| A case against Calhoun resident Ronnie Rush will be heard on September 9th
before Calhoun Circuit Court. Murder charges could then be presented to a
Grand Jury, or other disposition of the case could be made.
Rush had initially been charged as an accessory to the murder of Ward Groves
and his ex-wife Mary Hicks last year.
The youth claimed he had been held at knife point by Bobby Shamblin while
Shamblin committed the killings.
Rush was charged as a juvenile, but the Circuit Court has since decided he will
be tried as an adult.
Shamblin was initially charged with the crime, but he was later released on
bond. During a hearing, officials said there was little or no evidence to place
Shamblin at the scene of the crime.
Police claim Rush lied several times regarding his involvement in the case.
Court records report several incidents where some officers of the West Virginia
State Police conducted themselves or acted inappropriately during the
investigation.
Authorities ordered an investigation of the State Police's investigation.
It is unclear if the investigation was done by the State Police's internal
Professional Standards Division or another agency.
The multi-page investigation is sealed, but will likely be viewed by Rush's
defense attorney Shannon Baldwin.
Groves and Hicks were shot while asleep in separate bedrooms in Grove's Sand Ridge house, with
the motive linked to a large sum of cash Groves had inherited from his
brother.
Several of the investigatory problems which could affect the Rush case are
listed in the public court record, including the interruption of a lie detector
examination by an officer and what appears to be a denial of providing the
youth with an attorney upon request.
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