BREAKING: BECKLEY, W.V. (LOOTPRESS) – A Raleigh County man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison, the maximum sentence for the charge of second-degree murder. The sentencing was held via Microsoft Teams on Tuesday, January 18, 2022, with Judge Darl W. Poling presiding.
Roger Lee Plumley II, 45, was charged with first-degree murder for the shooting and killing of Brian Ruffin in Dec. of 2020. In November of 2021, he accepted a Kennedy plea for second-degree murder, meaning he did not have to admit guilt to the charge, and has since maintained that he is innocent.
On Tuesday, Raleigh County Prosecuting Attorney Ben Hatfield asked that the court sentence Plumley to 40 years, given his extensive criminal record which, over 14 pages, chronicles close to 100 separate incidents spanning from his current murder charge to drug possession, robbery, driving under the influence, and more. The record also includes several federal charges.
Defense Attorney, Robert Dunlap could not argue with the number of charges his client has accumulated but did state that many of them were traffic violations or misdemeanors and have been dismissed by pleas or other arrangements.
Plumley continued to claim innocence during the sentencing, stating that he only took the plea to save his girlfriend, Sara Raimey, from charges she had sustained for her involvement in Ruffin’s murder.
After reviewing the presentencing investigation, Poling stated that the court had to take into account Plumley’s criminal record, attitude and character, and lack of proactiveness to explain and prove his innocence when given the opportunity to do so. For these reasons, Poling sentenced Plumley to the maximum of 40 years.
Plumley, who was placed in the custody of the West Virginia Division of Corrections (DOC), will be eligible for parole after 10 years.