WCHS-AM host arrested for DUI

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Charleston, WV conservative talker and former pastor Mike Agnello is facing another drunk driving charge. Agnello, 61, who works at the West Virginia Radio Corp.’s Capital city news-talk station was arrested 6/2 after a traffic stop, reported the Charleston Daily Mail. The arrest was made at 12:30 a.m. Sunday.


Agnello, who hosts “58 Live” 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. weeknights, has again been taken off the air following this recent arrest. He’s been replaced—for now—with syndicated Dave Ramsey.

A patrolman spotted a blue Ford Focus touch the center line on Summers Street and then turn right onto Kanawha Boulevard from the left-turn lane, according to the complaint filed.

The officer stopped the car near the intersection of Court and Quarrier streets. He identified Agnello as the driver and noted the odor of alcohol. He asked Agnello how many alcoholic beverages he’d had, to which he responded “a few,” according to the complaint.

A breath test recorded Agnello’s blood alcohol content as .194, more than twice the legal limit in that state.

Agnello was convicted on a DUI in 2009. In June 2010, he was terminated from the station after a series of “off-air” incidents, including a domestic battery charge that was later dropped. He returned in July 2011. At the time, station GM Mike Buxser said Agnello deserved a second chance and that he looked forward to having his “fiery personality” back on the air, said the story.

“We have suspended him without pay pending the outcome of the investigation,” Buxser said in online articles on WCHS 58 and MetroNews. “We believe in second chances. However, this latest arrest is a serious matter and we will take appropriate action when all the facts are in.”

Agnello was taken to South Central Regional Jail after the arrest and was released on bond Sunday morning.

See the Charleston Daily Mail story here