CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — One of three individuals involved in events last year that led to the death of a Harrison County man is facing multiple decades in prison if his pleas are accepted by the court.
Zachary Davan Hilliard, 21, of Clarksburg, offered the pleas Tuesday afternoon to one count of 1st Degree Robbery and one count of Conspiracy to Commit 1st Degree Robbery as part of a plea deal with the state.
The robbery charge was brought down murder related to the beating death of Dustin Baldwin in the early morning hours of August 19, 2015.
In Hilliard’s version of the events presented to the court, he received a call from a friend saying that they had been “ripped off” by an individual.
He, his brother Terrance Hilliard and Kelsi Riddle began driving around town looking for this individual. Upon locating him, words were exchanged before he reportedly fled on foot.
Riddle continued to drive the Hilliards around until they found an individual they believed to be the one they were looking for and the brothers hopped out of the car to chase him down.
Zachary said it was during this pursuit he realized it was the wrong individual–who turned out to be Baldwin. Before he could stop, Terrance had passed him and had begun beating Baldwin.
Harrison County Circuit Judge later in the hearing asked Zachary if they made a decision to rob Baldwin, even though he was not they individual they initially sought out, to which he replied in the affirmative.
Baldwin would be found later that morning in a coma on his grandmother’s porch in Clarksburg. He was transported to Ruby Memorial Hospital but died on September 8.
All three individuals involved were arraigned back in January by the Harrison County grand jury on one count of Murder and one count of Conspiracy to Commit Robbery in the First Degree, while Zachary was additionally charged with one count of Delivery of a Controlled Substance.
Judge Bedell held off on accepting the offered pleas in lieu of receiving more information about the case.
If the binding deal is accepted, Hilliard would face 32 years in prison on the robbery charge, 1-5 years on the conspiracy charge and the delivery charge would be dropped. He would also be subject to up to $10,000 in fines as well as cost associated with Baldwin’s death.
The deal is dependent upon Zachary cooperating with the state’s case against Terrance.
A hearing for Hilliard has been scheduled for May 17 at 11:45 a.m. and if the pleas are accepted, it would lead directly into sentencing.