David Bumgarner, 43, of Pecks Mill, agreed to enter a guilty plea to smuggling drugs into the Southwestern Regional Jail at Holden a few weeks before Christmas.
The charges relate to an incident where Bumgarner was already in the jail and his wife reportedly passed some drugs to him by hiding them in her mouth when they kissed during a visit.
"He did his plea agreement to transporting drugs into a regional jail before the judge and he waived a pre-sentencing report," Logan Prosecutor Brian Abraham told The Logan Banner. "He will be sentenced to 1-3 years in a West Virginia penitentiary. He will have five months credit for time served in jail.”
Bumgarner was out of jail on $25,000 bond when he agreed to enter the guilty plea and Logan Prosecuting Attorney Brian Abraham had asked Judge Eric O'Briant to revoke that bond as Bumgarner was cited by a West Virginia State Police Trooper on soliciting a prostitute and driving on a revoked license on Dec. 5.
Bumgarner's attorney asked for the bond revocation charge to be denied so that he could stay out of jail over the holidays and the judge allowed the motion, cautioning Bumgarner that he had to stay out of trouble and not violate any laws or he would be incarcerated immediately.
On New Year's Day, Bumgarner and Christopher Bumgarner were arrested by the Mingo County Sheriff's Department for allegedly stealing an ATV on a trailer from the owner's driveway in front of witnesses.
Thursday, Abraham told The Logan Banner that the Mingo County arrest appears to be an open and shut case, and that it could lead to a second felony charge against Bumgarner.
"That would mean if he got one more felony conviction against him that he would be sent away for good as an habitual offender," Abraham said, explaining that for all Bumgarner's numerous arrests he had managed to avoid getting convicted on felonies despite spending several years incarcerated on multiple arrests over the past few years.
"This is his first felony conviction including when the feds prosecuted him for a hate crime charge in the 1990s. I prosecuted him before in Magistrate Court but he only received 10 days that time. At least half the time I have been here as prosecutor he was either in jail or on the run.”
Abraham said Bumgarner hurt himself by constantly getting arrested over and over again when he was out of jail on bond or alternative sentencing programs.
"This underscores our ultimate goal to get someone who does things like this sentenced on a serious felony," Abraham explained. "A lot of times it looks like we are losing the battle, but we are looking ahead to try and win the war. He now faces another felony charge in Mingo County and then he could face a third strike. We look at these things in the long-term picture in Logan County. Many times, people get upset when they see people like this get out of jail but this is just a perfect example of how you can give some people enough rope and they will hang themselves. This was our ultimate goal at the end of the day. To get a solid conviction and stiffer sentence, not to get shot down.”
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