Lee Jones

Gauley Bridge's former mayor, Steve Thomas, says that after Lee Jones was arrested, a family in Gauley Bridge complained that a Gauley Bridge police officer was harassing their son, trying to get him to testify against Mr. Jones.

The family told the mayor that their son was pulled over, and told that if he did make an allegation against Mr. Jones, his ticket would go away. Weeks later, according to Mr. Thomas and Gauley Bridge records, a city councilman brought a similar situation with another Gauley Bridge resident up at a council meeting.

Mr. Thomas says he told Ms. Keller about the situation, but said she didn’t take the accusation seriously and tried to discourage him from revealing what the officer was doing to Mr. Jones’ attorneys.

At trial, though, Ms. Keller painted a different picture. “…I advised you that you might want to wait before you make the allegations against this officer until you find (sic) out if they were true? Do you recall that?� she asked Mr. Thomas on the stand.

“No, I don’t,� he replied.

And later, she asked “Don’t you recall that I also said that it was up to you as to speaking to (Mr. Jones’) lawyers about what, at that point, was a mere allegation, that of course, it was up to you?

“I’m not sure on that point,� Mr. Thomas said.

Ms. Keller also said that the State Police investigated Mr. Thomas’ claims, but didn’t find any evidence to support them. Still, Mr. Thomas and the city councilman weren’t the first or the last to allege that police officers were offering special treatment in exchange for testimony against Mr. Jones. Their claims echo the offer that H.B. Clark, another witness against Mr. Jones, said was given to his then girlfriend, Golden Tolliver.

 

Working under cover?

Under the influence of alcohol and driving on a suspended license, Golden Tolliver drove her car into a creek in Gauley Bridge after hitting some black ice.

H.B. Clark told Gauley Bridge police officer Gerald Proctor that after going to the state police barracks, Ms. Tolliver overheard some troopers talking about the Lee Jones investigation. She’d later tell an officer with the Gauley Bridge Police Department that she was promised her citation for the accident--which she feared might lead to jail time--would go away if she helped the investigation. So she decided to secretly record a conversation with Mr. Clark, in an attempt to get him to admit that Mr. Jones had raped him. But he wouldn’t—at first.

On the tape, Mr. Clark tells Ms. Tolliver that “Lee never touched me,� and later “the mother f----er never touched me, not that I can recall, I mean, you know.�

But not long after that tape was made and shortly before Mr. Jones was arrested, Mr. Clark’s story drastically changed. After an argument with Ms. Tolliver, she had him arrested by the State Police for domestic battery. The next day, Mr. Clark gave them a statement that said Mr. Jones had once fondled him. State Police attorneys, however, said their records division can't find anything on Mr. Clark's arrest and it's not clear where the case went after Mr. Clark gave his statement.

Also, Ms. Tolliver wasn’t the only one to secretly record Mr. Clark. Gauley Bridge Police Officer Gerald Proctor, did, too—drawing the fire of the special prosecutor and the state police.