Second-degree murder: Mercer man found guilty

May 7—PRINCETON — A Mercer County man is facing up to 40 years in prison after being convicted Thurs-day of second-degree murder a the July 2019 shooting death involving an AK-47 semiautomatic rifle.

Timothy Paul Hager, 24, of Bluefield was facing a charge of first-degree murder, which carries a possible life sentence, for the July 11, 2019 death of Joshua Rasnick. The incident happened at Hager's home along Stony Ridge Road. An AK-47 semiautomatic rifle was found outside the home along with a 30-round magazine, and investigators with the Mercer County Sheriff's Department found shell casings in the kitchen and a hallway leading to the front door. Rasnick, who was shot twice, was found in a room near the front door.

During the trial, the state, represented by Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Lauren Lynch and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney David Pfeifer, said the evidence showed how Hager fired the rifle while Rasnick was going down the hall leading to the front door. The shooting happened when Hager and Rasnick argued, Lynch said.

Hager's attorneys, Joshua Lawson and Ryan Flanigan, countered that the shooting was an accident. In the defense's closing argument, Flanigan told the jury that Hager had picked up the rifle when Rasnick started fighting with his girlfriend and ordered him to leave the home. The girlfriend, Lindsey Lawrence, wrestled with Hager for the rifle, and six shots were fired during the struggle, Flanigan said.

The jury deliberated for about an hour before finding Hager guilty of second-degree murder, which carries up to 40 years in prison.

When Circuit Court Judge William Sadler gave the jurors their instructions regarding the law related to the case, he told them that they had to determine whether Hager was guilty of first-degree murder with no possibility of parole; first-degree murder with a recommendation of mercy which would let him be eligible for parole after serving 15 years; second-degree murder; voluntary manslaughter; involuntary manslaughter; or not guilty.

Sadler scheduled a motions hearing in July. If the court denies any post-trial motions, Sadler will proceed with sentencing.

Flanigan asked that Hager, who has been free on bond, remain on home confinement. Lynch asked that the court to revoke Hager's bond.

Sadler revoked Hager's bond and remanded him to the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver.

In the state's closing argument, Lynch reminded the jurors that they were asked whether they had ever been in a car accident. Attorneys for the defense said in their opening statement that the shooting was an accident.

"It is not an accident to pick up an AK-47 and fire it six times and kill somebody," she said. "It is nothing like a car accident."

Lynch picked up the semiautomatic rifle, which had been checked before she handled it, and said that Hager had to switch off its safety first before firing it, then "rack it" each time before firing six times and hitting Rasnick twice.

"He had to pull it one time," she said, racking the rifle as she counted. "Two times. Three times. Four times. Five times. Six times."

Tests conducted by the West Virginia State Police Forensic Laboratory showed that both Hager and Lawrence, who had arrived with Hager, had gunshot residue on their hands. In earlier testimony, lab specialists said that residue was found on Hager's right hand and on both of Lawrence's hand. One technician testified that a person does not have to shoot a firearm to get gunshot residue. Being present when a weapon is fired can leave residue on a person, too, Lynch said.

Lynch said there was no evidence of close-ranging firing such as soot on Rasnick.

Rasnick was found in a room near the front door. In the defense's closing argument, Flanigan said that Lawrence had moved the body so she could get out the front door and flee. Lynch said in her closing argument that the body had been pulled well into the room, further than necessary to clear the door, and that "instead of calling 911, grabs him by the ankles and through his own blood."

Lynch also argued that the evidence showed how Hager had tried to clean up the house before deputies arrived there. The house, which he was moving into, was "filthy" and had not been cleaned in a month and a half, but then he decided to clean. Water was found inside a bucket with a mop, she said.

In his statements to investigators, Hager initially denied knowing Rasnick, then said they were "buddies" in a later statement. Then he said that Rasnick did not call him "a bitch" in an argument Lawrence testified about, then said in a later statement that Rasnick made the remark, Lynch said. In another part of his statements, Hager said that Rasnick hit Lawrence while they were arguing, but Detective-Sergeant S.A. Sommers of the Mercer County Sheriff's Department testified that she was not injured.

Lynch said that Hager's account about what happened the night of July 11, 2019 kept changing. First he said that Lawrence had fired the AK-47, but later said he was the shooter and that it was fired while they were wrestling for it. Then Hager was "adamant" that Lawrence had dropped the rifle in the kitchen before fleeing the home, but later said it could be found outside not far behind his house.

"He shot six times going down the hall," Lynch told the jury, telling them that Rasnick was hit twice while heading out of the house.

"Shooting someone when they have nowhere else to go six times, that's an execution," Lynch said.

