Tag: Clarksburg City Council

Police: City Councilman Wounded In Apparent Carjacking

A West Virginia city councilman was shot and his wife and mother-in-law were briefly taken hostage in an apparent carjacking, authorities said.

Clarksburg Councilman Jim Malfregeot was on his porch and the women were in a car Sunday night when the suspect appeared, Clarksburg Police Chief Mark Kiddy told The Exponent Telegram.

Malfregeot was hospitalized and the women were released a short time later on U.S. 19 North between Clarksburg and Shinnston, Kiddy said.

“She told me that she was able to talk him into releasing them on 19,” Kiddy said of Malfregeot’s wife.

Kiddy said the suspect, Antonio DeJesus, 32, was arrested without incident at a gas station by Bridgeport Police and the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department. The suspect was on supervised release in a Northern District of West Virginia drug trafficking case and didn’t attend a supervised release revocation hearing this month, Kiddy said.

Malfregeot was in guarded condition after surgery, Kiddy said. He has served on the council for eight years, including a term as vice-mayor.

July 15, 1886: Congressman “Cleve” Bailey Born in Pleasants County

Congressman “Cleve” Bailey was born in Pleasants County on July 15, 1886. Early in his career, he was a teacher, school administrator, and newspaper editor in Clarksburg. He got his start in politics as a Clarksburg city councilman.

The Democrat then served in West Virginia state government as assistant auditor and budget director. He was first elected to Congress in 1944 after defeating Republican Edward Rohrbough. Two years later, Bailey lost his re-election to Rohrbough but took the seat back in 1948. A New Deal liberal, Bailey fought to protect West Virginia industries and workers, especially from foreign competition. He also pressed for increased federal support for education.

The 1960 census revealed that West Virginia had lost nearly 150,000 people in a decade. As a result, the state lost a seat in the House of Representatives. In 1962, Bailey was forced to run against popular three-term incumbent congressman Arch Moore, who defeated him handily and ended Bailey’s eight-term congressional career.

Cleve Bailey died in Charleston in 1965, just before his 79th birthday. He’s the only congressman honored with a bust in the West Virginia State Capitol. 

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