A Kanawha judge on Monday doubled the bail amount of a man accused of spreading sulfuric acid at his ex-girlfriend's St. Albans home after learning the man was allegedly trying to make arrangements from jail to hurt the woman.
Kanawha prosecutors made the request to increase Charles T. Hatfield's bail after his cellmate contacted police out of fear for Hatfield's ex-girlfriend.
Hatfield, 53, who is charged with "felony attempt to injure or kill by poison," tried to pay his cellmate at South Central Regional Jail to burn down his ex-girlfriend's house and "knock her teeth out," assistant Kanawha prosecutor Maryclaire Akers said Monday.
He has been held on a $25,000 bond, with the option to pay 10-percent cash, since August, when he was charged with spreading sulfuric acid, also known as battery acid, and other substances, on Robynn Burton's property on Sutherland Drive.
Burton had watched Hatfield allegedly on her property from a live surveillance feed on her phone, police said at the time.
Michael Hoover contacted police and said that Hatfield, his cellmate at the time, had offered him $8,000 to burn down Burton's home and injure her, Akers told Kanawha Circuit Judge James Stucky on Monday.
Hoover first asked his mother to contact police and told her what Hatfield allegedly said. He feared for Burton's safety, Akers said Monday.
Detectives with the Kanawha Sheriff's Office confirmed that Hoover had told his mother about Hatfield by listening to a recording of the phone calls he made from the jail, Akers said.
In addition to increasing Hatfield's bond, Akers also asked Stucky to deny a petition recently filed by William Harris to post Hatfield's bond.
Harris is operating as a bondsman in the county without a license, Akers said.
David Hill, Hatfield's attorney, asked the judge to leave the bond amount as is or possibly require him to be monitored by GPS if released. He added prosecutors shouldn't have waited to bring the new allegations until he was about to get out of jail.
"He will stay away from that woman," Hill said.
After hearing from Burton, who testified Monday that she is scared of Hatfield, the judge increased Hatfield's bond amount to $50,000, or 10-percent cash. Stucky also ordered that Harris "not be accepted as a bondsman because he is not licensed in Kanawha County to post bonds."
According to the criminal complaint against Hatfield, when St. Albans officers arrived at Burton's house, they noticed a chemical odor, that the plants and flowers were wet, and that a granular substance was in the front yard and on the front porch. They also saw that the plants and flowers were rapidly deteriorating.
The liquid substance was also tested and determined to be sulfuric acid. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, exposure to sulfuric acid can cause irritation, bronchitis, emphysema, pink eye, dental erosion, eye and skin burns, dermatitis and pulmonary edema, a condition caused by excessive fluid in the lungs. Samples were found on the vegetation, the air conditioning unit and entry key pad for the woman's garage door.
Police could not immediately identify the other granular substance. Samples have been sent to the State Police Crime Lab for identification.
Also according to the complaint, Hatfield's cell phone records show he sent a text message to Robin Looney on Aug. 3 that stated, "I think tomorrow I'm going to call the HR department at the hospital and turn Robin in for drug abuse lol."
The next day, Hatfield allegedly texted Looney, "I want her dead lol. I get Joy just thinking about it lol," the complaint states.
Hatfield allegedly told police he sprayed the acid on the plants to "take care of them" and said he was cleaning the keypad at Burton's residence.
Burton had installed security cameras and obtained a domestic violence protective order after she broke up with Hatfield, according to police. The criminal complaint states that the protective order was not extended, but that Kanawha Family Judge Sharon Mullens had told Hatfield to stay away from Burton.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.