By Mallory Panuska
Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT —
The fatal shooting of 22-year-old John G. Cottingham during the early morning hours of June 26 was reportedly an act of self defense by one of the occupants of a Quarry Avenue home he and two other alleged offenders were attempting to rob.
Last week, a weeks-long police investigation resulted in charges of first-degree robbery and first-degree murder on one of the reported trio, 27-year-old William Horton.
Even though there were no witness statements placing Horton at the scene of the incident, as revealed during a preliminary hearing in Marion County Magistrate Court Thursday, reports state that he admitted to Fairmont detectives that he served as a lookout during the robbery, thus giving them enough evidence to charge him with both felony offenses.
And despite objections from Horton’s defense attorney, David DeMoss, Magistrate Peggy Twyman found probable cause to indict Horton on the robbery charge after Thursday’s proceedings. A preliminary hearing for the murder charge is set for next week.
