtained from adult court hearings and other
sources close to the case.
Information regarding the Groves-Hicks murder case published this week in the
Herald, came from an adult hearing before Judge David Nibert in Spencer. The
hearing was for Bobby Ray Shamblin, who has been charged with the murder.
Shamblin was released on $100,000 bond because State Police had a lack of
evidence associating him with the crime.
The Groves-Hicks double murder is likely the most brutal crime committed in
Calhoun County within a century, ranking with the Irene Wilson murder at
Broomstick in the 1960s, where she was stabbed over 50 times and the hair
burned from her head. The murderer was never caught.
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