Mason County Prosecuting Attorney

05/13/2026

***MAY 2026 GRAND JURY INDICTMENTS RELEASED***

05/12/2026

POINT PLEASANT MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO FIRST DEGREE ARSON

On May 11, 2026, Tyler Allen Crump, age 33 of Point Pleasant, appeared in the Circuit Court of Mason County and entered a plea of guilty to the felony offense of "first degree arson."

Crump is alleged to have used tiki torch fluid to set fire to his family home along Tanglewood Drive in Point Pleasant on March 4, 2025, while three occupants were inside the residence. Luckily, nobody was injured during the incident.

If the Court accepts the plea, Crump will be subject to a definite term of imprisonment of anywhere from a minimum 2 years to a maximum of 20 years.

Prosecutor Gaskins wishes to thank TFC J.L. Cavender, WVSP, and Deputy Fire Marshal Timothy Chastain for an excellent joint investigation which led to this plea deal.

Crump is due back in court on June 22, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. before the Hon. R. Craig Tatterson for sentencing.

***All Defendants are innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law, and in this case the Court must formally accept this plea after having the benefit of a presentencing investigation and report prior to making that decision and pronouncing a sentence.***

05/06/2026

GALLIPOLIS FERRY MAN CONVICTED OF FELONY 3RD DOMESTIC BATTERY

On May 4, 2026, Justin C. Arbogast, age 38 of Gallipolis Ferry, appeared in the Circuit Court of Mason County for sentencing on his conviction to the felony offense of "domestic battery; 3rd or subsequent offense."

For his sentence, the Hon. R. Craig Tatterson ordered Arbogast to be confined in the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation for the statutory maximum penalty of not less than 1 nor more than 5 years.

Prosecutor Gaskins wishes to thank Deputy C. Turner for his investigation and for helping to bring this Defendant to justice.

04/25/2026

***BEWARE OF NEW SCAM***

This is one of the more realistic scams that have been making their way around the State, including Mason County. Myself included has received this message just today. To those who may not know how to discern, this may very well get you.

If you get this message, you may disregard and report as spam.

Remember, when it comes to unpaid court fees and/or bail, no court or law enforcement agency will ever require you to make payment over the phone or through a QR Code.

—Seth Gaskins, Prosecuting Attorney

04/20/2026

***POINT MAN CONVICTED OF 2 VIOLENT FELONIES***

On Monday, April 20, 2026, David Allen Hill, age 41 of Point Pleasant, appeared in the Circuit Court of Mason County for sentencing on his convictions to the felony offenses of "malicious assault" and "burglary."

For his sentence, the Hon. R. Craig Tatterson sentenced Hill to the statutory maximum of 2-10 years for his "malicious assault" conviction and the statutory maximum of 1-15 for his "burglary" conviction.

Hill was extradited from Michigan to proceed on his case in Mason County, but now must return to Michigan to serve out the remainder of his sentence for his convictions there (malicious destruction of property, fleeing from police, and felony possession of methamphetamine) before returning to West Virginia to serve out his sentence in this case. Hill has 1 year and 8 months remaining on his sentence in Michigan.

Prosecutor Gaskins wishes to thank Cpl. R.S. Minor, WVSP for his investigation, which resulted in the Defendant's apprehension in Michigan, and ultimately led to his conviction here in Mason County.

04/11/2026

I am not surprised by the Supreme Court’s decision overturning the dismissal order of the Circuit Court of Cabell County in this case.

Election fraud will not be tolerated. While I am the Prosecutor for Mason County, I am honored to serve as the Special Prosecutor representing Cabell County in this extremely important case.

Integrity in our elections means everything.

The state Supreme Court of Appeals handed down a ruling Friday that finds a five-year statute of limitations applies to a case of alleged falsifying of elections filings.

04/02/2026

***DAVID JAMES SELBY SENTENCED***

Today, April 2, 2026, David J. Selby, age 72 of Point Pleasant, appeared in the Circuit Court of Mason County for sentencing on his conviction for the felony offense "prohibited person in possession of a firearm."

For his sentence, the Hon. R. Craig Tatterson, Circuit Judge of Mason County, sentenced Selby to the determinate sentence of 3 years in prison. The prosecution had asked the Court to allow Selby to serve his sentence on home confinement in exchange for his earlier cooperation with the State. The Court ultimately denied that request and sentenced Selby to prison time.

Despite being the grandfather of the accused, Selby was the key witness that helped to secure the conviction of Jordan Armstrong earlier this year for the attempted murder of Amelia Wamsley, his then-girlfriend, while the two were visiting David Selby's residence. It was Selby's gun that was used during the commission of that crime. David Selby was previously convicted of shooting a police officer in Mason County more than 20 years ago and was not legally allowed to own or possess a firearm.

It was ultimately the victim's parents, Terry and Carla Wamsley, who persuaded the Court to reject the alternative sentence request and send Selby to prison through their passionate victim impact statements.

"My heart goes out to Amelia, Terry, Carla, and the rest of the Wamsley family. What they've had to endure over the last year and a half has been unimaginable. To their credit, they have been involved every step of the way with this prosecution. I know that it's little consolation at the end of the day, but I'm glad that they were able to see justice prevail," said Prosecuting Attorney, Seth Gaskins.

Prosecutor Gaskins also thanked Sgt. T. DeWeese of the Point Pleasant Police Department for his investigation, which helped to bring this Defendant, like his grandson, to justice.

04/02/2026

It needs to stop. We can all play a part.

03/28/2026

***ARREST WARRANT EXECUTED***

Today, March 27, 2026, an arrest warrant was executed on Taylor Flint, age 25 of Point Pleasant, who is charged with “child neglect resulting in death” following the October 25, 2025, death of an 11-day-old infant, for whom she was responsible for as a caretaker, in Point Pleasant.

Flint was arraigned in the Magistrate Court of Mason County and was given a $100,000, cash only bond. She is currently in custody at Western Regional Jail where she awaits a preliminary hearing on her charges.

Prosecutor Gaskins wishes to thank Sgt. T. DeWeese of the Point Pleasant Police Department for his investigation which led to the arrest of this suspect.

***as always, suspects are innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law***

03/25/2026

***WEST VIRGINIA SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS MURDER CONVICTION***

Mason County Prosecuting Attorney, Seth S. Gaskins, announces that the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has upheld a 2023 Mason County Murder Conviction for which the Defendant is serving a life sentence.

In September 2023, Bobby Wolford, age 36, of Cleveland, Ohio, was convicted by a jury of "felony murder," "conspiracy to commit robbery," and "concealment of a deceased human body" for the shooting death of John Michael Gomez.

For his convictions, the Circuit Court of Mason County sentenced Wolford to consecutive sentences of life without mercy for "felony murder," 1-5 years for "concealment of a deceased human body," and 1-5 years for "conspiracy to commit robbery."

On appeal, Wolford argued that the Circuit Court erred in denying his motion for judgement of acquittal at trial due to insufficiency of the State's evidence.

On March 24, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the State, upholding the convictions and sentence.

Prosecutor Gaskins said that "good trial preparation is the best safeguard to appeals, and I'm delighted that our Supreme Court made the right decision. I'm just glad that the victim's family can sleep at night knowing that this animal will never see the light of day again."

The State was represented on appeal by West Virginia Attorney General J.B. McCuskey.