CLARKSBURG, W. Va. — The trial of a Harrison County man accused of sex crimes against juveniles has been continued.
Jeremy Matthew Marple, 33, of Clarksburg waived his right to a speedy trial on Monday during what was to be the final pretrial hearing before his August 3 trial began.
He was arrested in Colorado on October 2, 2014 by the U.S. Marshals and Officers from the Violent Offenders Task Force after the West Virginia State Police obtained warrants for his arrest on August 13 of that year and requested assistance from the Marshal’s Mountain State Fugitive Task Force on September 12 after he could not be located.
On Monday, it was indicated that the state and defense have been unable to reach an agreement on a plea deal after several offers and counter offers.
Marple is charged with 18 counts of crimes related to the sexual abuse of minors which is alleged to have taken place from January 2014 through June of the same year with two females aged 16 and 12. He was indicted in May and is facing multiple decades in prison if convicted on all counts.
The defense made two motions Monday, the first of which requested that his lawyer –who had been working pro bono up to this point– be officially court appointed.
This motion was granted by the judge on the grounds that Marple has been incarcerated long enough that he could not afford his own attorney.
The second motion was a request that Marple be transferred to a jail other than North Central Regional Jail.
After Marple was put in jail for violating his parole from a 2012 daytime burglary offense, he was put into protective custody after receiving death threats from other inmates sentenced by his mother, Harrison County Magistrate Tammy Marple.
Senior Judge Thomas Steptoe Jr. –who was appointed to the case by the state Supreme Court due to the conflict– determined that he did not have the jurisdiction to move Marple and advised his council to seek assistance on that matter from the Division of Corrections.
The final pretrial hearing was scheduled for October 26 and the trail is set to being October 27.