Tag: Anthony Arriaga

Trial Begins for Man Charged in Coal Executive's Killing

A trial began this week for the man accused of pulling the trigger in the 2016 fatal shooting of a longtime coal executive in West Virginia.

Mingo County Prosecutor Duke Jewell said in opening statements Monday that 22-year-old Anthony Raheem Arriaga of Ohio told police he killed Bennett K. Hatfield in a plan to steal his SUV and sell it for parts, news outlets reported.

One of Arriaga’s defense attorneys, Jane Moran, said that statement shouldn’t be interpreted as a confession because police didn’t detail the circumstances around it, and Arriaga had told police he didn’t want to be interviewed. Moran also said authorities didn’t investigate if 20-year-old Brandon Lee Fitzpatrick, who is also charged in the death, could have shot Hatfield.

Hatfield, who resigned in 2015 as Patriot Coal’s president and CEO, was visiting his wife’s gravesite in Maher when he was shot in May 2016.

Jewell said Arriaga left a trail of evidence as he fled the graveyard on foot, after Fitzpatrick took off alone in Hatfield’s car.

“This is the cold-blooded murderer version of Hansel and Gretel,” Jewell said.

Arriaga pleaded guilty to murder and robbery charges in April, but later withdrew his plea. He is charged with first-degree murder.

The trial began with jurors traveling by bus to view locations at the cemetery.

Fitzpatrick’s trial is scheduled for next month. He is charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy.

Ohio Man Pleads Guilty in Killing of Ex-Coal Executive

An Ohio man has pleaded guilty in the fatal shooting of a former coal executive in southern West Virginia.

Anthony R. Arriaga of Delphos, Ohio, told a Mingo County circuit judge Tuesday that he had been using drugs and had little sleep over several days before he killed Bennett Hatfield in a cemetery last May, news outlets reported.

Hatfield had been visiting his wife’s gravesite at Mountain View Memory Gardens near the Kentucky-West Virginia border. His SUV was found nearby. Hatfield resigned in 2015 as president and CEO of Patriot Coal.

Mingo County Prosecutor Duke Jewell said Arriaga’s plea “saved the family from going through a trial.”

Arriaga faces life in prison on a first-degree murder charge at least 10 additional years for first-degree robbery. Sentencing has been set for May 17.

Co-defendant Brandon Lee Fitzpatrick of Louisa, Kentucky, is charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy. His pretrial hearing is set for Thursday.

Arriaga told the judge he had just met Fitzpatrick days earlier. Arriaga had a gun, got some bullets at the home of Fitzpatrick’s father, and Arriaga and Fitzpatrick went driving in Arriaga’s car. Fitzpatrick suggested they rob a gas station or steal a car, but as they passed the cemetery, Fitzpatrick told Arriaga to stop there so he could visit his grandmother’s grave, Arriaga said in court.

The pair spotted Hatfield’s GMC Yukon Denali and hatched a plan to steal it and sell its parts. But knowing Hatfield would call police if they stole the SUV, Arriaga said Fitzpatrick told him, “‘We can’t leave him alive.'”

Arriaga said he stood behind Hatfield while Fitzpatrick urged him to shoot. Arriaga said he fired at least two rounds. Hatfield was shot in the back.

Arriaga said Fitzpatrick drove off in Arriaga’s car and left him behind. Arriaga said he started running, fell into a river, then made it to a road where a man gave him a ride to a friend’s house in Wayne County.

Authorities have said the man who drove Arriaga contacted authorities after hearing about Hatfield’s death. Police helped track Arriaga to Wayne County and, through cellphone records, to Allen County, Ohio, where he was arrested two days after the shooting. Fitzpatrick was arrested a day later.

Coal Exec Shooting Death Cases Heading to Grand Jury

A suspect has waived his preliminary hearing in the fatal shooting of an ex-coal CEO at a southern West Virginia cemetery.

Twenty-year-old Anthony Arriaga of Delphos, Ohio, was in Mingo County Magistrate Court on Wednesday.

Eighteen-year-old Brandon Fitzpatrick of Louisa, Kentucky, waived his hearing Tuesday. Both cases head to a September grand jury.

Fitzpatrick pleaded not guilty June 13 to first-degree murder and conspiracy charges. Arriaga’s lawyers pleaded not guilty May 26 on his behalf to a first-degree murder charge.

The body of 59-year-old Bennett Hatfield was found May 25 at a cemetery where he was visiting his wife’s grave. His SUV was found nearby. Authorities believe Arriaga and Fitzpatrick plotted to steal Hatfield’s SUV and sell its parts.

Hatfield resigned in 2015 as Patriot Coal’s president and CEO.

Suspect Pleads Not Guilty in Former Coal Executive's Death

A suspect has pleaded not guilty in the fatal shooting of a former coal chief executive at a southern West Virginia cemetery.

Eighteen-year-old Brandon Fitzpatrick of Louisa, Kentucky, entered the plea to first-degree murder and conspiracy charges at his arraignment Monday in Mingo County Circuit Court. He was ordered held without bond.

Another suspect, 20-year-old Anthony Arriaga of Delphos, Ohio, was arraigned May 26 on a first-degree murder charge.

The body of 59-year-old Bennett Hatfield was found May 25 at a cemetery where he had been visiting his wife’s grave. His SUV was found nearby. Authorities believe Arriaga and Fitzpatrick plotted to steal Hatfield’s SUV and sell its parts.

Hatfield resigned in 2015 as president and CEO of Patriot Coal.

Weekend Arrangements Set for Slain West Virginia Coal CEO

Slain coal executive Bennett Hatfield will be buried this weekend in southern West Virginia.

His obituary says friends can visit the family at River Ridge Church in Charleston on Saturday evening.

The funeral will be Sunday afternoon at the Regional Church of God at Delbarton.

The 59-year-old will be buried at Mountain View Memory Gardens in Maher, where he was found dead Monday.

Police say two men charged in Hatfield’s death wanted to steal his vehicle and sell it.

Authorities say Hatfield was visiting his wife’s gravesite at the graveyard when he was shot and killed. His SUV was found nearby.

Twenty-year-old Anthony Arriaga and eighteen-year-old Brandon Lee Fitzpatrick are charged with first-degree murder.

Hatfield resigned last year as president and CEO of Patriot Coal.

Suspect in Coal Exec's Death Arraigned

An Ohio man has been arraigned in the fatal shooting of former coal executive Bennett Hatfield in southern West Virginia.

Twenty-year-old Anthony R. Arriaga of Delphos, Ohio, appeared Thursday on a first-degree murder charge in Mingo County Circuit Court in Williamson.

He was ordered held without bond pending a preliminary hearing June 3.

The body of the 59-year-old Hatfield was found Monday at the Mountain View Memory Gardens cemetery in nearby Maher where his wife is buried.

Arriaga was arrested Tuesday in Allen County, Ohio, before being returned to West Virginia.

Hatfield resigned last year as president and CEO of Patriot Coal. He was International Coal Group’s CEO when a 2006 explosion at the Sago Mine in northern West Virginia killed 12 miners.

Authorities say they have not determined a motive.

Exit mobile version