WINFIELD, W.Va. — A Hurricane man who shot and killed two people in December 2020 was sentenced to a second 40-year prison term Thursday.
Putnam County Circuit Judge Phillip Stowers handed down the sentence Thursday to Justin Groff for the murder of John Glaspell in Teays Valley. Groff pleaded guilty to second degree murder in Glaspell’s death and his sentence will run consecutively to an identical plea and sentence in Cabell County for the murder of Toni Cremeans.
Groff was tied to the two victims through his sister and according to Assistant Putnam County Prosecutor Kris Raynes, family drama appeared to be at the heart of the killings.
“We knew the victims knew each other and they both had the defendant’s sister in common. Our victim (Glaspell) was boyfriend to the defendant’s sister and apparently the victim in Cabell County was best friends with her,” Raynes explained.
Raynes said while investigators were able to make the family connection, they never really could explain the motive in the Culloden murder. Groff claimed he got into a fight with Glaspell at his home in Teays Valley and shot him during the confrontation. Raynes said the evidence they were prepared to put on at trial painted a very different picture.
“We had witnesses who testified they heard Mr. Glaspell say, ‘Hey.’ indicating he knew the person driving that vehicle. After the salutation is when they heard about 16 gunshots, 12 of which hit our victim,” she said.
Groff’s sentence was increased because of the use of a firearm in commission of a felony. The shootings were highly unusual for either community where they occurred.
“It really had the community in an uproar and we were really scared,” Raynes said. “For about 48 hours we had what was considered a drive-by shooter that had struck in Putnam County and then right over the county line in Culloden.”