Staff photo/RACHEL DOVE Patrolmen Jarrod Marcum, far left and Jeff Taylor, with the Williamson Police to Department, stand next to Assistant Prosecutor Matt Chandler, center, during the preliminary hearing of Shy-Quon Johnson, who stands next to his attorney, Ron Rumora, far right.

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By RACHEL C. DOVE

Staff Writer

WILLIAMSON - Two males that were arrested on multiple charges relating to two separate burglary and robbery charges entered guilty pleas for a petit larceny charge on Thursday during a preliminary hearing held in magistrate court, and waived their felony charges of burglary and robbery to the grand jury.

Steven Christopher Davidson, 27, of Turkey Creek, Ky., and Shy-Quon Brandt Johnson, 28, of Williamson, had been arrested earlier this week by officers with the Williamson Police Department and each were charged with two counts each of burglary, one count of robbery, one count of receiving/transferring stolen property and one count of petit larceny. These charges stemmed from two separate and unrelated burglaries within the City of Williamson.

The first set of charges involved the two defendants allegedly stealing an Xbox 360 game console from a home on March 11. The second burglary reportedly occurred when the males broke into the home of an 85-year-old Williamson man’s residence on March 4, shoved him to the floor and removed $340 in cash from the victim’s pocket before exiting the home.

Both defendants appeared before Magistrate Dee Sidebottom Thursday morning for their preliminary hearings. Davidson was represented by Attorney Diana Weidal-Carter and Attorney Ron Rumora was legal counsel for Johnson.

A plea agreement was made between the prosecutor and the defendants that would dismiss one burglary count and the receiving/transferring stolen property charges if a guilty plea was entered for the petit larceny charges. The defendants accepted, and were both sentenced to 6 months jail time and a required restitution of $300 from each to the victim.

Davidson and Johnson waived the felony charges of burglary and robbery to the grand jury. Johnson also entered a guilty plea to one charge of failure to report earnings after a criminal complaint was filed by the State of West Virginia.

The Logan Branch of the West Virginia Department of Employment Security discovered that the defendant had allegedly received unemployment benefits totaling $3,000 while he was incarcerated, which made him ineligible for the funds. Johnson was ordered to pay restitution for the amount he fraudulently received from the state.

Both Davidson and Johnson were remanded back to the Southwestern Regional Jail, in Holden, where they both remain on a $100,000 bond. The defendants will begin serving the 6 month sentence for the petit larceny guilty plea, and will appear in the near future in circuit court to face the charges waived to the grand jury.