BUCKHANNON — On December 27th, Michael Lee Morehead and his attorney took part in a virtual hearing for acts of criminal election interference. The hearing took place without permitting public knowledge of the conversations pertaining to the case.
Members of the press were granted access to enter Magistrate Court at 10:00 pm, only to be told approximately 30 minutes later that the hearing had concluded and took place on the phone outside of the courtroom. Gissy initially told reporters that the hearings would remain open to the public, which has caused frustrations for the largest news organizations in the tri-county area seeking transparency.
In an interview with Mountaineer Journal, Magistrate Gissy expressed that the case was continued, and further proceedings will take place at a later date.
“The case is continued, both the defense counsel and the defendant requested that it be done by phone, the hearing today,” Gissy expressed. “So, it was canceled for a further date, but the date has not been set to hear the next proceeding.”
Gissy, who is retiring at the end of the year, stated that a circuit court judge will determine a new magistrate to preside over the cases concerning the State of West Virginia v. Michael L. Morehead and the State of West Virginia v. Asad D. Khan.
“I’m going to have to speak with the circuit court judge in regards to that, but I’m sure the circuit court judge is going to be considering who he could appoint to hear these cases in the future,” he stated. “The judge knows nothing about that yet, but I will be speaking to him soon.”
On August 19th, Morehead was charged with two misdemeanors, violating WV Code §3-8-11 and §3-8-12. Bail was set at $6,000 personal recognizance.
West Virginia State Code §3-8-11 states, “Any person who shall, knowingly, make or publish, or cause to be made or published, any false statement in regard to any candidate, which statement is intended or tends to affect any voting at any election whatever; Is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $10,000, or confined in jail for not more than one year, or, in the discretion of the court, shall be subject to both such fine and imprisonment.”
West Virginia Code §3-8-12 reads, “A person may not publish, issue, or circulate, or cause to be published, issued, or circulated, any anonymous letter, circular, placard, radio or television advertisement, or other publication supporting or aiding the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate.”
Deputy Tyler Gordon, the investigating officer, provided an account of the unlawful events in the official criminal complaint.
“On or about February 22, 2020 Michael Lee Morehead did publish a false campaign website, anonymously, against the victim, Shelia Sines, a candidate for Buckhannon City Council,” Deputy Gordon continued. “Morehead copied the victim’s original website layout and contents but falsifies several items in order to defame the victim. The defendant references the legalization and lowering the cost of cocaine, sexual references about male adult entertainers, and called her a religious bigot. All false statements intended to persuade the population to oppose the victim’s candidacy.”
Deputy Gordon discovered that Morehead and Asad Derya Khan used the name ‘Ray Sines’ (Shelia Sines’ husband) to create the malicious website’s online account. Therefore, this means that the perpetrators (Morehead and Khan) committed crimes impersonating Ray Sines (the victim’s husband).
Gordon noted, “The account was created under the fake name of Mr. Ray Sines with a false physical address, with Morehead’s phone number and email address.”
Michael Lee Morehead could face up to two years of imprisonment and/or a $2,000 fine.