Sheriff slaying suspect was barred from owning gun

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A prosecutor says a suspect in the fatal shooting of a West Virginia sheriff was legally prohibited from possessing one.

Mingo County Prosecutor Michael Sparks declined to say Wednesday where 37-year-old Tennis Melvin Maynard bought the gun. But Sparks says "it appears that the system didn't work."

Sparks also declined to elaborate on why Maynard was barred from owning a gun. But Maynard's father has said his son had mental problems and had previously been in an institution.

Sheriff Eugene Crum was fatally shot April 3 as he ate lunch in a downtown Williamson parking lot.