MERCER COUNTY, WV (LOOTPRESS) — The second day of the court is underway in the killing of Joshua Rasnick. Rasnick was believed to be murdered by an AK-47 semiautomatic rifle by Timothy Hager.
This incident happened in July of 2019 where police were called to Stoney Ridge Road in Bluefield, WV.
If convicted, Hager could receive up to 40 years in prison.
The prosecutors in this trial are Assistant Prosecutor Lauren Lynch and Assistant Prosecutor David Pfeifer. The case was taken by Judge William Sadler.
The Lead Defense, in this case, is Ryan Flanigan with the Flanigan Law Office and Co-counsel Joshua Lawson.
Detective Stephen Sommers gives his recollection of Hager’s statement and what was found at the crime scene.
Sommers showed to the court where the used casings were in pictures shown to the court. Sommers stated that he first saw evidence of blood in the hallway.
The evidence of the bullets found around the house was also admitted into evidence.
In Hager’s initial statement at 1:00 am to Sommers was that girlfriend Lindsey Lawrence got into an altercation with Rasnick, which resulted in him slapping her. Detective Sommers did not find any injuries with Lawrence.
Hager then told the Detective and another trooper that Lawrence was the one who picked up the AK-47 and shot Rasnick then ran off as Hager tried to retrieve the gun from her. Sommers told the court that he noticed inconsistencies with the statement and how many times he saw Rasnick get shot.
The prosecutors played the video and audio of Hager’s initial statement as well as passed out a transcript of the statement to the jury.
The second statement was taken from about 1:30 pm to 2:00 pm according to Detective Sommers.
“The story had evolved a little bit more as far as Hager alleging there was a fight between the girlfriend and Rasnick and he was trying to stop the girlfriend from shooting Rasnick,” said Detective Sommers.
When asked if he moved the body of Rasnick, Hager admitted that he did move the body according to Sommers.
The second statement was played in court and transcripts were given to the jury and court to follow along. As both of the statements were played, Hager kept his head down. Towards the end of the statement, in the video, Hager seemed emotional as he talked about his recollection of events.
Gun residue was found on Hager’s right hand but not his left hand according to the report. Gun residue was also found on Lawrence’s right and left hand which was confirmed by the forensic scientist.
The prosecution asks if there were any bullets recovered from Rasnick’s body to which Sommers responded with “one bullet” being recovered.
The prosecution asked the question “If someone was running through dense woods, could gun residue be wiped off?” The defense objected but Judge Sadler overruled. The scientist then answered “Yes.”
During the second half of today, multiple detectives, officers, and forensic scientists were called as witnesses by the prosecution. These witnesses gave their testimony to how they investigated the residence and the weapon that was used in the crime. Evidence was entered to the court as the day went on in the forms of pictures and the AK-47 that was fired.
Stay with Lootpress for any additional information on this case.
