Martinsburg man linked to thefts from storage units

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — A Martinsburg man is accused of stealing numerous items from 50 storage units that he accessed over the course of three days in April north of Martinsburg.

Minor Hughes Marks III, 43, of South Kentucky Avenue was charged Tuesday by a Berkeley County grand jury with 50 counts of entry of building without breaking, one count of grand larceny and three counts of petit larceny in connection with the alleged incidents at Valley Storage at 2006 Williamsport Pike, according to Berkeley County court records.

Marks separately was charged in Berkeley County Magistrate Court over the weekend with three counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance after police alleged that he was found early Saturday in possession of more than 13 grams of suspected heroin, about 0.7 grams of suspected cocaine and five packs of suboxone, court records said.

Marks also was found in possession of $796 in cash, records said.

Marks was being held Tuesday night at Eastern Regional Jail near Martinsburg on a $202,500 bond, according to jail records.

Berkeley County Deputy B.M. Frick wrote in a complaint that Marks apparently accessed the storage units using a master key.

Frick wrote that the defendant told police that another male gave him the key, but Marks said he didn’t know his name.

Multiple items were taken from the storage units, including hundreds of rounds of ammunition and tools.

The storage units were accessed April 12, 22 and 29, court records said.

Marks was taken into custody by Martinsburg police officers shortly after they responded to a stolen vehicle complaint near Kentucky Avenue and Burke Street.

Officers spotted a vehicle near Burke and Elijah streets that appeared to have crashed into a pole, court records said.

Martinsburg Patrol Officer R.J. Holloway wrote in a complaint that he subsequently encountered Marks, who told the officer that he had been carjacked by a male and had followed the suspect to provide law enforcement with a direction of travel.

In the course of investigating the alleged carjacking, Holloway said he was advised by the police department’s dispatch center that Marks was wanted by the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department on outstanding warrants.

A subsequent search of Marks led to the recovery of the drugs and cash, court records said.

The sheriff’s department warrants are connected to the Valley Storage incidents, records said.