Associated Press Published

Straughter Pleads Guilty to Murder in Rand


Tremale Straughter of Rand pleaded guilty to a first-degree murder charge Monday before the start of his trial in the death of 19-year-old Harold Donovan Taylor.
 
In return for the plea, prosecutors agreed to drop three charges of wanton endangerment against Straughter.
 
Taylor’s body was found inside a bullet-riddled car.  After the shooting occurred last February in Rand, Riverside High School, three middle schools and nine elementary schools were closed while police searched for a suspect.
 
The 29-year-old Straughter faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 10 in Kanawha County Circuit Court.