By David Hedges, Publisher
www.thetimesrecord.net
A man expected to be a witness in an upcoming murder trial in Roane County was arrested in Gilmer County Saturday after a manhunt that lasted six months.
John Manis Richards, 43, of Grantsville was arrested for stealing a delivery truck loaded with building materials from the Hardman's store in Glenville in July.
He and Jeremy Scott Dilgard, 25, also of Grantsville, allegedly stole the truck, valued at $30,000, and drove it to Big Bend, in Calhoun County, where they unloaded more than $3,000 in materials. The men then drove the truck to Wood County and parked it. A Hardman's employee allegedly spotted the truck.
Dilgard was arrested several months ago, but Richards, whom police said has a long criminal record that includes arrests for manufacturing methamphetamine and several sexual offenses, including some in Roane County, had managed to elude police until he was arrested in Glenville.
He was stopped for a faulty taillight and allegedly fled on foot before he was captured.
In addition to grand larceny, breaking and entering and fleeing, Richards is also charged with failing to register as a sex offender.
Richards was released from jail Monday on $16,500 bond set in Gilmer County Magistrate Court.
Police said this was the second time Richards has been charged with stealing supplies from Hardman's. In 2003, he was charged with the theft of $13,000 in materials.
Richards surfaced as a surprise witness when the murder trial of Raymond Lee Elswick was set to get underway in July in Roane Circuit Court.
The 43-year-old Spencer man is charged in connection with the May 2005 death of Daniel Burns, 51, also of Spencer.
Richards told authorities that a co-defendant in the case, Joey Hicks, told him he had a knife and a lighter in his possession when he was arrested. The two men shared a cell at the regional jail.
The knife may have been used to sever the finger of Burns before his body was dumped along a rural road. The lighter was allegedly used to burn the stump to stop the bleeding.
The knife and lighter were given to Hicks' mother by jail authorities. State Police recovered the items from his mother last summer. They were sent to the State Police crime lab for testing.
Elswick had already been tried once for the murder, last April, but that case ended in a mistrial.
He was set to go on trial again in July before the information from Richards came to light. That trial was put off until December, but Richards disappeared after the warrants were issued for his arrest.
Elswick's attorneys have asked for additional time to allow for independent testing of the knife and lighter. Elswick now is slated to go on trial March 25.
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