Front Royal man charged with bigamy

By Ben Orcutt -- borcutt@nvdaily.com

FRONT ROYAL -- A town man faces two to 10 years in prison after being charged with the rare crime of bigamy.

Patrick Shawn McCormick, 30, of 35 Duncan Ave., remains free after posting $2,000 secured bond pending a Sept. 10 preliminary hearing in Warren County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court scheduled for 10 a.m.

McCormick was arrested on July 17 by Front Royal police officer William H. Lawson. The arrest warrant was obtained by Cpl. Kevin E. Foltz, an investigator with the Front Royal Police Department.

McCormick is charged with the April 12, 2007, offense of marrying April Nicole Arbogast while he was married to someone else.

Foltz says in his complaint form on file in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court that he obtained "a certified copy of a Marriage Certificate from Horry County, South Carolina that shows that Patrick Shawn McCormick was married to Angela Hope Wilkins on Aug. 18, 2003."

Foltz goes on to say in the complaint that on April 12, 2007, McCormick married Arbogast in Warren County and that he also has a copy of that marriage certificate.

"I have spoken with Angela Wilkins and she is not divorced from Patrick Shawn McCormick," Foltz says in the complaint. "I have also spoken with April Nicole (Arbogast) McCormick and she is not divorced from Patrick Shawn McCormick either."

Commonwealth's Attorney Brian M. Madden says in an e-mail that this is the first bigamy case in Warren County he can recall his office handling since he became commonwealth's attorney in January 2004.

Madden says the elements to prove a charge of bigamy are, "that the defendant entered into a marriage with second spouse in Virginia; and that at the same time the defendant was still married to first spouse who was still living."