WVa man serving life on drug charge is cleared of murder

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) - A West Virginia man serving life in prison on a drug conviction has been cleared of murder in a 2016 fatal shooting.

Joshua Dwayne Plante, 29, was acquitted in the death of Morrell Deshawn Paschell by a grand jury on Wednesday, The Huntington Herald-Dispatch reports.

His defense attorney, Glen Conway, had questioned the role of the men’s common love interest, who said she slept through the gunfire that killed her boyfriend and delayed calling 911 for 15 minutes after finding his body. Gunshot residue was also found on her hand, though investigators said that could have been transferred to her when she turned over Paschell’s body.

Paschell and the woman had just rekindled their relationship and he was killed on his first night sleeping over at her home since getting back together, according to testimony. The two had argued that night and slept in separate rooms. The woman had previously taken out a protection order against Pashcell because he had been violent toward her several times. She testified she had no ill will toward him.

Conway said no evidence with Plante’s DNA was found at the scene of the shooting, including a jacket that prosecutors argued Plante left behind after the attack. Prosecutors argued surveillance video put Plante at the scene. Video shows Plante leaving his home just before a hooded man is spotted walking into the woman’s home. The man is seen leaving the home shortly before Plante’s vehicle arrives back at his home. The murder weapon was found under his mattress. His cellphone’s GPS places him near the home at about the time of the shooting, and he repeatedly searched for information about the shooting online later that day.

When arrested in the shooting, he was found to be in possession of 3 grams of heroin and was later convicted of possessing with intent to deliver a controlled substance. Prosecutors later invoked a state recidivism law that allows a life sentence after three felony convictions if the defendant is considered a danger to the public. He will be eligible for parole after 15 years.