KEYSER — Almost a year to the day after embezzlement and false-pretenses charges against him were dismissed, former Keyser Councilman Marques Rice filed suit against Mineral County Circuit Judge Lynn Nelson, accusing the former prosecutor of malicious prosecution in bringing the original charges.
Rice filed suit in Kanawha Circuit Court Jan. 26 seeking unspecified damages, court costs and attorney fees, according to a Feb. 5 story in The Record, West Virginia’s legal journal. Named as co-defendants in the suit are former Keyser Councilman George McNeil and Sgt. J.M. Droppleman of the West Virginia State, who investigated the case.
Contacted Monday, Nelson dismissed the lawsuit as “a crock”
“What you’ll find when the evidence comes in is that witnesses changed their stories,” he said. “That’s why this case was dismissed.”
 In filing the suit, Rice alleged that he’s suffered “past, present and future pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, annoyance, aggravation, inconvenience and psychological distress,” according to The Record story.
Following a three-year investigation, Rice, 39, was charged in September, 2008 with embezzlement of approximately $3,000 and making false pretenses. Both are felony offenses.
The embezzlement charge involved a $550,000, multi-year contract the city had with a local contractor to remove aging and dead trees from the community. The city had contracted with the tree service to cut trees in 8 to 10-foot lengths and haul them to the city's ruble fill, where city residents would be able to cut them into fireplace length for their own use.
According to law enforcement officials, Rice directed the tree service to cut the wood into fireplace length and haul it to his own property. The amount of money referred to in the embezzlement charge was based on about 30 loads of firewood delivered to Rice, at cost to the city of $70-$100 per load. No evidence was presented that Rice had sold the wood.
The second charge  involved a city-owned heavy duty sprayer valued at approximately $40,000, which is used to clean sewer lines and septic tanks. A city employee had borrowed the sprayer for his personal use and while returning the equipment to the city garage, was involved in an accident that destroyed the sprayer. According to the charges, Rice feared that the insurance company would not reimburse the city for the loss if the equipment was being used for non-city business, and directed staff to alter details of the claim report.
On Jan. 28, 2009, Judge Andrew Frye dismissed both charges after brief presentation in which newly elected Prosecutor Jay Courrier acknowledged that the case against Rice would not stand up in a trial that was set to begin the next week.
Contacted Monday at his Keyser home, Rice declined to comment. His attorney, Charleston lawyer Katherine Dooley, did not return a call seeking comment.
In his suit, Rice alleges that the indictment against him was based on “unsubstantiated, fraudulent (and) false information” that McNeil provided and that both Droppleman — the investigating officer — and then-Prosecutor Nelson both accepted.
Furthermore, The Record story states, Rice alleges that Nelson took a personal interest in the case “when he met with Defendant McNeill and others searching for clues and corroboration to present a case against (him) to the Grand Jury.” Also, “Nelson functioned as an advocate, preparing for the prosecution of Plaintiff Rice before investigators amassed probable cause and before an indictment was appropriate,” the story states.
According to Rice’s lawsuit, Nelson was prepared to present a case against Rice to the Mineral County grand jury during its May, 2008 term. However, Rice maintains in the suit that the case was not made at that time because another State Trooper assigned to the case, J.E. Whisner, “would not provide testimony regarding the city of Keyser cases because he was aware of the lack of probable cause.”
Nelson said Monday that such lawsuits come with the territory for prosecuting attorneys.
“I was sued seven times in the 20-plus years I was a prosecutor,” he said.
The case has been assigned to Kanawha Circuit Judge Carrie Webster.
Four months later, Droppleman appeared before the grand jury to make a case against Rice.
To view the entire story in The Record, visit www.wvrecord.com, and look under “News” for Kanawha County.