The Buckhannon man whom police allege paid someone to kill 29-year-old Joshua Oberg had his preliminary hearing continued Tuesday in Upshur County Magistrate Court.
Rodolpho Correa Villagomez, 32, is facing a charge of being an accessory before the fact to first-degree murder. He is being held without bond in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail.
His attorney, Russell Stobbs, asked that the hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to warrant grand jury consideration be delayed in order to give him more time to prepare. Stobbs stated in his motion to Magistrate Juanita Adams that he had only been appointed to the case five days earlier.
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Villagomez
No date has been set for the hearing. Villagomez also agreed to waive the 10-day period in which these hearings are required to be held.
According to the criminal complaint in Magistrate Court, Villagomez is believed to have paid Jesse Lee Heater a "substantial" amount of cash some time after Oberg's disappearance on Jan. 23. Oberg's remains were discovered July 23 in a shallow grave along Bull Run Road after police received information from a confidential informant as to its location and to those allegedly involved in Oberg's death. Heater was taken into custody that same day, and Villagomez was arrested the following day.
Heater is charged with first-degree murder, and he is being held without bond in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail. He was scheduled to be in a preliminary hearing Monday, but his attorney asked that it be continued. No date for his hearing has been scheduled.
The third defendant in this alleged murder-for-hire case, Robert Eugene Siron III, 30, of Weston, is scheduled to have his preliminary hearing before Magistrate Juanita Adams at 1:15 p.m. Thursday. It had been scheduled for Monday, but his attorney also asked for it to be continued. Siron, however, did not waive the 10-day period.
Siron is being held without bond at the North Central Regional Jail, and he is facing a first-degree murder charge. Siron is being held at a separate facility at the request of Upshur County Prosecuting Attorney Jacob Reger.
According to the criminal complaint, Siron was an eyewitness to Oberg's death and allegedly received a cash payment from Heater at some point afterward.
Police are also looking into a link between the July 18 disappearance of Luke Stout and the death of Oberg. West Virginia State Police investigators have reported they have received numerous calls indicating the two events may be related.
Contact John Wickline by email at jwickline@theintermountain.com.
