MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — A coming criminal trial for a Berkeley County man, who won a seat in the West Virginia Legislature, has been pushed back.
Joseph deSoto was in Berkeley County Circuit Court Monday for a status hearing.
deSoto had been elected as a delegate in 91st Delegate District in the November 2024 election before being arrested on felony terroristic threats that resulted in his removal from the elected post. He allegedly messaged another delegate’s wife that he intended to send specific delegates “to hell” following the Republican caucus.
The charges kept deSoto from ever taking the seat in the House.
deSoto appeared before Berkeley County Circuit Court Judge Michael Lorensen’s Monday for a status hearing. The date had previously been scheduled as a pretrial hearing ahead of a trial that was supposed to start next week, but which was taken off the court schedule.
Defense Attorney Andrew Arnold told the court he is awaiting an expert who would be doing an evaluation pertinent to the case.
Documents obtained by the Panhandle News Network might shed some light on that evaluation.
On June 26th, the court ordered that the jury trial previously scheduled to begin on July 21, 2026 be removed from the docket, and a pretrial hearing scheduled to occur on July 13th be converted to a status/scheduling hearing.
In that order, the court revealed deSoto’s defense planned to “explore having the Defendant evaluated for criminal responsibility at the time of the allegation(s)” and indicated the defense would be unable to do so prior to the originally scheduled trial.
In a “Demand by State for Notice of Defense Based on Mental Condition,” Berkeley County Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Raymond E. Boyce, Jr. indicated the state’s requirement that “if the Defendant herein intends to rely upon the Defense of Insanity at the time of the alleged crime, that the Defendant serve the State with written Notice of Defendant’s Intention to Offer a Defense of Insanity at the time of the alleged crime.”
“The State further demands that if the Defendant intends to introduce expert testimony relating to a mental disease, defect, or other condition bearing upon the issue, whether the Defendant had the mental state required for the offense charged, that the Defendant serve the State with written Notice thereof, including the name and address of each witness,” Boyce said in the order back in March.
The notice also demands the defense present the prosecution with results and/or reports of physical or mental examinations made in connection with the case.
On Monday, Arnold asked for an extension and requested a status hearing in 90 days. The parties agreed to an Oct. 13 status hearing.
Arnold also expressed his intention to negotiate the terms of deSoto’s release, telling Judge Lorensen that his client had been wearing an ankle bracelet for some time. Arnold said he would be filing a motion regarding the ankle bracelet.
For his part, deSoto, dressed in a polo shirt and slacks, sat in the courtroom beside his defense attorney but did not speak.