KINGWOOD – Dr. Frank M. Abraham was the first witness to give evidence in the Aaron Glenn Hoard trial Monday morning. Abraham, who was on call at Preston Memorial Hospital, was recognized by the court as a specialist in emergency medicine.
Hoard is accused of first-degree murder in the November 2019 shooting death of Grant William Felton Jr., of Terra Alta, outside Shorthorn’s Saloon.
Abraham testified that when Felton arrived at the emergency room by ambulance the EMS team had secured his airway and given him three doses of epinephrine because he had flat-lined.
“I tried to expand his left lung,” Abraham said. “I gave him another 8 milligrams of epinephrine.”
Abraham said he did not see any improvement during treatment. He said he called in a trauma surgeon but there was no way to save Felton’s life.
“His eyes were fixed and dilated. That usually means death,” Abraham said. “I pronounced his death at 1:09 (a.m.) Eastern Standard Time. It would have been 2:09 (a.m.) if the time had not changed. He had gone 66 minutes without a pulse or respiration. He died when he was shot. Nothing else could be done to save him.”
When defense attorney Belinda Haynie asked which was the fatal shot, Abraham said it was the one to the head. He said the shot to the chest was not a fatal shot.
Larry “DJ” Dean Wilt also testified and said he and Felton were good friends, describing Felton as a family man who was well-liked by the community.
Wilt said he came in contact with Hoard was he was escorted out the back door of Shorthorns, having been asked to leave.
“When we got outside I told him he had to leave,” Wilt said. “Mike Felton told him not to come back.”
Wilt said Hoard and his friends drove away and then came back and parked in the road across from the bar. Wilt said Hoard and Bryan Teets (Hoard’s friend) went back into Shorthorns and was again told to leave. Teets said he was missing a hat, a vest and Christina Andrews was missing her cell phone. They were once again asked to leave.
“Shawn Moats was trying to get them to leave, “Wilt said. “Teets was cussing and throwing a fit about being told to leave so Shawn escorted him to the bottom lot.”
“Aaron went into the bar and I followed him and told him he had to leave,” Wilt said. “He turned and went out. They were parked on the side of the road across from Shorthorns. Aaron came up to a group of people. Mike Felton was at the trailer with the group. He said something and me and Mike took Teets across the street and Grant took Aaron.”
Wilt said as they tried to get Teets in the back of the vehicle, A female passenger opened the door, knocking Felton to the ground as another female, identified as Hoard’s girlfriend, allegedly jumped on Felton’s back.
“No one was with Hoard. He was by himself,” Wilt said. “There was nothing to stop him from driving away. I heard four gunshots and I saw flashes. Mike said Grant was shot.”
Wilt said he pulled Grant up off the road onto the sidewalk so “Hoard or the ambulance” wouldn’t run over him.
During cross examination Haynie called Wilt’s attention to his testimony during the preliminary hearing of the case, when Wilt said he heard three shots, not four.
Wilt said Hoard had the gun and Wilt had his hand on top of the gun over the casing ejection site. He then told Haynie the shot that went off when he was trying to get the gun from Hoard went through the windshield of the truck.
“I know it did because I saw the glass shatter and fall,” Wilt said. Haynie reminded Wilt that he told Capt. John Bryan two days after the event that he didn’t know where the bullet went.
When Haynie produced a picture of the windshield with the bullet hole and ask Wilt what the trajectory indicated Judge Steven Shaffer interceded.
“I’m going to let the picture speak for itself,” Shaffer said. “I don’t believe he’s an expert.”
“You’ve had your share of fighting,” Haynie said to Wilt. “A second-degree assault in Maryland you did time for. Violation of a protection order, and you’ve been in other fights where you were not charged. And you were charged with stalking and making credible threats.”
The state released Wilt from their subpoena but the defense kept him under subpoena to possible call him to testify again at a later date.
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