Defense attorney criticizes Marion prosecutor’s tactics, demands his removal

FAIRMONT – A murder suspect in a high-profile Marion County case has filed an objection to the prosecutor’s motion seeking a gag order and/or to disqualify defense counsel.

In his November 6 response to the state’s motion, Ryan Lane also asks the court to disqualify Marion County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Sean Murphy from the case for alleged misconduct in handling the caes.

Lane, a member of the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club, is accused of being involved in the 2022 murder of Henry Silver. The Marion County Prosecuting Attorney’s office didn’t secure the conviction of Lane earlier this year when the trial ended in a hung jury and mistrial.

Lane is being represented by attorney Elgine McArdle, the former chairwoman of the state Republican Party and recent state Supreme Court applicant. McArdle recently was charged with 13 counts of violating the confidentiality of recorded interviews of a child related to the Lane case, and a defense investigator was charged with working without proper licensing.

“Unable to prove its case against defendant Lane using perjured testimony and abuse of process, the state, acting by APA Murphy and law enforcement officers he directs, have doubled down on its prosecutorial misconduct,” Lane’s response states. “It has done so through violation of the attorney client privilege, the malicious prosecution of the defense team and its latest Motion for a Protective/Gag Order and/or Disqualification of Elgine McArdle for ‘alleged belligerent and confrontational approach and … repeated personal attacks upon the representatives of the state.’”

Lane’s motion, filed by McArdle, says the Marion County Prosecuting Attorney’s office has engaged in “a tactical attempt to deny defendant Lane his Sixth Amendment right to counsel.” It says Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Sean Murphy “seeks to retry defendant Lane without the benefit of his current defense team – a defense team which pushed back within the bounds of the West Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct and the Rule of Law to expose APA Murphy’s false narrative at trial.”

In the response, McArdle writes that the prosecutors’ conduct “from the onset of this case has displayed an arrogant disregard for the sanctity of judicial procedure and police processes.”

“Murphy’s conduct in this case has violated every sense of decency, respect for the ethical standards required of prosecutors, the Rule of Law and most importantly defendant’s constitutional right to due process by purposeful use of purported relevant and incriminating evidence, asserted to be within the personal knowledge and possession of a child witness,” the response states. “Upon this purported evidence, the state created its narrative of a crime then initiated a plan to target individuals, take advantage of a minor child and suborn perjury, all in an attempt to convict defendant Lane of crimes he simply did not commit.

“The state’s conduct through its APA Sean Murphy has been nothing short of outrageous such that a retrial of this case would violate due process and shock the universal sense of justice. Dismissal of the charges against an innocent man is the only valid remedy.”

Lane’s response says the West Virginia Department of Corrections wrongfully recorded a conversation between Lane and former attorney Stanton Levenson which it says Murphy is using to “form the basis” of his motion. It also says Murphy has alleged, in filings, of death threats being made against witnesses and others involved in the case, which he says warrants the removal of McArdle and her investigator as “the only way to ensure the safety of those involved.”

McArdle also says Murphy’s admitted use of the jail phone call of attorney client communication violates DOC policy and his ethical duties as a prosecutor.

“The reality and truth regarding APA Murphy’s ‘belief’ was addressed at Ryan Lane’s trial wherein not only did witnesses testify that they had never been threatened for their testimony, even the state’s own investigating detective swore under oath that no witnesses had ever been threatened in the entirety of his Pagan investigation,” Lane’s response states. “To now imply that after a mistrial of defendant Lane, the witnesses are now being threatened flies in the face of logic.”

Regarding the state’s request for a gag order, McArdle disputes Murphy’s claims regarding media contact.

“As to APA Murphy’s allegations that the defense team took part in the victim’s father’s exclusive interview on WDTV wherein he professed defendant Lane’s innocence, the record and a simple subpoena to the television station will confirm that the victim’s father himself pre-arranged that interview professing defendant Lane’s innocence,” Lane’s response states. “APA Murphy’s request for a gag order continues to be motivated by his desire to silence the defense.”

McArdle also references the charges brought her and her investigator.

“Murphy’s continued misconduct throughout this case has now risen to the level of filing criminal charges against defendant Lane’s defense team with a goal of creating a conflict of interest and seeking their disqualification,” the response states. “His cumulative misconduct in this case has demonstrated a concerted use of improper methods calculated to produce a wrongful conviction of an innocent man.”

Lane asks the court to deny Murphy’s motion to disqualify defense counsel and to deny Murphy’s motion to impose a gag order on defense counsel. HE also asks the court to declare Murphy’s alleged prosecutorial misconduct in attempting to intentionally create a conflict of interest requires his disqualification in the further prosecution of Lane, thus requiring the appointment of a special prosecutor.

Lane was granted a $500,000 cash/surety bond in September. He is being held on home confinement. If there is a new trial, it will begin in January.

Marion Circuit Court case number 24-F-59 (Lane), Marion County Magistrate Court case number 25-M24M-02681 (McArdle)