Lexington detective describes conflicting accounts in Pimlico shooting case

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – The case against James Huff is headed to a grand jury after a hearing in which the court heard some of the evidence against him.

Huff appeared in a Fayette County courtroom Thursday morning for a preliminary hearing, after police say he shot his girlfriend in the head on Oct. 23. He’s charged with assault-domestic violence, tampering with physical evidence, and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon.

Detective describes what he found

The state’s evidence came through Lexington police Detective Trent Hurlburt, who said he interviewed both Huff and the victim. His testimony described two contradicting statements.

Hurlburt testified that when the department received the call, he went straight to the hospital. Doctors there told him the woman had a gunshot wound to the left side of her head, which caused a brain bleed. She was admitted to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The detective said the victim told him she and Huff were in a heated argument when she tried to walk away, and that is when Huff fired at her.

“The next thing she heard was a really loud bang. Her head felt like something really hard hit her; she fell down to the ground, grabbed her head, there was blood on her hands, and she remembers hearing Mr. Huff saying ‘I’m sorry’ a few times,” Hurlburt said.

Huff’s account differs

Police said Huff had already left before officers got to the scene. Nicholasville police located him and took him into custody for Lexington police.

Hurlburt testified that when he interviewed Huff at Lexington Police Headquarters, Huff claimed his girlfriend pulled a gun from a bag during the argument and put it to her own head. Hurlburt said Huff mimicked the motion, pointing to the right side of his head.

According to the detective, Huff said he grabbed for the gun, and it went off by accident.

Hurlburt told the court that Huff’s account didn’t match the victim’s statement or evidence from the scene.

“That’s kind of counterintuitive to the wound that we saw and the fact that the bullet was in the wall to the left side of the stairwell,” Hurlburt said.

Hurlburt said that when he questioned the victim, she told him she did not own a gun. She also said she was not suicidal because she wants to live for her kids.

Huff also told Hurlburt that he didn’t own a gun either. However, the detective said that after securing a search warrant for the car Huff used to get away, officers found an unused casing in the passenger-side door.

Evidence tampering charge

Hurlburt testified that Huff admitted to leaving the scene to get rid of narcotics, saying the victim told him to. Huff told police he drove to Nicholasville and threw the narcotics that he removed from their home into Marble Creek.

Lexington police said they could not locate any narcotics.

Hurlburt also told the court that Huff’s previous felony conviction was for possession of a controlled substance, to which Huff pleaded guilty. That conviction is the basis for the charge of possessing a handgun as a convicted felon.

Judge John Tackett found probable cause and waived the case to the grand jury. Huff is being held on a $100,000 bond.