Investigator says Marion Co. prosecutor slandered him online

FAIRMONT – An attorney for a veteran investigator has filed an emergency motion for an expedited hearing after he says the Marion County Prosecuting Attorney defamed his client on social media before responding to a motion to dismiss the “bogus” charge against “a dedicated public servant.”

The emergency motion, filed November 5 in Marion County Magistrate Court, says Prosecuting Attorney Jeff Freeman defamed Lowell J. Maxey with “libelous and patently false public statements.”

Last month, a State Police Trooper filed a criminal complaint charging Maxey with working as a private investigator without a license. The complaint was filed in relation to another filed against Elgine McArdle, the former head of the state Republican Party and recent state Supreme Court applicant, who was charged with 13 counts of violating the confidentiality of recorded interviews of a child.

McArdle represented Ryan Lane, a member of the Pagan’s Motorcycle club accused of being involved in the 2022 murder of Henry Silver. The trial ended in a hung jury and mistrial. McArdle hired Maxey to work on the case for her.

Maxey’s motion to dismiss, filed November 3 in Marion County Magistrate Court, says he is a lifelong West Virginian with “an unblemished record of honorable and devoted public service. He worked for the State Police for 13 years before joining federal law enforcement as a Senior Special Agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.

Maxey, 73, also oversaw the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. He later became a special investigator, contracting for the Federal Bureau of Investigations. He also is a former Bridgeport city councilman.

In the latest motion, Maxey asks the court for an emergency expedited hearing on his motion to dismiss as soon as possible.

It goes on to say Freeman commented on a Facebook post with a link to a news story about Maxey’s motion to dismiss.

“Well, he certainly does not fit any of those exceptions he references,” Freeman wrote, referring to state code exceptions that allow an investigator to work without a license. “He is not a lawyer, counselor at law or a member or employee of McCardle’s (sic) law office. He was engaged/hired and operated for months as a private investigator … and did not have a license. Moreover, if he indeed is still engaged in or with federal law enforcement agencies or an elected public official, he is likely prohibited from obtaining such a license.

“With approximately 500 felony cases and 4,000 misdemeanor cases, we really don’t have time to pursue any personal vendettas, but do have a duty to prosecute offenders we know of, no matter their perceived station in life.”

In the emergency motion for hearing, attorney Mike Hissam calls the charge against Maxey “farcical,” “meritless” and “shameful.” He also says Freeman decided to “double down on this shameful endeavor to slander a dedicated public servant.”

“It is difficult to know how to begin, but yet again, in attempting to smear Mr. Maxey, the Prosecuting Attorney has actually neatly explained precisely why Mr. Maxey did not commit any crime,” Hissam wrote. “As the comment acknowledges, ‘he was engaged/hired (by McArdle) and operated for months as a private investigator.’ …

“Attorney Freeman has intentionally omitted the relevant statutory language, which unambiguously exempts any ‘representative of’ an attorney from the licensing requirement. The people of Marion County deserve better from their elected Prosecuting Attorney, who has a responsibility to accurately describe state law.”

Hissam also writes that Freeman, as an officer of the court, is “ethically prohibited from ‘making extrajudicial comments that have a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation of the accused.’”

“In his quest to defame Mr. Maxey, attorney Freeman has intentionally ignored the irrefutable fact, admitted in the complaint, that Mr. Maxey was serving at all times as a ‘representative of’ Ms. McArdle and her law firm,” the motion states. “Thus, Mr. Maxey falls squarely within the exception that Mr. Freeman derisively (and inaccurately) claims does not apply.

“Nonetheless, the elected Marion County prosecutor has taken it upon himself to publicly attack Mr. Maxey, tarnish his reputation in the community and spread outright misinformation about the law.

“The engagement by the senior law enforcement official in the county heightens the urgency of dismissing this baseless charge and exacerbates the harm to Mr. Maxey every day that this lingers.”

The filing includes copies of the applicable state code regarding private investigative licensing requirements as well as documents from the state Secretary of State’s office about the exemptions for private investigators.

In Maxey’s November 3 motion to dismiss, Hissam called the charges an effort “to intimidate and defame” Maxey. He also said Marion County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Sean Murphy is “the source of these bogus allegations.”

“He proudly carries an unblemished record of service that the state has wrongfully sought to tarnish through this baseless charge and public assault on his character,” that motion states. “Maxey was engaged, and entered a signed agreement, with Ms. McArdle to conduct expert work on the defendant’s behalf and to assist in the defendant’s investigation on behalf of attorney McArdle beginning in April 2025.

“That is precisely what Mr. Maxey proceeded to do. He investigated the case, conducted some interviews, attended hearings and conducted other standard investigative practices. Additionally, in June of 2025, he secured some photographs that were ultimately relevant and admitted into evidence at trial.”

Maxey’s motion says none of this was a secret because he was disclosed as a defense witness and proposed expert. He also was present at most hearings, and materials he had collected were part of the case.

“Incredibly, this reality was even known to Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Sean Murphy, who … is the source of thee bogus allegations,” the complaint states, adding Murphy approached Maxey at a related hearing in July “to convince Mr. Maxey, as a member of the defendant’s team, to persuade the defendant to accept Mr. Muphy’s plea offer.”

“Accordingly, there can be no dispute that the relationship between the parties was known,” the motion states. “Moreover, at trial, Mr. Maxey was put forth as a witness for the defense and challenged by the state. The exculpatory photographs that Mr. Maxey obtained as an investigator were ultimately admitted into evidence at trial.”

A mistrial in the Lane case was declared September 3. A follow-up motion hearing was scheduled for October 28. On October 23, the state filed the charges against McArdle and Maxey based upon “information from the Marion County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.”

“The facial absurdity and outrageousness of the charges against Mr. Maxey did not thwart the State Troopers from arresting Mr. Maxey in his home on the very date that the hearing in the defendant’s case was supposed to take place,” the motion states. “Worse yet, the state has further slandered and attacked Mr. Maxey with frivolous allegations and plainly offensive insinuations in its sensational Motion for a Gag Order filed in the Lane matter, devoid of any citations or legal support.

“It is amidst this astounding backdrop that the state has seemingly decided to file this facially defective and retaliatory charge against Mr. Maxey that is frivolous as best and may warrant sanctions or other remedies at worst.”

The motion seeks to have dismissed with prejudice.

“Lawfare has reached a new low,” the motion states. “In an egregious effort to weaponize the courts to smear a decorated career law enforcement official, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office has concocted facially baseless charges against Mr. Maxey that fail on their own merits.

“The charges must be immediately dismissed with prejudice to prevent any further injustice and to put a stop to a transparent abuse of the criminal justice system.”

It also says Maxey reserves the rights and remedies related to “the improper circumstances precipitating this charge.” The motion says the applicable state code says employees or representatives of attorneys aren’t included in the rule regarding having an investigator license.

It also says Murphy knew the code regarding working as private investigator without license does not apply to Maxey “but urged the charge anyway.”

“This was plainly obvious, and the decision to bring this charge raises serious constitutional and ethical concerns,” the motion states. “Thus, it is hard to conjure a legitimate law enforcement basis to bring the charge. But given the facial defects in the complaint, the court need not reach those troubling questions of vindictiveness, retaliation or harassment. …

“Because Mr. Maxey was working as the employee and representative of a licensed practicing attorney, neither the complaint nor the warrant for this matter successfully alleges a criminal offense under the West Virginia Code.

“In other words, the complaint is inadequate on its face. The unhinged conduct from the state should be halted today.”

Marion County Magistrate Court case number 25-M24M-02680