May 24, 2012
Suspect Daniel Hicks Arraigned
UPDATE 10/6/11 @ 8:21 a.m.
KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- The man behind a prep school in South Charleston, that was shut down before it opened, will be back in court Thursday.
Daniel Hicks is charged with fraudulent schemes.
According to court records, Hicks will be in court for his preliminary hearing at 1:30 p.m.
Hicks started up the Charleston Prep Academy.
According to the criminal complaint, Hicks told different students different stories about where the school was located.
Police say he told one it was the South Charleston Community Center, another that it was the Active Sports Complex in St. Albans and another that it was on the campus of West Virginia State University.
He also promised students meal plans and that they would either be staying in a hotel or in dorm rooms.
When they arrived at the end of August, at least 16 students crammed into an empty three-bedroom apartment and were told they would be using a building owned by a church on Charleston’s West Side.
Suspicious phone calls from parents put a stop to the school, but some of the students had already paid.
Just days after police started to investigate the prep school, Hicks was arrested on a parole violation. Hicks was arrested in 2008 on drug charges and released on parole in January.
The parole board says Hicks didn't list his real address.
If convicted, Hicks faces up to 10 years in prison.
Keep clicking on WSAZ.com for the latest information.
Dozens of students from around the world came to attend the school and play basketball, but were taken by surprise by what they experienced when they got here.
Police have spent the past month investigating the case, and Daniel Hicks was formally charged Wednesday during a video arraignment from jail.
A month ago, Hicks was listed as headmaster of the West Virginia Christian Prep Academy. Now he's listed as an inmate at the South Central Regional Jail -- charged with fraudulent schemes.
According to the criminal complaint, Hicks told different students different stories about where the school was located.
Police say he told one it was the South Charleston Community Center, another that it was the Active Sports Complex in St. Albans and another that it was on the campus of West Virginia State University.
He also promised students meal plans and that they would either be staying in a hotel or in dorm rooms.
When they arrived at the end of August, at least 16 students crammed into an empty three-bedroom apartment and were told they would be using a building owned by a church on Charleston’s West Side.
Suspicious phone calls from parents put a stop to the school, but some of the students had already paid.
In court Wednesday -- Hicks said the money didn't go to him.
“The people saying they made payments to me -- they didn't make those payments to me,” Hicks said. “They made it to FAX. I never touched any of that money. It didn't come to me. It goes to a private school organization.”
Police say the directors of all of the facilities denied having any contracts or affiliation with the school.
However, the pastor of the church did tell police he was planning to allow Hicks to use a classroom free of charge.
Hicks will be back in court Oct. 6 for a preliminary hearing.
Daniel Hicks started up the Charleston Prep Academy. According to court records, Hicks has now been charged with fraudulent schemes in connection with the case.
The prep school was set to open earlier this month, but a phone call from a suspicious parent sent city officials in South Charleston to the apartment where the students were staying.
They found 16 to 18 teenagers in an empty three bedroom apartment with not enough food or bedding, according to police.
Dozens of students from all over the U.S. and other countries came to West Virginia to attend the school, but had to turn around and go back home.
Just days after police started to investigate the prep school, Hicks was arrested on a parole violation. Hicks was arrested in 2008 on drug charges and released on parole in January.
The parole board says Hicks didn't list his real address.
Hicks will be arraigned on the new charge Wednesday morning.
WSAZ will be at the court hearing. Keep clicking on WSAZ.com for the latest information.
He was just released from jail earlier this year.
According to court documents, Daniel Hicks, 38, was released from jail in January 2011.
He was serving time on a drug charge for the possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance. It’s a case that stemmed from 2008.
Hicks was sentenced to one to five years, but his sentenced was suspended. He violated his probation on that charge and was ordered to jail in late December 2009.
He was paroled on Jan. 18, 2011.
However, when they arrived they learned a harsh lesson.
The Charleston Prep Academy was set to open Tuesday, but now all those who were planning to attend are going home. Some are even having to travel all the way back to another country.
Meanwhile, an investigation is underway surrounding the man who started the school.
“I thought this was gonna be something good for the community,” Daniel Hicks of South Charleston said.
Hicks' plan was to start a prep academy at a community center on Charleston’s West Side where students could learn and play basketball.
“He just kind of disappeared and left this one coach from Oklahoma here with all these kids and no means of support,” South Charleston Mayor Frank Mullens said.
After getting a call from a suspicious parent, officials in South Charleston found 16 to 18 teenagers sleeping on the floor of a three-bedroom apartment.
“They came in with the impression that they were going to be housed and lodged and fed and taken care of like any other prep academy would,” Mullens said.
But some hadn't eaten in two days, so neighbors stepped in to help.
“We made spaghetti, gave them a loaf of bread. We got them some drinks. I think we gave them like half a pizza,” Rob Field, a neighbor, said.
Hicks said there was only enough food and bedding for those who had already enrolled in the school.
“I have no idea how all those kids were actually in that house at that time, because seven kids paid,” Hicks said.
However, he says a coach from Oklahoma showed up with more students.
“Some didn't have birth certificates, some didn't have health insurance, some of them I didn't even know their names,” Hicks said.
Now, the classrooms, the basketball court and the apartment are all empty.
“It's really hard for me to buy all this,” Mullens said. “It seems like I’m missing something.”
Mullens says all those under 18 have been sent home to their parents and even those older than 18 are safe and their parents have been notified.
Hicks claims he followed all the legal steps, and that this was a legitimate school. They were even on the schedule to play other schools in basketball.
Hicks says those who paid $7,500 for the school will be reimbursed.
The South Charleston Police Department is investigating.
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