CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Nicholas County woman who allegedly purchased a gun for a man involved in a deadly shootout with Nicholas County sheriff’s deputies has been ordered to undergo drug rehab.
Melanie Clodfelter, 41, appeared briefing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dwayne L. Tinsley Tuesday morning in U.S. District Court in Charleston.
Clodfelter, who is being held in the South Central Regional Jail, waived her right to a preliminary hearing and Tinsley found there was enough evidence in the case to forward the charges.
Clodfelter was arrested on June 4, a day after Nicholas County Deputy Tom Baker was shot and killed after answering a property disturbance call in the Birch River area. Federal authorities allege Clodfelter had purchased a Radical Firearms RF-15 multi-caliber rifle in November, 2021, for Richie Holcomb, one of the men who allegedly shot at Baker and Cpl. Chris Ellison. Holcomb was also killed in the shootout.
Holcomb couldn’t buy a gun because of a previous conviction. According to court records, Clodfelter admitted to investigators that she knew Holcomb couldn’t purchase a gun on his own.
Clodfelter’s attorney Miles Morgan asked Judge Tinsley Tuesday to release Clodfelter or bond but Tinsley expressed concern about Clodfelter’s substance abuse problems. The judge chose another option.
“I think you would benefit from some kind of drug treatment program,” Tinsley said.
He ordered the probation office to arrange Clodfelter to be housed in a residential substance abuse facility. He said after that he may consider bond in the case.
A second man involved in the shootout, Brent Tyler Kelly, 28, of Birch River, remains in the Central Regional Jail without bail. He is charged with murder. His preliminary hearing in Nicholas County Magistrate Court has been scheduled for June 28.