Bedford DA refers 36 cases to state

Childers-Potts seeks help with caseload due to staffing issues

BEDFORD -- Low staffing in the Bedford County District Attorney's Office became the focus of Wednesday afternoon's status conferences after DA Lesley Childers-Potts referred 36 criminal cases to the Attorney General's Office without notifying President Judge Travis Livengood.

While Childers-Potts told Livengood she only sent a "small portion" of cases to the AG's office, Livengood said that the 36 cases represent about 20% of the county's caseload.

Childers-Potts said that she contacted the AG's office for help in mid-August because she is currently the county's only prosecutor.

According to state law, district attorneys can refer cases to the AG's office if they do not have the resources to handle them, AG Communications Director Jacklin Rhoads said.

"We have accepted those referrals and will prosecute them," Rhoads said of the 36 cases.

Childers-Potts told Livengood that the AG's office had requested only the most serious cases, such as homicide and rape, be referred to the state.

Livengood appeared frustrated, not by the cases' referrals, but by not being notified of them in a timely manner, saying he had only just found out about what was going on.

Childers-Potts stated that she "didn't have the chance to notify anyone" as she had only found out the cases had been accepted by the AG's office on Tuesday.

"This morning? That would have been nice," Livengood said.

A few defense attorneys objected to the referrals, saying some of their clients were currently in prison and making this change would prolong their incarceration through no fault of their own.

However, Rhoads said she isn't sure if there will be a lag in proceeding with those cases.

"They transfer files and information over, so they don't have to be started from scratch," Rhoads said.

The defense attorneys against the referrals said they were only made aware of the possible referrals on Monday and that their clients didn't know what was happening. One defense attorney said a few of her clients were facing multiple cases, with only one being referred to the state and the others remaining with Childers-Potts.

Childers-Potts could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon, and it remains unclear why she is the county's sole prosecutor. The Bedford county commissioners were also unavailable for comment Wednesday.

Two of the referred cases are those involving Larry Claar and Nancy Focht.

Claar, 42, faces charges of homicide, first- and third-degree murder, aggravated assault, simple assault, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse in the shooting death of his brother, Michael Claar, in late July 2021, Mirror records show.

The Claysburg man was denied bail and is being held at the Bedford County Correctional Facility.

Focht, also of Claysburg, faces charges of criminal homicide, two felony counts of aggravated assault, three misdemeanor counts of simple assault, one misdemeanor count of recklessly endangering another person and one misdemeanor count of tampering with physical evidence, court documents show.

The 74-year-old is accused of fatally shooting her husband, David Glenn Focht Sr., on Sept. 11, 2018, court documents show.

Focht had initially told police that and the victim had been arguing and a struggle over a gun resulted in it firing, hitting the victim in the chest area, Mirror records show.

However, police said a ballistics analysis didn't support Focht's claim that the gun was fired at close range. When she was questioned again, Focht allegedly admitted to bringing the gun to the shed and shooting the victim, Mirror records show.

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.