BELLE, W.Va – The fate of Belle Police Chief Robert Glenn is in the town council’s hands after the civil service commission ruled to uphold Mayor David Fletcher’s recommendation to terminate Glenn in a hearing on Monday.
Glenn has been on administrative leave since April after an investigation by the West Virginia Commission on Special Investigations turned up allegations that he had improperly ordered that a vehicle be towed from a resident’s property and then coordinated with the towing company to buy the vehicle and use its parts for both sale and personal use.
Earlier this year, the mayor recommended that Glenn be terminated, and in a hearing held at Glenn’s request, that decision was upheld.
Representing the town of Belle, attorneys Joseph Amos and Karen Miller argued that Glenn ordered Patrolman William Haught to place a tow order on a 2007 Dodge Ram 1500 on the property of Donna Chestnut in the 400 block of 7th St. in Belle.
The truck belonged to Chestnut’s late stepmother and sat on the property, unused, from her death until Glenn arrived to facilitate the vehicle being towed on June 21, 2024. Amos and Martin said that Glenn gave Chestnut a letter to sign that indicated she gave the Belle police department permission to enter her property and tow the truck, which is not part of town policy.
The truck was declared abandoned and junked, and Glenn said during his testimony that if Chestnut had told him that she consented to it being on the property, he would not have towed it.
“If at any time, she would’ve told me she had given consent and she wanted it to stay there, that would’ve been a different story, but at no time did she tell me that,” he said.
It is alleged that Tymrk Towing was contracted to tow the vehicle, and after it was removed, the paperwork included a note saying not to junk it because Glenn wanted to buy it for parts. Tymrk owner Rick Howell was subpoenaed by the town’s attorneys but did not appear Monday, and his lawyer told the commission by phone that his client would plead the fifth in response to any questions.
When called to testify, Haught said Glenn later tried to sell him parts from the truck by telling him they came from a vehicle in probate, but after finding out they were from the truck towed off of Chestnut’s property, he conducted his own investigation, which included meeting with Chestnut and contacting the state law enforcement training officials who directed him to the Commission on Special Investigations.
“He was the chief of police, and he was acting under his authority, and I was not aware of who to go to, and I notified the West Virginia law enforcement training profession down in Charleston, who referred me to the West Virginia (Commission) on Special Investigations,” he said.
Arguing on Glenn’s behalf, attorney Shannon Bland painted a different picture of the events.
He stated that the mayor himself had ordered Haught to place the tow order because of sewer line work in the area and described Haught as wanting to get back at Glenn for previous workplace disputes over things like promotions and time off.
Bland argued that in making sure the truck was towed, Glenn simply followed along with the order handed down by the mayor and, after he saw the vehicle sitting unused several days later, contacted Howell about purchasing it for parts.
No money ever changed hands for the sale of the truck, and no title was ever completed because Howell informed the other parties it was not needed since the vehicle was only being used for parts.
Haught’s signature and badge number appeared on documentation for the vehicle’s transfer, and he testified he did not sign the documents and had not seen them until last week. When questioned, Glenn admitted to forging Haught’s signature and claimed he did it with Haught’s permission since he was out of the state and unable to sign them himself.
After a hearing that lasted more than six and a half hours, it took the commission less than 30 minutes to rule in favor of upholding Fletcher’s recommendation for Glenn’s termination. A formal order must now be written by the town’s attorneys and brought before the town council for approval.