Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 18, 1990 TAG: 9005180549
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: NEAL THOMPSON NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: FLOYD LENGTH: Medium
Peter H. Short, 72, testified about the night of Dec. 7 when three friends came to his house on Virginia 751 in the Indian Valley section.
Two brothers, Roger and Clarence Huff, showed up at 6:45. A while later, Short's close friend, Robie Gallimore, arrived. They all lived nearby.
The four men, each of whom had been in the service, sat around drinking beer and "talking military," Short said. Then they played poker until after 9 p.m. when the Huff brothers and Gallimore left.
Short said he then heard arguing outside and a scuffle between Gallimore and the two Huffs.
"I heard, `You SOB. This has been going on for 20 years.' The reply was, `. . . Let's finish it now,' " Short told General District Judge G.B. Cooley. Short said he didn't know who said what or who started the fight.
Gallimore, 41, was shot six times and died leaning against his car. Roger Huff, 46, was charged that night with first-degree murder and using a firearm to commit a felony.
After Cooley listened to testimony from Short and sheriff's department investigator Jerry Yopp, he certified the charges to a grand jury.
Huff, who did not testify, sat with hands folded next to his attorney, Thomas Jackson of Carroll County. He remains free on $25,000 bond.
Short said his three guests were "very friendly, joking and talking." It wasn't until they got outside that he heard arguing and cursing.
When he went outside, he saw Gallimore take off his jacket, throw it in the grass and say something like, "This is it," Short testified.
Short said he went back into his house to get a flashlight and returned to find Roger Huff lying in a ditch and bleeding from a cut on his head.
Short said he ran back to his house to tell his wife to call an ambulance, then ran back outside.
"Then I heard three to four shots, rapid succession," Short testified. "I hurried toward them and there were two more shots."
He said he found Gallimore slumped next to his car bleeding from his head and chest.
"I tried to take a pulse. My hands were numb. I couldn't get a pulse," Short said.
Commonwealth's Attorney Warren Lineberry, referring to autopsy and medical examiner's reports, said Gallimore's death was caused by three of six gunshot wounds.
Bullets found in his body had been fired from a handgun found over an embankment near Short's driveway, a forensics report showed.
The gun belonged to Roger Huff.
According to a statement Huff gave to Yopp that night, "I lost control. I don't know how many times I would have shot at Robie. I would give anything if it hadn't happened."
In a second statement the next day, Huff told police he grabbed a gun from his truck and shot toward Gallimore.
"I mostly just shot to scare him. It was dark. I don't know if I aimed or not," Yopp read from Huff's statement.
The .22-caliber, nine-round handgun was found at the bottom of the embankment 70 feet from where Roger Huff's truck was parked.
According to Huff's statement, he told Yopp, "I don't know who slung the gun. I guess I did."
by CNB