Crime & Public Safety
Man sentenced to 10 years in Charleston East End fatal shooting
A Maryland man was sentenced in Kanawha County after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter in a January 2025 shooting that died a Charleston man in the city’s East End. The victim was shot while seated in a parked car on Elizabeth Street in Charleston.
According to court filings, the defendant, Joshua Scales, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter after initially being charged with first-degree murder and wanton endangerment. Police later arrested Scales after investigators traced a lottery ticket found in a getaway car to him. Those investigative details were reported by the prosecuting agency and in court proceedings.
At sentencing before Kanawha County Circuit Judge Carrie Webster, Scales received a 10-year West Virginia state prison term. Defense attorneys sought home confinement, but the judge rejected that request, noting the terms of the plea agreement require incarceration and that home confinement would not have been appropriate given the plea to voluntary manslaughter. Letters from family and friends were entered into the record on Scales’ behalf; a letter from the victim’s family was read by an assistant prosecuting attorney describing the ongoing impact of the loss.
Current case status: Scales has been sentenced to a 10-year state prison term following the guilty plea; other previously filed charges were superseded by the plea and disposition documented at the Kanawha County Circuit Court proceeding.
All individuals accused of a crime are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
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All individuals mentioned in criminal allegations are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.