MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A growing criminal caseload has resulted in a fifth magistrate in Monongalia County.
Monongalia County Circuit Judge Perri Jo DeChristopher appointed former assistant prosecutor Ponch Reyes to the position. He began this month.
Reyes served 21 years with the West Virginia State Police. He retired and started law school. He served as an assistant Monongalia County prosecutor for 20 years. In recent years he’s been a municipal judge.
“I always ended up being back here; I was stationed here three times, the last time when I retired,” Reyes said. “So this is my home. I consider this my home and was just ecstatic when I got the appointment.”
Reyes said he brings more than 40 years of work and academic experience with many different people in varied situations and hopes to be thought of as a “fair but firm magistrate.”
“First of all, I’m pretty knowledgeable in the area of all procedures—law procedure and all aspects of the law and I think for me, they can expect to be assured that I will treat them faithfully with decency.”
The state legislature passed a bill earlier this year adding the magistrate. Monongalia County Magistrate Ron Bane has been tracking case volume to support the addition and said that in 2020, four magistrates handled 6,300 cases, and the number increased to 6,500 in 2021.
Rayes said experience along the road as a state trooper and in the prosecutors office analyzing evidence and pulling it all together to make a judgment at the municipal level provides a deep well of experience for the community. Reyes said the experiences helped him understand people and know how to handle each situation.
“You don’t know what the outcome is going to be, but if you do the right thing at the right moment, I think you can expect those outcomes,” Reyes said.
Over his decades of service, he has made a mark on many lives and families, this appointment gives him the chance to continue that work.
“All I did was tell the court he needed to go to school and get back on track,” Reyes said. “He did that, and he wanted to thank me for doing that for him because now he has a master’s degree and has written two books.”
Reyes said he plans to run for the office next year.