Bond stays at $1,000,000

Tina M. Campbell-Adkins, 42, of Chesapeake, appeared in front of Judge Charles Cooper on Wednesday morning and pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and tampering with evidence. Cooper maintained her bond at $1,000,000 cash or surety.

Campbell-Adkins was arrested on March 31 after detectives investigating the disappearance of her husband, David Adkins, found his body wrapped in plastic sheeting and stuffed into a refrigerator in the basement of their home.

Detectives had not seen any clear evidence of wrong doing when conducting a wellness check on March 30, at the request of Adkins’ family, and said that Campbell-Adkins told them she hadn’t seen her husband since the previous Sunday. However, they noted there was a strong smell of bleach in the home at that time.

That and a padlocked room prompted detective Sgt. Aaron Bollinger to request a copy of the missing persons report filed by the family. Before he could act on that, though, Chad Carter, the boyfriend of Adkins’ stepdaughter, Patricia Adams, contacted police to tell them that Adams had asked him for help moving a refrigerator that she told him contained Adkins’ remains.

Based on this information, the police obtained a warrant and found Adkins body the next morning. His body was wrapped in plastic sheeting and placed inside a refrigerator that was padlocked shut. That refrigerator was inside an interior basement room that also had a padlock on the door.

Campbell-Adkins confessed to stabbing her husband when questioned by police at the time of her arrest. Adkins was stabbed a total of 35 times in the chest, neck, face and back according to his autopsy, with death attributed to two wounds to the heart and one to the liver.

In other action in Cooper’s courtroom on Wednesday, David C. Barry, 48, of Proctorville, rejected his final offer on two count of felonious assault, and had his trial date set for May 15.

Trent L. Hardy, 46, of Coal Grove, changed his plea to guilty on charges of possession of cocaine, with the charge of failure to appear nullified. Hardy, who could have been sentenced to a maximum of 12 months on the possession charge and a maximum of 18 months on the failure to appear, which could have run consecutively, will instead serve six months with credit for time served.

Christopher Mattern, 32, of Wintersville, pleaded not guilty to charges of burglary, tampering with evidence, misuse of credit card, and receiving stolen property.

Mattern’s bond was set at $50,000 cash or surety and $50,000 own recognizances.

Mattern’s co-defendant, Jackie L. Miller, 55, of Ironton, also pleaded not guilty to charges of burglary, tampering with evidence, misuse of credit card, and receiving stolen property, and also had bond set at $50,000 cash or surety.

Paul Eddie McMackin, 57, of Coal Grove, pleaded not guilty to charges of tampering with evidence and complicity to misuse a credit card. McMackin’s bond was set at $10,000 cash or surety.

Corey A. Powell, 21, of Proctorville, had a suppression hearing scheduled for July 3 on his case. Powell is charged with rape, unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, and eight counts of gross sexual imposition.

Frank Smith, 62, of Huntington, had his trial set for June 19. Smith is charged with complicity to felonious assault, complicity to attempted murder, tampering with evidence, and obstructing justice for his involvement in helping Marvin Sexton after Sexton assaulted his ex-girlfriend and left her for dead.

Sexton was sentenced on March 29 to a total of 20 years for the attempted murder of his ex-girlfriend, Melissa Howard.

Matthew S. Smith, 46, of South Point, pleaded not guilty to charges of identity fraud and had his bond set at $15,000 cash or surety. His attorney, Bob Morford, asked that the bond be set at $10,000 own recognizances, so that his client could pursue an employment opportunity. However, Cooper maintained bond at the $15,000 requested by the state. Cooper told Smith and Morford that if they could successfully remove a holder on Smith from the state of West Virginia, which currently prevents his release on bond, that he would review the bond conditions.

Rodney G. White, 38, of Proctorville, had a suppression hearing set for May 25. White is charged with robbery.

Robert L. Williams, III, 59, of Ironton, was arraigned on a single count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, and pleaded not guilty to the charges. This charge is related to other charges against Williams in a different case, 17-CR-12. In that case, Williams is charged with three counts of complicity to trafficking in drugs for aiding and abetting Kim Montgomery in the sale of Oxycontin. Montgomery was found guilty of three counts of trafficking in drugs and had her sentencing set for June 7. The court also moved to consolidate this charge with Williams’ previous charges and to maintain bond at $100,000 cash, surety, or property.

Judge Andrew Ballard did not hold court on Wednesday.