o Courtesy/WV Legislative Photography ON THE FLOOR – State Treasurer Larry Pack, right, speaks with House of Delegates Chief of Staff Jeff Billings prior to a Jan. 8 joint session of the House and state Senate to hear a goodbye message from outgoing governor Jim Justice.

NEW CUMBERLAND — If the defense gets its way, the confession of a former Hancock County deputy accused of possessing child pornography will never be heard by jurors.

Patrick Hoder of Weirton was charged last summer with felony distribution or exhibition of sexually explicit conduct involving minors (500-plus images), after an investigation by West Virginia State Police backtracked the images to Hoder’s home IP address.

During a brief pre-trial hearing Friday, only one witness for the prosecution testified before Circuit

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