Jason Varney, 29, was found with a fatal gunshot wound to the chest in the driver’s seat of his car after it struck a home on North Wickham Avenue in Princeton, West Virginia, on the night of October 28, 2018. Police responding to reports of a car accident discovered what they described as a homicide scene. Witnesses said a man ran from the area immediately after a gunshot was heard.

Investigators focused on 24-year-old Mark Anthony Patterson Jr. of Princeton after witness statements and subsequent police work. A warrant was issued, and Patterson was located and taken into custody by the Princeton Police Department with help from the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department. He was charged with first-degree murder, arraigned in Mercer County Magistrate Court, and held without bond at the Southern Regional Jail. The motive has not been released.

Anyone who knew Jason, saw activity on North Wickham Avenue that night, or has information about the case is asked to come forward.