On 05/22/2019 at approximately 22:06 hours, Marion Police Officers responded to Mission Hospital McDowell in reference to a gunshot wound. Detectives were called to the hospital to interview the victim. It was learned through the investigation that Cole Whalen, of 159 Sinclair Avenue and David Orostica, homeless, had gotten into a dispute over a previous money debt. Whalen then shot Orostica in his right foot with a .22 caliber rifle and struck him over the head with the butt of the gun. Orostica was taken to Mission Hospital McDowell with non-life threatening injuries, and later released.
Whalen was subsequently taken into custody without incident by Marion Police Officers at his residence. Whalen was interviewed by Investigator Travis Maltba and charged with one count of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and one count of assault with a deadly weapon. Cole Whalen was booked into the McDowell County Jail under a $25,000 secured bond.
