| A criminal complaint filed against Grantsville resident Christopher Todd Smith, 38, last April, related to the alleged theft of cemetery memorials from Bethlehem Cemetery, has been sent to Calhoun Circuit Court.
Smith has been charged with retaliation against a public official, Patsy McCartney, who serves locally as the Adult Probation Officer.
Probable cause was found Tuesday during a hearing before a Calhoun magistrate, with the case being sent to Circuit Court for indictment consideration.
Appearing in the hearing before magistrate Robinson was Prosecutor Rocky Holmes, Cpl. Doug Starcher, Patsy McCartney, and the defendant Smith.
Patsy McCartney filed a complaint with the police, saying someone had been stealing "everything off her late husband Mike McCartney's grave at Bethlehem Cemetery."
McCartney, in the complaint, said the flowers and shepherd hook from her husband's grave appeared to be the only items missing from the cemetery.
The theft happened more than once, causing her to take digital photos of the decorations.
Cpl. Doug Starcher, according to the complaint, stopped Smith in Grantsville and observed artificial flowers in the bed of his truck.
The officer later went to the residence of Smith's mother, Mary Ann Ball, and observed a shepherd hook and basket of flowers in her yard, discovering "Mike McCartney" written on the remembrances.
Calling other officers to the scene, Cpl. Starcher obtained a search warrant, with Ms. McCartney later identifying the items as those stolen from the cemetery.
Probation officer McCartney told police she had been testifying in her official duties in a case related to Smith, expressing "fear of the defendant."
Smith is currently in Central Regional Jail on multiple offenses.
Smith has also been charged with retaliation against a witness, a felony, after allegedly shooting out a window of a mobile home belonging to Sterling Alfred Lamp.
Lamp, according to the complaint, had been a witness in a 2007 drug case against Smith.
Smith was recently sentenced to at least one year in jail for that offense.
Misdemeanor charges have also been filed against Smith for destruction of property on or near the property of Grantsville Mayor Gary Knight.
Smith is also the subject of a federal grand jury investigation related to the death of his girlfriend Kelli Lawson last December.
| 
