Melfa man pleads guilty to wounding girlfriend

By Linda Cicoira

A Melfa man pleaded guilty Thursday in Accomack Circuit Court to maliciously wounding his girlfriend. She sought help at the sheriff’s office where she arrived “covered in blood” with three children in tow.

Twenty-four-year-old Weldon Trey Pruitt, of Deerfoot Road, also pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed weapon. Sentencing was set for April 14. A shortform presentence report was ordered. He was remanded to jail.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Spencer Morgan said Pruitt had been drinking alcohol on June 21 and began beating the woman in the face with a necklace wrapped around his hand. Her forehead was fractured around her eye, the prosecutor added. Pruitt then left in his pickup truck with a shotgun “threatening to injure himself and others.”

      While the victim was at the sheriff’s office, the defendant drove through the parking lot there. Deputies apprehended him a short time later. Along with the shotgun, he had two 9 mm pistols that he kept in the truck’s glove compartment, said Morgan.