Sign Suit is Settled

A Mingo County sign maker has settled a lawsuit with county officials over his arrest. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that an insurance company agreed to pay sign maker George White $120,000 on behalf of the Mingo County Commission, former county commissioner David Baisden, the city of Williamson and former Williamson police chief David Rockel. White had been arrested in 2013 and convicted on felony drug charges. He later filed a lawsuit, arguing that then-sheriff Eugene Crum had arranged for a confidential police informant to frame White of selling oxycodone tablets. White says Crum had him arrested instead of paying a $3,000 debt for campaign signs. White’s conviction was eventually thrown out after Mingo circuit judge Michael Thornsbury and former Mingo prosecuting attorney Michael Sparks pleaded guilty to related charges.