A West Virginia man was arraigned Wednesday on a murder charge stemming from a stabbing in Chesapeake this past fall; meanwhile, an Ironton man will stand trial March 7 in connection with the death of his step-father.

Lawrence County Common Pleas Judge Frank McCown Wednesday set bond at $250,000 for Jason Heath Burks, 29, of Huntington, W.Va.. Burks is accused of stabbing Jon Wilson at his County Road 1 residence Oct. 5.

Burks was arrested later in Huntington and has been incarcerated there since then.

"There were criminal charges against him there and he was resisting coming here," Lawrence County Prosecutor J.B. Collier said. "But it is my understanding those charges in West Virginia have been disposed of. He was brought back to Lawrence County over the weekend."

Also, a March 7 trial date has been set for Tommy Keaton, 24, of 2832 S. 11th St., Ironton, He is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of his step-father, Robert Gore, 45, of Market Street, Ironton.

Gore was allegedly assaulted Sept. 11, 2004

outside a residence in the 900 block of North Second Street. He was pronounced dead later at Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital in Russell, Ky.

There were seven violent deaths in Lawrence County in 2004, all occurring between August and October. Those cases are now making their way through the courts.

Collier said the sheer number of criminal cases lately has been staggering.

"In between the homicide cases we have other cases as well," he said. "We have a drug trafficking case set for Feb. 10. It really has been overwhelming."