Is Charleston WV Lawyer Manipulating Magistrate Court System

Attorney Charged With Brandishing And Obstruction Keeps Postponing Hearings For Almost 2 Years Now... by Jack Swint 

Charleston WV attorney, Richard Lindroth was arrested way back in July 2010 when police say he not only pulled a gun on Gary Lowe, stuck it in his chest and threatened his life; (after a confrontation occurred over Lindroth’s pit bull dog) but when cops showed up, Lindroth obstructed officers by attempting to pull the same pistol out of his pants pocket on them while resisting arrest. 

According to Police, they had to force Lindroth to the ground, cuff him and then they found the Glock Model 27.40 in his right front pocket.

Now, in 2012, Lindroth has managed to postpone his magistrate court hearings the past four times in front of the same judge, Jack Pauley. When, and if Lindroth’s hearing takes place on May 7, 2012, it will be approximately 2 years since the offenses took place. According to a source we spoke to at the courthouse, there is no set number of postponements but it is almost unheard of to have four. “Two postponements is rare, four is baffling.”

And, “it is a pretty clear sign that he is playing the system after this amount of time.” We attempted to get a comment from the Kanawha County Prosecutors Office about the 2 year delay, but at the time this story was first published there was no response.

Back in 2011, we were told by several lawyers who at the time felt that all Kanawha County Magistrates should withdrawal themselves from this case because of a conflict of interest due to the close personal and social relationships between Lindroth and these judges. Even back then they questioned how Lindroth had managed to postpone his case even for a year?

How It All Started In 2010

This all started when Mr. Lowe was next door from Lindroth’s home working on the roof of Estie Fields. Lindroth’s pit-bull reportedly became very aggressive towards the worker and when he tried to protect himself by using his tape measurer, Lindroth allegedly threatened to shoot him if he harmed the dog.

Lowe told this author at the time how he felt in fear for his safety because the dog was approaching him aggressively and barking in anger. “I’ve been around dogs acting like that before, I felt threatened.” Lowe had come down from the roof for only a minute when the pit bull came after him. His work partner, Brian Liggett was still up on the roof and witnessed what took place. Lowe stated he also feared for his life from Lindroth after the man pulled the pistol and aimed it at him.

Not Lindroth’s First Legal Problem

As we reported in our first story, (linked below) Lindroth’s legal problems date back to when he was former general counsel for House Speaker Bob Kiss. His tax problems were the result of him reportedly forgetting to pay state owed taxes for at least a 10 year period. All the while, he was working as a state employee, and collecting a state paycheck. Ironically, through all of his tax problems, he still has been able to remain a long-time member of the WEST VIRGINIA STATE AND FEDERAL TAXATION COMMITTEE.

While working for former Speaker of the House Bob Kiss, Lindroth’s computer was seized by investigators after 80 pornographic pictures were found on the hard-drive. Up until then, there were no rules governing porn on state owned computers so no legal action was taken against him. Shortly afterwards, the House adopted new rules banning any pornographic material.

A call to the WV Disciplinary Council shows that there have been a total of 3 complaints on file against Lindroth but never any sanctions. The last complaint was filed in 2000.

In Closing (updated March 12, 2012)

Attorney Richard Lindroth has managed to stall his misdemeanor criminal charges in Kanawha County Magistrate Court since police arrested him in July 2010 for brandishing a weapon and obstructing police officers. These are offenses that carry possible jail time. If convicted, will the lawyer’s disciplinary council also sanction him? Will it go to court this time, or stall again? Is there a conflict between Lindroth and Kanawha County Magistrates since they all are friends with him?

According to Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Plants, his office objects to postponements and is seeking a conviction. "The magistrate has complete discretion to postpone a case." He goes on to say that in his office... "all defendants are treated equally- if there is evidence a crime has occurred- we prosecute."

End Of Story??...

Jack Swint-Publisher
West Virginia News
E-Mail: WestVirginiaNews@gmail.com
Website: http://WVNewsOnline.com
Blog: http://WestVirginiaNews.blogspot.com
Twitter: @WVNewsOnline
LinkedIn: Jack Swint 

Links

Original Story June 2011

WV State And Federal Taxation Committee

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