CHARLESTON, W.Va. — There were tears from one side of the courtroom, angry shouts from the other as Kelsey Legg was sentenced Tuesday in Kanawha County Circuit Court in the death of Kareem Hunter.
And the drama didn’t end there.
Outside the Kanawha County Judicial Annex members of the Legg and Hunter families got into a fight that ended with police making two arrests.
Back in March, Legg pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to first-degree murder and attempting to aid and abet another person in concealing a dead body. As part of the plea, she agreed to help prosecutors in the cases against Miguel Quinones and Deverson Patterson, both charged with Hunter’s murder.
Tuesday Legg went before Judge Paul Zakaib. She told the judge she was sorry for her part in Kareem’s death and that she wished she was dead as well. Hunter’s mother read a victim’s impact statement stating Legg deserved no leniency. She accused Legg of luring her son to the defendant’s home in Marmet, watching while two men murdered him and then helping dispose of the body. Hunter was found in a shallow grave in Raleigh County about two weeks after he disappeared. Legg refused to look at Mrs. Hunter or any of the victim’s family gathered in the courtroom.
Legg’s attorney sought leniency but the judge gave her the maximum. She was sentenced up to five years on the charge of accessory after the fact and 1-3 years to aiding and abetting. She received 262 days of credit for time served. That means she could be out in as little as two and a half years or spend up to 8 years in prison.
Legg’s family broke into sobs as the judge read the sentence. The victim’s family looked stunned.
When assistant prosecutor Dan Holstein went to talk to the Hunter family about the plea deal, Hunter’s sister shouted at him.
“No! She helped them kill my brother and you just gave her a pat on the wrist! Nothing, you didn’t do nothing! No man, get off of me!”
The sister was told by deputies to leave the courtroom. Other family members were also visibly upset and tried to understand why Legg wasn’t sentenced to more time behind bars.
After the courtroom was cleared, the two families converged outside the judicial annex where words led to physical confrontations and deputies had to intervene.
Deputies arrested Anthony Bryant, 36, of Charleston, on one count of battery. He allegedly pushed a 54-year-old woman to the pavement causing a head injury. Deputies also charged Terry Lee Phillips, 57, of Charleston with obstructing a police officer.