Judge sets $500,000 bond for Wilson after tense hearing Tuesday

A Williamsburg tow truck operator accused of fatally shooting a Woodbine man in the parking lot of the Root Beer Stand may be freed from jail if he can come up with $500,000 in cash for a bond, a Whitley County Judge ruled Tuesday.

Police presence was heavy during a tense, high-interest preliminary hearing held in Whitley District Court in Corbin for Larry Wilson, 55, yesterday afternoon. District Judge Jason Price ruled Wilson’s case should continue to the grand jury, but did set a bond for him for the first time in the case. Whitley District Judge Cathy Prewitt ruled last week that Wilson be detained without bond at least until this week.

Wilson is accused of firing a 9mm pistol through the rolled-down window of his tow truck and killing 38-year-old Tod Carter after some sort of confrontation between the two men in the Root Beer Stand parking lot the evening of July 31. Police have charged Wilson with murder and first-degree wanton endangerment following the incident.

Rod Carter, the victim’s father, said after the hearing he was disappointed that Wilson will have a chance to be free pending trial. He was one of several family members present during the hearing and became visibly emotional when Wilson was led into the courtroom.

"The citizens of Whitley County know what went on here. Anybody can see what happened. He killed my boy for nothing," Rod Carter said. "The bond should have been a million dollars. It’s too easy of a bond."

While unlikely the charges against Wilson would have been dismissed outright, the hearing revealed new information and twists in the case as Wilson’s defense attorney, Jane Butcher, laid the groundwork for probable defenses.

Corbin Police Sgt. Bill Rose, the lead investigator in the case, was the only witness called to the stand to testify at the hearing. Prosecutors need only prove at a preliminary hearing that there is "probable cause" to believe a crime occurred for it to be sent to the grand jury for consideration.

Rose laid out the basics of the case, saying Wilson fired a single shot at Carter striking him in the armpit area after Carter approached the driver’s side window of his tow truck. The bullet, which police have never been able to locate, then allegedly struck the door of a truck parked next to Wilson, narrowly missing a child seated inside.

Rose said that when police arrived, Wilson was still seated in his truck. The gun was lying in the passenger seat and the clip had been removed. He peacefully surrendered to police.

Rose said that, during brief questioning at the police department, Wilson admitted to Corbin Police Capt. Tim Helton that he’d shot Carter and wanted to know if he was still alive. Helton informed him Carter had died and then Wilson requested a lawyer, refusing to provide police with any more information.

Under withering cross-examination by Butcher, new information about the circumstances surrounding the crime and the way police have investigated came to light.

Police say Wilson actually made the first call to any 911-dispatch center just after he shot Carter. Rose said the call was made from a cell phone, so it went to the Whitley County 911 dispatch center. Police have a recording of the call. A second call made by an employee of the Root Beer Stand to the Corbin Police Department was not recorded. That’s because, Rose admitted, Corbin Police do not record those calls. A text log of the time, date and a nature of the call are the only records kept.
Butcher seemed incredulous at the fact the call was not recorded.

She also countered assertions that Wilson did not ask for an attorney until he arrived at the police station, claiming he did so while being transported there from the scene by Corbin Police Officer Tim Baker.

Butcher attempted to paint the picture of a botched and bungled investigation, noting that police have never recovered the bullet they claim killed Carter and struck the vehicle, and tried to cast doubt as to whether the dent police noted in the truck was actually made by a bullet. Rose said police looked a total of 12 to 15 hours for the bullet to no avail.

Butcher also questioned procedures authorities used to secure the scene, interview witnesses and asked whether or not others have come forward to offer information as to whether Wilson was assaulted prior to the shooting.

According to Rose, witnesses have told police Carter walked up to the truck, stepped up on the running board and then back down. Butcher offered a different version of events, saying Wilson was hit with a root beer mug and that Carter’s upper body was inside the cab of Wilson’s truck when he was shot.

Rose did say that a food tray from the Root Beer Stand was found in the floorboard of Wilson’s truck and that a mug was taken by police as evidence and will be inspected by the Kentucky State Police Crime Lab. She also suggested that others might have called police in the days following the shooting to offer information that would be favorable to her client. Rose said he had received no such phone calls.

Carter said he hoped that investigators shore up some details of the case before trial.

"They could have investigated it a little better, but maybe they got more. I don’t know what’s happened here yet. I’ve just got to talk to people to find out what happened," he said. "It looked bad in there, but he killed him. Common sense tells you that."

Butcher left the courtroom with her client just after the hearing was complete and could not be located for comment. Wilson has declined numerous requests for an interview.