STUARTS DRAFT — An Augusta County couple is behind bars, with the husband facing a child porn charge and his wife jailed on a neglect allegation.
Additional charges could be filed, authorities said.
Troubles for Randy S. Mejia, 35, of Stuarts Draft, began July 5 when he allegedly brandished a gun inside his residence, according to the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office.
Court documents allege that Mejia pulled a gun from his hip and pointed it at a man, “putting the red site on the victim’s chest, and asked if he was prepared to die.”
When the man spoke to a magistrate to file a complaint, Mejia reportedly kept calling the man’s phone, court documents said, and allegedly stated he would put a bullet between his eyes. Due to safety concerns, Mejia was held without bond on the misdemeanor charge.
He was jailed July 6.
But while Mejia was incarcerated, Child Protective Services became involved. On July 9, a caseworker made a report to the sheriff’s office stating that Mejia’s phone had been located in the residence by another person, not his wife, and a file on the device that contained child pornography was allegedly found, court documents show.
An investigator with the sheriff’s office seized the phone. A day later, Mejia, while still in jail, was charged with possessing child pornography.
Authorities from the sheriff’s office also searched Mejia’s home, located in the 1500 block of Stuarts Draft Highway, where they seized two tablets, three laptop computers, a thumb drive, and two desktop computers, according to a search warrant.
Then, on Wednesday, his wife, 32-year-old Miranda D. Mejia, was charged with felony child neglect. The sheriff’s office didn’t release details concerning her arrest, only to say she was charged based on inaction as she was allegedly “aware of the situation,” according to Lt. Leslie Snyder, a spokesperson for the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office. Like her husband, Miranda Mejia is now being held at Middle River Regional Jail in Verona without bond.
The couple have children, court documents show.
The sheriff’s office would not divulge if the children were removed from the home now that both parents are in jail, but Snyder said they “are safe.”
Additional charges are being considered, Snyder said.
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Brad Zinn is the cops, courts and breaking news reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip? Or something that needs investigating? You can email reporter Brad Zinn (he/him) at [email protected]. You can also follow him on X (formerly Twitter).
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Stuarts Draft couple jailed
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