A West Virginia man accused of leaving his teenage son at a Princeton convenience store this summer was among indictments issued this month by the Caldwell County Grand Jury.
A true bill was returned on John Richard Ellis, of West Union, on a charge of abandonment of a minor.
According to Princeton Police, officers responded to the Princeton Food Mart on Marion Road on August 12, where a 17-year-old reported that his father had left him there. The teenager claimed they were traveling from Illinois to West Virginia and asked his father to stop so he could rest because he was driving recklessly. After stopping at the Food Mart, police said the teen stated his father drove away, leaving him behind, and did not return.
Police said Ellis, the teen’s father, was later located at a hotel in Central City, where he was taken into custody on an arrest warrant. He was booked into the Muhlenberg County Jail, while officers remained with the teen until a family member from Illinois arrived to pick him up.
