Trial Delayed for the man Accused of Killing Former Coal Exec

A judge has delayed the trial for one of two men charged in the fatal shooting of a former coal executive in southern West Virginia. The Gazette-Mail reports that Mingo County Circuit Court Judge Miki Thompson granted a motion from the attorney for 22-year-old Anthony Raheem Arriaga asking for the delay. The trial is now set to start on Oct. 16. Arriaga and 19-year-old Brandon Fitzpatrick are charged with murder in the May 2016 death of Bennett “Ben” Hatfield who was visiting his wife’s gravesite when he was shot. He resigned in 2015 as Patriot Coal’s president and CEO. Prosecutors say the men killed Hatfield as part of a scheme to steal his vehicle and sell its parts. Fitzpatrick’s trial is scheduled to start on Oct. 5.