Woman out of intensive care; bond revoked for Gretsinger
Carrie Lowe, the woman who was shot twice with a shotgun and then beaten with a baseball bat on Saturday afternoon, September 4, is recovering at Winchester Medical Center.
Senior State Trooper
J.C. McDonald, the investigating officer, was able to interview Lowe at the hospital over the weekend, said Sgt. Scott Davis, who heads the Berkeley Springs detachment of West Virginia State Police.
Lowe’s sister, Katie Smith, told The Morgan Messenger on Monday that her sister was moved out of intensive care and into a regular hospital room on Sunday.
Robert Alan “Buckwheat” Gretsinger, 58, was arrested and charged with attempted murder and malicious wounding after the Sept-ember 4 incident at Gretsinger’s residence on Pious Ridge Road near Berkeley Springs.
No stranger to police
The alleged attack was not the first incident involving Gretsinger and Lowe.
In April 2009, Gretsinger, Lowe and Jonathan Ray Cain, 27, were part of a dispute involving the three of them and two others outside a day care center in Berkeley Springs.
According to the criminal complaint filed by police at the time, Gretsinger claimed Lowe and Cain had broken into his house and stolen some tools.
A fight broke out and Gretsinger was charged with verbal assault and two other men with assault.
Cain was later charged with transferring stolen property, having allegedly sold the tools.
Then, on August 4 of this year, Gretsinger, Lowe and Cain were again involved in an altercation in the parking lot of the CNB Bank branch, south of Berkeley Springs.
Gretsinger was charged with assault and brandishing a weapon. He allegedly threatened Lowe and Cain with a pocket knife.
According to the criminal complaint, Gretsinger told state police he would have “gutted” Cain if the confrontation had become physical.
Last week, a Magistrate Court jury found Gretsinger not guilty of assault, but guilty of brandishing a weapon. He was sentenced to six months in jail and fined $959 for court and jury costs.
His sentence was to start on September 8, four days after his alleged attempted murder and malicious wounding of Lowe.
Lowe shooting
The incident that led to Gretsinger shooting Carrie Lowe started about 1:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon, September 4, when Lowe tried to borrow Gretsinger’s truck.
When Trooper McDonald arrived on the scene at 1:59 p.m., Gretsinger said he had shot Lowe, according to police. He said Lowe entered his residence and took the keys to his truck.
Gretsinger said he followed her outside holding a 12-gauge shotgun. He said he ordered Lowe to stop and fired two rounds into the air.
When Lowe continued walking away from Gretsinger, he said he shot her in the buttocks, reported police.
Gretsinger then got a baseball bat and struck Lowe in the head three or four times, according to police.
Gretsinger claimed Lowe had threatened to kill him.
A witness told police he heard three shots and saw Gretsinger striking Lowe with the baseball bat.
Lowe sustained gunshot wounds to her chest and lower back and lacerations to her forehead and the back of her head.
Gretsinger was arraigned for the attack on Lowe in Magistrate Court and transported to the Eastern Regional Jail in Martinsburg.
A cash bond of $10,000 was initially set, but was later revoked after police expressed concerns that the bond was too low.
