RAINELLE, WV (LOOTPRESS) — A Rainelle woman is facing charges after deputies say she shot her boyfriend inside a van, then attempted to mislead investigators by claiming the incident was a random attack in town.
According to the Greenbrier County Sheriff’s Department, deputies responded around 5:13 p.m. Monday to a report of a man suffering from a gunshot wound at a home on Eleventh Street in Rainelle. When Corporal T.T. Hyatt arrived minutes later, he found John Booker Lafferty lying in the back seat of a van with a gunshot wound to the left side of his chest and abdomen.
Lafferty initially told deputies he had been shot by an unknown person while walking near 13th Street and Greenbrier Avenue. However, investigators quickly determined his story did not align with the evidence.
Inside the van, deputies found a .22-caliber revolver in a black backpack near where Lafferty had been lying. The firearm contained one spent casing, indicating it had recently been fired. Investigators concluded that Lafferty and his girlfriend, Stephanie Faye Bennett, were alone inside the van at the time of the shooting — contradicting both of their statements.
After being confronted with the discovery of the weapon, Lafferty changed his account and told deputies that Bennett shot him.
Bennett was interviewed after being read her Miranda rights. She admitted the gun belonged to her and had been in her purse while she and Lafferty were inside the vehicle. She claimed Lafferty grabbed the firearm from her purse and that the gun discharged as she tried to take it back. Bennett said the weapon fell into Lafferty’s lap and that he exited the vehicle, saying, “You shot me,” before asking her to drive him to the Eleventh Street residence.
Deputies say the couple then agreed to fabricate a false story, hid the gun inside Bennett’s backpack, and chose not to call 911 — despite having two cell phones in the vehicle.
Investigators noted that the location of the wound was inconsistent with a self-inflicted injury based on Bennett’s account.
After reviewing the physical evidence and statements, deputies determined there was probable cause to charge Bennett with malicious assault. She was arrested, processed at the Lewisburg Detachment, and taken to Southern Regional Jail to await arraignment.
The investigation remains ongoing.
