CLARKSBURG, W. Va. — The trial of a man accused in the 2001 home invasion, robbery and sexual assault of an elderly woman in Harrison County has been continued.
Adam Derek Bowers, 29, appeared in court via teleconference from the Mount Olive Correctional Center before Harrison County Circuit Judge Thomas Bedell Tuesday during a motion hearing.
The defendant and the state filed a joint motion requesting the trial be delayed on the grounds that the results of DNA testing requested by Bowers would not be available until a week before his April 27 trial date.
In December 2001, a suspect allegedly broke into the home of the 83-year-old mother of a Clarksburg police officer, held a knife to her, demanded money and sexually assaulted her multiple times.
Arrested soon after was Joseph Anthony “Joe” Buffey, then 19-years-old, after breaking into three separate businesses –which he admitted to– the same night. Buffey then later entered into a plea deal regarding the case of the elderly woman before DNA evidence was made available and was sentenced to 70 years in prison
That DNA evidence would later indicate Bowers, who lived near the victim at the time, as the offender and left Buffey out as a contributor.
Buffey, now 31, along with The Innocence Project, is currently in the process of appealing his case, stating he was not at the scene of the crime and took the plea due to poor legal counsel. The state contends the lack of DNA evidence does not mean Buffey did not participate in the crime and discredit the appeal as “buyers remorse.”
Bowers was later indicted by a grand jury in January 2014 on charges of burglary, first-degree robbery and first-degree sexual assault. The trial has been continued multiple times since then.
While he was a juvenile at the time of the alleged crimes, former Harrison County Prosecuting Attorney Joe Shaffer bumped the case up to one of adult status.
Bowers is currently being held at Mount Olive for a separate crime, where his projected release date according to the state Division of Corrections is June 28.
After Judge Bedell granted the motion to continue and defense attorney Christopher Wilson coordinated with an expert witness over the phone, the new trial date was set for May 26. A status conference was scheduled for April 27 and a final pre-trial status conference for May 22.