Martinsburg, WV: Surber indicted in W.Va. kidnap-slaying

By MATTHEW UMSTEAD
OCTOBER 20, 2009
matthewu@herald-mail.com
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — A Winchester, Va., man charged in the stabbing death of his girlfriend during a two-day police standoff in June and a subsequent attempt to escape from correctional officers was named in a multicount indictment on Tuesday by a Berkeley County grand jury, according to Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney Pamela Jean Games-Neely’s office.

Donald B. Surber Jr., 37, was indicted on counts of first-degree murder, kidnapping, attempted kidnapping, felony destruction of property, domestic assault, burglary, attempted escape, attempt to disarm an officer and attempt to possess a weapon by inmate of jail.

Surber, who remains incarcerated in Belington, W.Va., at Tygart Valley Regional Jail, was due to appear in Berkeley County Magistrate Court on Tuesday for a preliminary hearing, but Games-Neely said the case was continued by the defense counsel that was appointed by the court to represent him.

Surber is charged in the slaying of Katherine Nicole Sharp, with whom he had an on-again-off-again relationship, authorities have said.

Surber held Sharp hostage in her home at 10 Raider Lane in the Ridgefield subdivision off W.Va. 9 west of Martinsburg on June 14 and 15, according to police accounts.

A warrant charging Surber with murder said Sharp was killed June 14. The standoff ended on the afternoon of June 15, court records state.

After his arrest, Surber attempted suicide by cutting his wrists while in the Eastern Regional Jail and he later tried to escape police guards after being treated for his wounds at City Hospital in Martinsburg, according to published reports.

Also indicted Tuesday was James L. Blackford III of 167 Laing Drive, Martinsburg. Blackford is accused of starting a fire in April that destroyed a large barn in Bedington, W.Va., and severely injured a volunteer firefighter who responded to the blaze.

Blackford, 30, who was indicted on counts of first-degree arson, setting fire to lands and causing serious injury during an arson-related crime, was one of 32 people named in indictments decided Tuesday, the beginning of the October term of circuit court in Berkeley County.

The jury panel is expected to continue hearing the state’s evidence today, according to Games-Neely’s office. Members of the grand jury meet behind closed doors, hearing evidence from prosecutors and police. Neither defendants nor their attorneys are present or present evidence.