Since the state has the burden of proof, the defense can address the jury once before deliberations begin while the state can offer a rebuttal to the defense's closing arguments. Flanigan said that the evidence showed that Hager's account of the shooting was the one that fit the evidence.

"The prosecution is trying to convince you that this case is bigger than it really is," Flanigan told the jury. "This case was an unfortunate, terrible, terrible accident."

Flanigan argued that the AK-47 did not need to be prepared for each shot.

"Every time you pull the trigger, this gun is ready to go again," he said while Lawson held the rifle up. "She (Lynch) is trying to make you believe it takes a conscious effort to fire that gun six times. That's an exaggeration. Timmy Hager running down the hall firing the gun? That's an exaggeration."

Shell casings were found down the hallway leading from the kitchen to the front door, but Flanigan said the shells could have hit the wall after the rifle ejected them, and they could have been kicked by people coming down the hall; and did not indicate where the rifle had been fired.

"It's not evidence that he was charging down the hallway firing a gun," Flanigan stated. "That's an exaggeration."

Hager left the house after Rasnick was shot, but Flanigan said that his client did not try to hide and was found standing in the middle of a road near his home.

"And the biggest exaggeration by the state is the picture of the cleaning supplies," he added, pointing out a photo the jury had seen earlier. "They took a picture of cleaning supplies in the corner of a kitchen...there's cleaning supplies in every kitchen in America."

Flanigan said the prosecution did not offer tests results showing that cleaning chemicals had been used on any surface, and did not show the jury a photo of the mop bucket with blood in the water or rags with blood on them.

"It's an exaggeration," he said.

Hager's account was the only one that fits what was found at the house, Flanigan stated.

"The only reason his story is correct is because his story is the only one that fits the evidence," he said.

Flanigan outlined points to support the defense's argument. Earlier Thursday, a witness who was a friend of Hager's and moving out of the house as he was moving in testified that she met a blond woman earlier on July 11, 2019 who was introduced to her as Lindsey, showing that Lawrence had been there earlier than she had stated.

Lawrence, who said in earlier testimony the Rasnick was her fiance, had been interviewed twice, Flanigan said. During the second statement to investigators, she said that Hager had shot at her and a bullet "whizzed by her ear" in the kitchen, but no bullet hole was found.

Flanigan also argued that gun residue tests showed that Lawrence had handled the rifle, and that DNA evidence on the rifle showed that three people had handled it; and the only there people there that night were Hager, Rasnick and Lawrence.

Lynch said in the prosecution's closing arguments that specialists had testified that a person could get gunshot residue without firing a weapon, and that the DNA evidence was inconclusive because other people had visited the home throughout the day.

Flanigan said then that Lawrence was the first out of the door, and the bullet holes in the door showed that it had been closed. She had to move the body in order to get out. She testified that she ran behind the house and hid near the dog kennel, and the rifle was found nearby.

"So what really did happen? Timmy Hager told us what really happened," Flanigan stated, adding his client was intoxicated and lied when he make his first statement.

The shooting came about when Rasnick and Lawrence argued, Flanigan said. A photograph shot by Detective Cpl. M.S. Horn of the Mercer County Sheriff's Department showed that her face was red, indicating that she had been slapped. Hager admitted to grabbing the rifle, ordering Rasnick to leave, and walking him out of the house. As this was happening, Lawrence "panicked" and tried to grab the rifle, and Hager struggled with her. The placement of bullet holes, including one in the ceiling, indicated a struggle, Flanigan said.

During the struggle, the rifle's trigger was "inadvertently" grabbed, causing it to fire six shots, Flanigan said.

Flanigan said there was no evidence of premeditation or planning.

"This case is an accident, an unfortunate, terrible accident that occurred," he stated.

Flanigan asked the jury to find Hager not guilty, arguing that the state had not proven its case against him.

In the prosecution's rebuttal, Lynch said that Hager told investigators four different versions of what had happened. Evidence showed that Rasnick started bleeding in the kitchen; a shell casing matching the AK-47 was found there along with blood. There were no bullet holes until the end of the hallway. The DNA samples were "too low level" for identification, she added.

The AK-47's recoil would have moved its barrel upward, so this would account for a bullet hole in the ceiling, Lynch said.

Rasnick's body had been "pulled into the room as far as it would go," which was further than what was necessary to clear the doorway, Lynch said. Lynch also stated that while Lawrence ran to a neighbor's home and called Mercer 911, Hager did not try to summon help after Rasnick was shot.

Lynch also said that officers had testified about Hager running after being told to stop and resisting arrest. She also asked why Hager did not tell the investigators from the first that the shooting was an accident.

The evidence showed that Rasnick was shot twice while he was retreating down the hallway, and that Hager had intended to kill him, Lynch said.

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com