Opinion ID: 1058286
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Hash's Criminal Trial

Text: Evidence presented at trial revealed that Scroggins was found dead in her home, having suffered four gunshot wounds to the head at close range. Three of the wounds were to the left side of her head and one was to the back of her head. Investigator Scott H. Jenkins from the Culpeper County Sheriff's Office testified that the only DNA recovered from the scene was from the victim and that while five fingerprints were recovered from the storm door, no match was ever made. Furthermore, no firearm was recovered that matched the bullets recovered from the victim's body. The bullets were identified as.22 caliber. The evidence against Hash at trial included testimony from an eyewitness, Eric Weakley (Weakley), testimony from Hash's cousin, Alesia Shelton (Shelton), Hash's statements to the police and his own testimony in which he admitted that he, Weakley, and Jason Kloby (Kloby) discussed robbing an old lady in the area, and testimony from Paul Carter (Carter) that Hash confessed to him while they were in jail together. There was no physical evidence that connected Hash to the murder. Shelton testified that on the night Scroggins was murdered she overheard Hash and Kloby at Hash's house talking about Scroggins and how they were going to do it tonight and that Hash said they should make her suffer. Shelton also testified that after she left Hash's house that night, she saw the blue car from [Hash's] house parked near the victim's house. Shelton also stated that on a later occasion she, Kloby, and Hash rode their bicycles to a church across from Scroggins' house, where Kloby told her how he and Hash had gained entry to Scroggins' house and shot her. Shelton testified that she looked at Hash and he nodded his head and said yes-yeah. Shelton testified that Hash said to [Kloby], he said you couldn't do nothing like that, could you, man, and [Kloby] was like no, man, not me, you know I couldn't do nothing like that, and then laughed in a sarcastic manner. Weakley testified that he, Kloby, and Hash gained entry into Scroggins' house and attacked her. Weakley stated that Hash shot the victim first, [t]wice in the side of the head ... [t]he left side. Weakley also stated that Kloby shot her again around the same place, then fired the last shot into the back of her head. Carter testified that while he and Hash were being held in the Charlottesville-Albemarle Regional Jail, they spoke with each other. Carter said that Hash revealed that he was charged with murder. Carter stated that he told Hash that his cousin was in jail on a murder case, same thing, capital murder. Carter testified that Hash then asked him if he could get convicted without a gun. Carter testified that in the course of this dialogue Hash confessed to the murder, saying he shot the lady twice and that he used a .22 caliber gun and that he got away in a vehicle, her truck or whatever she had, the vehicle, that's all. He said vehicle. Carter said that Hash confessed it was him and two other dudes while he was doing it. Carter also testified that Hash told him he had a cousin that was trying to tell on him what happened about the whole case and everything. Hash testified at his trial on his own behalf that in the beginning to middle part of 1995 he talked with Kloby and Weakley about robbing somebody in the area. Hash said that Kloby and Weakley wanted to rob somebody who was not going to put up much of a fight, and Hash assumed they were talking about an old lady. Hash believed that the proposed robbery was to get money for drugs because [o]ver the course of time there was a time when Jason [Kloby], Eric [Weakley] and myself did do drugs. Hash assumed they were planning this months in advance to get some money for drugs. According to Hash, Kloby mentioned the robbery a second time in a telephone conversation two to four weeks after the first conversation, and a final time several months down the road to a year later in the mall. At his trial, Hash testified that he told Kloby he did not want to have anything to do with it, but admitted originally planning on participating. According to Hash, [i] t's not something [he] really wanted to be involved in, but [he] was saying [he] was going to be involved in. Hash denied to the jury any participation in the murder.