Second man arrested for lying to police about slaying
An Ohio man has been arrested in the shooting death of Bennett K. “Ben” Hatfield in a Mingo County cemetery Monday, The Charleston Gazette reported this morning.
Anthony R. Arriaga, 20, was arrested at about 2 a.m. in Allen County, Ohio by police with the Allen County Sheriff’s Office, according to Mingo County Sheriff James Smith.
He said police have not determined a motive.
Hatfield, an engineer and longtime coal company executive who worked for Massey Energy and Arch Coal, was found dead from a gunshot wound in a Mingo County cemetery Monday, according to Smith.
Smith said Hatfield’s body was found at about 6:30 a.m. Monday over a hill at Mountain View Memory Gardens, in Maher, outside Williamson. Hatfield’s wife, Debbie, who died in 2009, is buried at that cemetery, according to her obituary. The couple had been married 25 years when she lost her battle with breast cancer.
Smith said a man who lived near the cemetery told police that Arriaga showed up at his home wearing only his underwear. Arriaga allegedly told the man that he fell in the river, and gave the man $45 to drive him to a Rite-Aid in Wayne County.
Ricky Dean Peterson, 20, of Wayne, was also arrested on Monday night for allegedly lying to police about the slaying. Arriaga allegedly went to Peterson’s home after the shooting and told him about it, according to a criminal complaint filed in Wayne County Magistrate Court.
But when police interviewed Peterson on Monday night, he allegedly said he knew nothing about it. Two other people who live at the home told police that Arriaga did in fact go to the home and tell Peterson about the shooting, according to the complaint.
Peterson is charged with obstruction, providing false information to a trooper and being an accessory after the fact. While he was detained, he allegedly repeatedly disobeyed requests to remain still and silent and not open kitchen drawers and cabinets. While being transported to Western Regional Jail, he also allegedly told the officer he would provide him with “valuable information” if the trooper took him home, the complaint says.
Police said a handgun they believe was used in the shooting was located Tuesday afternoon. Clothes that police believe belong to Arriaga were found near the cemetery on Monday.
Hatfield was CEO of International Coal Group in 2006, when that company’s Sago Mine, in Upshur County, blew up, killing 12 miners.
Later, he was chief executive officer of Patriot Coal, amid that company’s first of two Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings.
Last year, he joined the board of directors of St. Louis-based Foresight Energy, which has operations in the Illinois basin and was founded by West Virginia native and billionaire coal operator Chris Cline.
His twin brother, Dennis Hatfield, also is a longtime official with various coal operations, including Massey.
The Mingo County Sheriff’s Department is investigating, with assistance from the West Virginia State Police.
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By Erin Beck
Reach Erin Beck at erin.beck@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5163,
