Crawling away, victim asked man not to shoot. He did anyway, Lexington police testify
A man was trying to get away by crawling backward up the stairs when he was fatally shot on the night before Thanksgiving, a Lexington police detective testified Wednesday at a hearing for the man accused of pulling the trigger.
Terrence F. Fister, 58, is charged with murder in the death of Robert Cole Smith, 37, according to court records. Smith was shot on Nov. 27 at an apartment complex at 2343 Harrodsburg Road, where both Fister and Smith lived.
Smith died at University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital, according to the Fayette County Coroner’s Office.
The day after the shooting, police said that there had been a “disorder” at the complex before Smith was shot. During Wednesday’s hearing, Detective Ross Collins testified that the argument had been about someone who had been rummaging through the third-floor attic of the apartment building and causing a large commotion.
Fister’s son, who also lives in the apartment building, told police that he saw Smith crawling backward up the stairs and asking someone not to shoot him. When Smith was shot, Fister’s son came around the corner and saw Fister holding a handgun, Collins said.
Smith asked Fister’s son why his father shot him, Collins testified.
Smith was conscious when an emergency crew arrived at the apartment building and nodded toward the apartment Fister was in when police asked if the shooter was still at the scene, Collins said.
Investigators tested Fister for gunshot residue the day of the shooting, but the test results were not given during the hearing.
After hearing Collins’ testimony, Fayette District Judge T. Bruce Bell found probable cause to send the case to the grand jury to review the charges. If the grand jury indicts Fister, his case will be moved to Fayette Circuit Court.
Fister is being held in the Fayette County jail on a $50,000 jail.
Fister’s defense attorney asked Bell to lower Fister’s bond Wednesday. Fister is a low flight risk with no prior felony convictions and has three children, his defense attorney said.
Bell said he thought the bond was low considering the charge and denied the reduction.
