MARION COUNTY, W.Va. — A Wheeling attorney is facing new criminal allegations tied to a high-profile murder case involving the alleged president of the Pagans Motorcycle Club.
Attorney Elgine McArdle, age 61, now stands accused of witness intimidation in connection with her defense of Ryan Lane, who is charged in a 2022 murder in Marion County, West Virginia. McArdle was arrested Tuesday following court proceedings related to the case.
Lane is the alleged president of a chapter of the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club, an outlaw motorcycle club with chapters across the United States. Lane has been charged in connection with the murder of Henry Silver.
Silver was fatally shot in September 2022 in Marion County, West Virginia in a case that led to the arrest and prosecution of members of the Pagan Motorcycle Club. Prosecutors said Silver was killed after a conflict involving an alleged affair and several club members were charged in connection with his death.
According to authorities, McArdle and Lowell “LJ” Maxey, a former Bridgeport, West Virginia City Council member, were both served arrest warrants by the West Virginia State Police after a hearing in Marion County Magistrate Court. The hearing was held to determine whether McArdle’s separate case could be moved to circuit court. The magistrate approved that move.
Maxey is a former council member who later served on the Bridgeport, West Virginia Fire Civil Service Commission. He became involved in the high-profile legal proceedings surrounding the 2022 Marion County murder case tied to alleged Pagan Motorcycle Club president Ryan Lane. In that role, Maxey worked as a private investigator for McArdle’s office and was later charged in Marion County with operating as a private investigator without a license.
Court documents allege McArdle and Maxey worked together to persuade two state witnesses not to testify, telling them prosecutors were pursuing a personal vendetta against Lane. Investigators say the witnesses subsequently cut off contact with the state and are considered critical to Lane’s upcoming sentencing hearing.
McArdle has also been previously charged with breaking a child’s confidentiality on 13 separate occasions in connection with Lane’s murder trial.
Maxey attended Tuesday’s hearing in support of McArdle. After the proceedings concluded, both were taken into custody. They were seen in handcuffs being escorted into West Virginia State Police vehicles, according to WDTV.
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