WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — The Mingo County grand jury is the next step for criminal charges against the man arrested in the shooting and killing of West Virginia State Police Sgt. Cory Maynard.
Timothy Kennedy, 29, waived his preliminary hearing during an appearance Friday in Mingo County Magistrate Court in Williamson.
The decision to waive sends the first-degree murder charge to a grand jury which will decide if there’s enough evidence to indict Maynard. A special grand jury could be called to consider the case.
Kennedy’s attorney requested discovery information from prosecutors during Friday’s hearing.
State Police have said Maynard, 37, was killed in an ambush attack last Friday in the Beech Creek area.
“They were ambushed. Sgt. Maynard was hit and wounded. Another trooper that was with him did return fire, but did not hit the suspect,” State Police Superintendent Col. Chambers said on Monday’s MetroNews “Talkline.”
Maynard and another trooper responded to the area after getting a call about a shooting. Authorities said Kennedy shot Benjamin Baldwin, 39, of Matewan, with a rifle. Baldwin remains hospitalized. Kennedy has yet to be charged in connection with that shooting.
Kennedy remains in the Southwestern Regional Jail without bail.
Maynard was remembered in funeral services Wednesday.