| CHARLESTON BASKETBALL STAR SHOT DOWN - A former Charleston basketball star died early Tuesday at CAMC General Hospital from multiple gunshot wounds.
Lawrence "L.B." Booker, 23, of Dunbar died after being transported there from Thomas Memorial Hospital in South Charleston.
Booker was shot twice in an incident near Holly Street in St. Albans shortly before midnight.
No arrests had been made, but investigators are looking at "people of interest."
As a senior in 2001, Booker was a first-team All State basketball player for the Capital Cougars, a season highlighted by a game-winning, last-second 3-pointer in the state AAA finals against George Washington High School, according to the Charleston Gazette.
After graduation, Booker played basketball for Virginia Union University, then transferred to Claflin (S.C.) College. He missed a homecoming of sorts in December 2005, when the college played in the Neal Baisi Classic at Montgomery. At the time, Claflin's coach told the Gazette that Booker had "ran into some problems" and was not on the team, the Gazette reported.
NEWELL SHOOTING UP-IN-AIR - Charles Penson was shot Wednesday afternoon while Hancock County sheriff's deputies were serving a federal arrest warrant. He was being charged with distributing crack cocaine.
Neighbors said they heard at least four gunshots, but officials won't say why Penson was shot, or who shot him.
Police say they found crack cocaine and $5,000 inside the house.
Penson is in a Pittsburgh hospital.
STABBED WITH A SHOE - A Raleigh County stripper has plead guilty to attacking another with a 5-6-inch stiletto heeled shoe.
The Sand Branch woman admitted striking a fellow exotic dancer over the head with the stiletto heel. She has pleaded guilty to felony unlawful wounding.
Ashley Marie Hodge, 27, entered the plea Monday before Judge H.L. Kirkpatrick, who consequently sentenced her to two years' supervised probation with an underlying one-to-five-year penitentiary term to serve should she violate probation.
The judge also ordered Hodge to pay the victim's $840 medical bill.
According to the court transcript, both women were employees of Southern Exposure in Bradley.
Police said the victim was standing in front of a mirror when Hodge "came up behind her and struck her in the back of the head several times with about a 5 or 6-inch stiletto heel shoe, causing personal injury to her."
The injury resulted in eight staples in the victim's head.
The report said the dispute was over a man. She apologized, it said.
WV STATE CAMPUS STABBING - Early Thursday morning, a man was stabbed multiple times on the campus of West Virginia State University at Institute.
University police are investigating.
COAL CITY SHOOTING - Police were searching two counties Thursday for the suspect in a shooting in Coal City.
Ricky Dale Adkins is wanted on malicious wounding, wanton endangerment and burglary charges.
Police are searching for Adkins in the Herndon area of Wyoming county and Raleigh County.
Police said Adkins shot a woman inside of her home Wednesday night in Coal City.
Police said Adkins was seen with a blond female in the car.
He is considered armed and dangerous and does have an arrest record, they said.
MARTINSBURG HOLD-UP - Police are searching for a suspect who attempted to rob a woman at gunpoint at a BB&T Bank ATM machine Tuesday night in Martinsburg.
Lt. Gary Harmison, of the Berkeley County Sheriff's Department, said the attempted robbery could be connected to five other similar recent incidents in south Martinsburg, two of which have occurred at BB&T.
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