Accused murderer Robert A. Maine Jr. was sound asleep Saturday evening in a Wheeling cave when West Virginia State Police Sergeant J.A. Laing placed him in handcuffs.
The 30-year-old resident of 14 Rose St., New Martinsville, is being held in the Northern Regional Jail on a charge of murder following a well-orchestrated manhunt that involved multiple law enforcement agencies. Robert Maine is accused of shooting his 30-year-old cousin, Gregory G. Maine Jr., at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday in the Rose Street residence following an argument.
Laing, of the Paden City Detachment, said Robert Maine was taken into custody at about 6:15 p.m. Saturday in the mouth of the Lewis Wetzel Cave in the Tunnel Green Section of Wheeling.
Laing said he organized a search team of members of the West Virginia State Police, the Ohio County Sheriff's Department and the Wheeling Police Department after receiving a tip the murder suspect was hiding in the Wheeling area.
Laing said his search team initially looked for Robert Maine at a home in the Tunnel Green section of Wheeling. According to Laing, Robert Maine later told investigators he needed rest, but he feared police would track him down if he slept in the East Wheeling home.
"We were actually able to apply the handcuffs without waking him up," Laing said. "The tip was well founded, and citizens in East Wheeling were crucial in providing on-the-spot info that he'd departed prior to our arrival. That's what set the manhunt on the trail and in the woods in motion. That's when we began to tighten the noose."
Laing said, after he received the tip, it took only 12 minutes for the search to begin. He commended all the officers involved and Wheeling Police Department search dog Hyco for their efforts in the arrest.
"It was high-intensity stuff no doubt about it," Laing said of the search.
Gregory Maine initially was transported to Wetzel County Hospital, but he was then taken Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, where he was pronounced dead. The New Martinsville Police Department is investigating the shooting.