Grand jury indicts Weirton man on murder charge
NEW CUMBERLAND — A Weirton man charged with murdering a woman four months ago was indicted this week by a Hancock County grand jury, one of 19 indictments returned during the January term.
Jordan Lee Pager, 3025 Elm St., was ordered to stand trial on charges of murder and wanton endangerment involving a firearm.
Pager, 30, allegedly shot a female companion to death in the early morning hours of Sept. 29, then walked outside still carrying the gun and pointed it at two female paramedics. Authorities said Pager was tazed when he didn’t put the weapon down. They also allege he “made the comment that (he) killed (his) family.”
The victim, Taylor M. Albert, 30, was shot in the face and died at the scene. No motive has been given for the shooting, but authorities believe Pager had ingested psychedelic mushrooms.
Indictments also were returned against:
• Blake John Montgomery, 101 Paul Ave., Weirton, wanton endangerment involving a firearm; attempting to enter a building other than a dwelling and battery. Authorities allege Montgomery, 19, released the slide on a gun so it could be fired after he was denied entry into a Weirton bar because of his age, then threatened to fire it. A second count alleges Montgomery on another occasion slapped someone in the face.
• Brian Kenneth Nicosia, 41, 2729 Cleveland Ave., Steubenville, entry of a building other than a dwelling; two counts of person prohibited from possessing a firearm; wanton endangerment involving a firearm; petit larceny; fleeing on foot from a police officer; destruction of property and trespassing a structure or conveyance. Authorities allege Nicosia had been squatting in a man’s house for three weeks, gaining entry by breaking a basement window, and pointed one of two guns in his possession at the homeowner returned home and found him there. The house was not otherwise damaged, but they allege he did break into a storage shed and stole the gasoline in a 55-gallon drum, they said.
• Daniel James Smith, 35, 367 Grandview Ave., Chester, threats of terroristic acts. Smith, 35, allegedly used social media to threaten sheriff’s deputies, suggesting they were going to be “sent to a higher power” and “karma, in the form of a projectile” was going to go their way, authorities said.
• Tammy L. Talkington, 351 Thurman Ave., Weirton, intimidation of a witness. Authorities allege Talkington, 53, spotted an individual she believed was a primary witness against her in connection with pending drug charges and started “cussing and screaming at her, telling her to leave and go sign papers against somebody else.”
• Sabastian Seth Chipps, 18, 1480 Northview Road, Wellsburg, two counts of wanton endangerment involving a firearm, shooting a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling and possession of stolen property, a gun. Chipps allegedly fired a gun in the direction of houses in one Weirton neighborhood and a trailer in another, with one of the bullets found lodged in the trailer, authorities said.
• Frank John Robinson, 213 Crawford Ave., Wintersville, escape and failure to appear. Authorities allege Robinson, 35, had been given four days on house arrest to get his affairs in order before reporting to the Northern Regional Jail to begin serving his sentence for a firearm violation, but, instead, “cut his ankle bracelet off and threw it in the Ohio River.” Prior to his alleged escape they said Robinson, who was apprehended, had been convicted of possessing a firearm despite a prior felony conviction that made it unlawful for him to have or use guns.
• David Robert Johnson, 37, 127 Estes Ave., Apt. 1, Weirton, two counts of escape. Authorities allege Johnson had been charged with drug offenses and was released on house arrest, but cut his ankle monitor off and dumped it along Culler Road, Weirton. He was apprehended several months later and was to enter a recovery program downstate but “was there about an hour when he took the ankle bracelet off and threw it” in a parking lot, they said.
• Scott Edward Hudson, 55, 643 Commerce St., New Cumberland, entry of a building other than a dwelling and attempted grand larceny. Hudson allegedly entered a barn in the New Cumberland area and loaded “a bunch of equipment” on a Kubota tractor, then when the owner showed up unexpectedly, he tried to flee, but the property owner was able to prevent him from leaving, authorities said.
• Xanderake J. Gaston , 21, 113 Rome Street, Weirton, distributing and exhibiting material depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Gaston, 21, allegedly had 51,599 pornographic images and videos involving juveniles, some of them prepubescent, on his cellphone, authorities said.
• Raymond Earnest Masters Jr., 55, 57 Prospect Lane, Chester, failure to register as a sex offender, second offence. Authorities allege Masters failed to notified West Virginia State Police within the requisite 72-hour deadline that he had been incarcerated in Ohio for a day. the West Virginia State Police learned of his incarceration eight days later, they said. Earlier in 2024, Masters had been charged with failing to register social media accounts.
• Ashley Nicole Johnson, 233 Miami Ave, Weirton, three counts of sexual abuse by a custodian and two counts of third degree sexual assault. Johnson, 37, allegedly had sex with multiple children under the age of 18 who were visiting the house, including one who said he woke up to find her naked and on top of him and another who at age 13 became involved with her, authorities said.
• Dakota Scott Wertz, 24, 1005 Grant St, Newell, second degree sexual assault, strangulation, suffocation, domestic battery and driving under the influence of alcohol.
• Melissa Sue Dale-Pickell, 45, 213 Grant St., Newell, six counts of child neglect resulting in injury. Authorities allege six juveniles and one other adult female were living in “abhorrent conditions” in the home, along with 17 dogs and cats. Police reported finding animal feces throughout the home and insect bites on the childrens’ legs.
• Ugurcan Dagli, 2703 Cleveland Ave., Steubenville, two counts of obtaining money by false pretences. Dagli, 32, allegedly obtained cash advances from two families for renovation projects that weren’t completed. Authorities allege Dagli obtained $1,500 advance from one family for a new sidewalk, and $8,000 from another for an interior remodel, then never showed up to do the work or return their money.
• Brian Keith Ziarko, 52, 1221 Swearingen Road, Weirton, and Donald William Myler, 51, indicted separately on charges of entry of a building other than a dwelling and conspiracy. Authorities allege the two entered Cleveland-Cliff’s property in October and removed copper from the site.
• John James Thompson, 32, 139 Eighth St., Colliers, 24 counts of fraudulently using an access device. Thompson allegedly photographed the front and back of a credit card belonging to a woman who gave him a ride, then used it to deposit money into his Draft Kings account and pay somebody through PayPal, authorities said. The alleged theft totaled upward of $3,000.
• Jamal Everett Grace, 19, 3012 Elm St., Weirton, entry of a building other than a dwelling and destruction of property. Grace allegedly threw a brick through the window of the downtown Subway in Weirton, then told friends about it, authorities said.