KINGWOOD — The charge against a man accused of a weekend shooting death was upgraded to first-degree murder Thursday.
Aaron Glenn Hoard, 33, of Morgantown, was originally charged with second-degree murder in the Nov. 3 shooting death of Grant Felton Jr., 38, of Terra Alta, outside Shorthorns Saloon in Terra Alta.
The second-degree charge was dismissed and the first-degree charge made at a hearing in Preston Magistrate Court Thursday afternoon. Preston Magistrate
P.L. Grimm did not set bail. Only a circuit judge can set bond in a case that carries a possible life sentence.Grimm set a Nov. 26 preliminary hearing for Hoard.
According to Preston Sheriff’s deputies, Hoard was removed from the bar by staff after being involved in an altercation. Hoard “retrieved a handgun from a nearby parked vehicle and fired a number of rounds into the air,” according to a criminal complaint by Sheriff’s Lt. J.G. Rodeheaver. “Grant Felton, the victim, attempted to subdue the defendant and was shot numerous times by [Hoard].”
Hoard fled the scene and was sought by police, who considered him armed and dangerous. On Monday, accompanied by his attorney, Belinda Haynie, he surrendered to Monongalia County Sheriff’s Deputies and was arraigned on second-degree murder charges in Mon County Magistrate Court.
Felton will be laid to rest today in Terra Alta. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Grant Felton Memorial at any Clear Mountain Bank, according to the obituary.
