Appeals Court Hears Arguments in W.Va. Mine Case - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

Appeals Court Hears Arguments in W.Va. Mine Case

  • Local NewsLocal News

  • A former Massey Energy official who is cooperating in the investigation of the Upper Big Branch mine disaster is asking a judge for leniency when he's sentenced Aug. 1.
    A former Massey Energy official who is cooperating in the investigation of the Upper Big Branch mine disaster is asking a judge for leniency when he's sentenced Aug. 1.
  • Tuesday, June 18 2013 2:37 PM EDT2013-06-18 18:37:11 GMT
    Fayette County Sheriff's Deputies were called to Anstead at around 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday when a caller claimed that two people were breaking windows in the area, and specifically at the Shell station where
    An early morning vandalism call in Anstead turns out to be a teen prank.
  • Tuesday, June 18 2013 12:16 PM EDT2013-06-18 16:16:07 GMT
    Mercer County Sheriff Deputies are looking into an apparent armed robbery at Pop's. The call came into Mercer County 911 just after 3 a.m. Tuesday. Not many details are being released at this time. Stay
    Mercer County Sheriff Deputies are looking into an apparent armed robbery at Pop's. The call came into Mercer County 911 just after 3 a.m. Tuesday. Not many details are being released at this time. Stay
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -

A federal appeals court sounded skeptical of the claims raised by a former West Virginia mine security chief convicted of lying to investigators after the 2010 explosion that killed 29 miners.

A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in Hughie Elbert Stover's case Friday. The court usually takes several weeks to issue a ruling.

Stover supervised security guards at the Upper Big Branch mine. A jury found that he lied to investigators about whether miners were warned whenever inspectors arrived at the mine. Stover's lawyer argued that there was no evidence that Stover knowingly gave a false statement.

Judge Andre Davis said there was "tons of circumstantial evidence." And Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III stressed the importance of unannounced inspections.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.