PUTNAM COUNTY, W.Va. — Ten to 40 years in prison is the possible sentence for a Putnam County man convicted of killing another man by running him down with his car in May 2018.
After 9 p.m. Friday, a Putnam County jury returned a guilty verdict for second-degree murder in the case of Morgan Vandergriff, 39, of Scott Depot.
Multiple witnesses testified during the trial that the victim, John Maynard, 38, was yelling at Vandergriff and telling him to slow down after Vandergriff passed a stopped school bus on the afternoon of May 9, 2018.
That was when Vandergriff struck Maynard in a driveway with his car.
Maynard died at the scene.
Attorneys for Vandergriff claimed it was an accident because Vandergriff swerved when a beer bottle was thrown at his vehicle in Ranch Lake Estates.
In all, the jury deliberated for about three hours to close Vandergriff’s four-day trial in Winfield after closing arguments on Friday evening.
Other possible charges considered were first-degree murder and manslaughter.