Leadoff witness Mary Webb testified Monday in federal court she never heard two sheriff's deputies warn her husband to lay down an AK-47 before they fatally wounded him after he had fired the rifle to celebrate both his birthday and the Fourth of July. Webb is suing both the Raleigh County Sheriff's Department and two lawmen on grounds the officers delayed medical attention in order to photograph Robert Webb as he lay dying at his Cabell Heights Home in the wee hours of Independence Day in 2006.Webb told the jury of four men and two women, and one female alternate, her television was set on low in her bedroom but she never heard what the defense says it will show was a warning to her husband: Police. Show me your hands. A daughter, Amanda Webb, then 11 years old, followed her to the stand and testified her father didn't fire the so-called assault rifle when she returned to the house around 1 a.m. after a family party. Defense attorney Chip Williams, in his opening remarks, said evidence will show that the deputies, Greg Kade and John Hajash, issued the standard warning to an armed suspect, then reacted as they had been trained to do when Webb leveled the loaded rifle at them, with one round in the chamber. I heard a different type of gunshot; Webb's widow testified, in a trial that U.S. District Judge Irene Berger suggested could last at least seven days. When she raced outdoors to investigate, Webb said her husband was sprawled on the driveway, and, I didn't know who had hurt who, but was gruffly told she couldn't go near her husband. I was told very harshly to get back in the house, she said. Her daughter told the plaintiff's lead attorney, Travis Griffith, that she noticed her father's firearm was under the truck while she sat in the cab watching him perform some routine maintenance. The family, including another daughter, Samantha, had enjoyed a holiday cookout and some time in a swimming pool that evening before the fatal shooting. Mary Webb's contention is that Hajash, now a coal miner, and Kade, who remains on the force and appeared in uniform for the opening day of trial, displayed a cavalier attitude toward her husband's wounds. They walked over him like he was a rag doll, she said. Webb described her husband as a redneck with a fondness for fishing and hunting, but who also was a sensitive mate who often left flowers on her car as a sign of his affection for her. Timelines are critical in this trial, as Griffith laid out in his opening remarks to the jury. Documents show shots were fired by police at 1:12 a.m., that the EMTs were toned out one minute later, and that paramedics arrived in Webb's driveway at 1:21 a.m. No attempt is made to resuscitate Robert Webb, Griffith said. Rob Webb didn't have to die. His death is a direct result of the defendants negligence. Then, he cautioned jurors that the defense attorneys would attempt to assassinate Webb's character, saying, The only defense they have in this case is to stomp on Robert Webb's grave. Williams wasted no time emphasizing the negative, telling the jury that Webb had three times the amount of alcohol in his blood required to declare one too drunk to operate a motor vehicle. The attorney made several references to the AK-47, saying at one stage, it's a dangerous weapon in the hands of a sober person. Then, later, he added, It's not a firecracker. It's not a toy. It's an assault rifle. When the officers arrived, Williams said, they were unsure if Webb were firing into his home, or endangering any of the neighbors. For that reason, he said, the officers were in sync with police training not to rush in with the lights and sirens blaring on their patrol cars. In fact, they parked about a quarter of a mile from the scene of the shooting and inched their way carefully to his residence, he said. With the weapon shouldered and aimed at the officers, Williams said, All he had to do was pull the trigger. As soon as the officers opened fire one with a .40-caliber handgun, the other with a shotgun they radioed in with this message Oh, my God! Shots fired! Suspect down. Three minutes after the paramedic unit arrived, Williams said, a monitor showed no signs of life, with a reading that Webb had flatlined. He said evidence will show that the combination of wounds Webb would have ruled out survival. Berger narrowed the pool of prospective jurors down to the six-plus-one after asking them a series of questions, including one that provoked some laughter: Have you ever had a bad experience with a police officer? A woman told of getting a traffic ticket in North Carolina, and when she began sharing the details, Berger quipped, I'd be careful about admissions in a courtroom.
By Mannix Porterfield E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com
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