| By Bob Weaver
After eluding authorities for several months, John Manis Richards, 43, of Grantsville was arrested today in Glenville by the Gilmer County Sheriff's Department.
Richards (left) is in Central Regional Jail on one count of grand larceny and one count of breaking and entering, related to charges that he allegedly stole materials from Hardman Supply in Glenville last year.
Richards has also been arrested on charges that he failed to register as a sex offender in Wood County.
He was reportedly arrested on East Main Street in Glenville.
Glenville Police Chief John Moss said last August that Richards apparently fled Grantsville after an arrest warrant was issued in July.
A criminal complaint says Richards and others were involved in a break-in at Hardman's Home Center in Glenville, taking a delivery truck worth $30,000 and $3,200 in building materials and tools.
Police said Richards had been engaged in the construction of outside decks.
Authorities said this was the second time Richards has been connected with stolen merchandise from a Hardman store.
An earlier case accused Richards with the theft of about $13,000 worth of materials from Hardman's and other outlets.
Jeremy Scott Dilgard, 25, of Grantsville, was also arrested for the Hardman B & E.
"Dilgard said he and Richards took the Hardman truck to Big Bend and unloaded it, then Richards drove the truck to Wood County and parked it with Dilgard's assistance," according to the complaint.
A Hardman's truck driver spotted the stolen truck in Wood County.
Chief Moss said several Calhoun citizens have come forward to help with the investigation, but authorities failed to find Richards during the past six months.
Richards is known for his web site "The Lone Meth Ranger," where he claims to battle the production of the illicit drug in the region, frequently attacking the incompetence of officials.
Richards says law enforcement in Calhoun have made only three or four local arrests related to meth production in the past several years, while regional counties have made several hundred.
He maintains his drug eradication efforts is the reason, although he was charged by the WV State Police with manufacturing meth at his south Grantsville residence.
State Police in Grantsville then lost the meth evidence, after which detachment commander C. J. Ellyson was removed from the force, likely related to the lost evidence incident or other allegations lodged against him internally by his agency.
State Police in South Charleston, other than confirming Ellyson is
no longer with the force, declined to give reasons for his dismissal, nor comment on whether criminal charges have been filed against him, or whether he qualifies for state retirement.
Richards is well-known to the regional court system, often claiming he has been framed, and frequently defending himself against incarceration.
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