by Taylor McKinnie
ELKINS — A Beverly woman who was accused of abuse or neglect of an
incapacitated adult, and financial exploitation, entered into a plea
agreement Tuesday morning in Randolph County Circuit Court.
Cassie Lynn Pell, 37, pled guilty to one count of strangulation, a
felony, and one count of financial exploitation of an elderly person, a
misdemeanor. She could face no less than one, no more than five years in
prison when sentenced for the felony charge. For the misdemeanor
charge, Pell could face not more than one year in prison, and/or be
fined not more than $1,000.
Pell was initially indicted in October on two counts of abuse or
neglect of an incapacitated adult, a felony; one count of strangulation,
a felony; and two counts of neglect of an incapacitated adult, a
misdemeanor. In a separate indictment, she was indicted on one count of
financial exploitation of an elderly person, and three counts of
fraudulent use of an access device, all felonies.
Pell is currently being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on both a $15,000 cash-only bond and a $2,821.41 cash-only bond.
When asked by Lewis and Upshur County Circuit Court Judge Kurt Hall,
who presided over the case, as to what she did that made her guilty of
the strangulation charge, Pell said she had gotten into a “verbal
argument” that escalated.
“We had gotten into a verbal argument and I had pushed her, and when I pushed her I grabbed her,” Pell said.
“And where did you grab her?” Hall asked.
“Around her throat,” Pell said.
Pell denied that the victim lost consciousness from the incident, but admitted that the victim did sustain a bruise.
When asked about the financial exploitation charge, Pell said she had
been carrying the victim’s debit card and made an unauthorized
purchase. Pell said the victim was in her 70s at the time of the
incident.
Pell also admitted that alcohol had been involved in both incidents.
After Hall accepted the plea agreement, Tyler Resetter, Pell’s
attorney, asked the court to modify Pell’s post conviction bond, citing
that Pell had no means to pay the current amount at this time, that Pell
was agreeable to any terms of supervision from the court and that Pell
has attended and had been making progress in classes and schooling
during her time in prison.
Randolph County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Christina Harper
stated she believed that Pell’s bond was appropriately set. Harper
explained to the court that the victim and the victim’s family, who
wanted to avoid going to court, stated that the victim still had a fear
of Pell and that the victim wanted there still be a no-contact order
once Pell was out of prison.
Hall denied the motion to modify Pell’s bond.
According to a criminal complaint filed by Deputy J. Wolfe of the
Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, on Aug. 13, Wolfe conducted a welfare
check at a home near Beverly. An elderly woman at the home told the
officer that Pell had “destroyed her house,” as the living room was “in
disarray with broken ceramic material littering” the floor, and that
Pell “beat my head with her fist.”
Wolfe said the woman had a bump on her head “consistent with being
struck,” and he also observed “containers and plates of food containing
spoiled and molded meat on the living room floor,” the complaint states.
Wolfe spoke with Pell, who lives in a camper next to the home,
according to the complaint. Pell said she took care of the woman
full-time, adding, “We get mad, we fight” and “She hit me and I grabbed
her.”
Pell allegedly took the elderly woman’s walker, cell phone and house
keys from her and took them to the camper, the complaint states.
Asked to return the woman’s cellphone, Pell “attempted to take the
battery out of the cell phone so she wouldn’t break it. I believe this
was an intentional attempt to deprive (the elderly woman) of her means
of communication,” Wolfe wrote in the complaint.
Pell also allegedly refused to give the elderly woman all of her
house keys back, saying, “That’s how I get inside to make sure she don’t
bust her a-,” according to the complaint. Wolfe wrote that Pell made
this statement while the elderly woman’s walker was sitting outside next
to her camper.
The elderly woman expressed fear of Pell, saying she had been
strangled by Pell twice in previous weeks, the complaint states. At the
close of her conversation with Wolfe, Pell allegedly said, “I want her
to burn in hell. I’ll make sure of it.”
During a preliminary hearing at Randolph County Magistrate Court on
Aug. 23, Wolfe told the court that he spoke to the victim’s neighbors
who expressed concern about the victim’s safety, claiming that when they
tried to approach the home in the past, Pell would chase them away with
her two dogs.
Wolfe also said during the preliminary hearing he had been by the
residence before for a trespassing call and that another officer had
been to the house previously, though Wolfe did not know what for.
A date for Pell’s sentencing has yet to be set.
Full Article & Source:
Beverly woman pleads guilty to strangulation
