By: Lacie Pierson, Staff Writer | Posted: Feb. 12, 2018 | Source: WV Gazette-Mail
A man accused of killing two people in a shooting last winter was to go on trial Monday, but a judge delayed the trial until April.
Kanawha Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey on Monday approved a motion to delay the trial for Bobby Gene Hall, 43, of Elkview.
Bobby Gene Hall enters court for his arraignment on Aug. 16, 2017. On Monday, Hall’s trial on two counts of first-degree murder and other charges was delayed until April. KENNY KEMP | Gazette-Mail file photo
Hall faces two counts of first-degree murder, fleeing with reckless indifference to the safety of others and possession of a stolen vehicle in relation to the deaths of Timothy Jett and Audrey Short on Feb. 7, 2017, and a police-involved pursuit the next day.
Assistant Kanawha Prosecuting Attorney Michelle Drummond asked to reschedule the trial Monday after learning a key prosecution witness was not available to testify this week. Hall’s attorney, Dan Holstein, didn’t object to the delay.
Misty Ann Rucker, 39, originally faced the same charges as Hall in the case, but she pleaded guilty to felony accessory after the fact in October. She is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 20.
Jett, 55, and Short, 38, were shot at Jett’s home along Garrison Avenue. Jett died in his home, and Short died a few days later at a local hospital.
At her plea hearing, Rucker said she and her niece accompanied Hall to Jett’s home. She said she and her niece were in the living room with Short, and Hall was in the bedroom with Jett for about 30 minutes before she, Hall and her niece left the home.
She said Hall got a shotgun out of his vehicle and went back inside, and Rucker heard at least three gunshots before Hall came out of the home.
As they fled the scene, Rucker threw the shotgun out of the vehicle at Hall’s request, she said in October.
The pair reportedly fled to Kentucky, where authorities said they stole a car. A Roane County sheriff’s deputy spotted Hall and Rucker in the car in Elkview the day after the shooting, police officers told the media after their arrest.
Police said they pursued Hall and Rucker until they crashed the stolen car in Queen Shoals near the Kanawha-Clay county line.
Reach Lacie Pierson at lacie.pierson@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @laciepierson on Twitter.
