Jury finds Summers County man not guilty of murder
UPDATE: A Summers County man has been found not guilty of murder by a jury of his peers.
Benjamin Earhart had been on trial since Monday for the shooting death of Daniel Harmon on July 29, 2022. The fight started over a property dispute involving access to the Greenbrier River just outside of Alderson, W.Va.
Following closing arguments on Thursday, the jury deliberated for several hours. The jurors came back Thursday evening with a verdict of not guilty of murder, but also not guilty on the lesser included charges of 2nd Degree Murder, Involuntary Manslaughter, and Voluntary Manslaughter.
Earhart was represented by attorneys Robert Dunlap and Tim Lupardus.
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BECKLEY, W.Va. (WVVA) - As a Summers County murder trial went into day three, attorneys spent most of the morning arguing over the possibility of missing evidence.
Benjamin Earhart of Alderson is on trial for the shooting death of Daniel Harmon on July 29, 2022. Police say the fight started over a property dispute involving access to the Greenbrier River.
On Wednesday morning, Earhart’s defense counsel raised questions over two witnesses shown to the jury in the form of body cam footage on Tuesday. They asked why the two witness statements by Jessie Willis and Brandon Testerman were not turned over during discovery.
The prosecution countered that they did disclose the existence of Testerman’s interview but did not possess a statement by Wills. The prosecutor said the response was complicated by multiple law enforcement agencies responding to the shooting that occurred along the border of the county. After a brief break, however, the state was able to locate a recorded statement by Testerman, who was recorded saying he left the area just as Harmon arrived on scene.
“I feel like the man who was shot drove 40 miles looking for a fight. I feel like the other guy drove ten miles looking for a fight,” he said in the recording. “I don’t know if they were looking for a fight, but there was a reason I got out of dodge. I didn’t think someone would be killed. I thought the old man was going to be beat up.”
Testerman was one of the few witnesses that was neither a family member of Earhart nor Harmon.
Later in the day, Earhart’s defense team continued to make the case for self-defense, calling the suspect’s son, Shannon Earhart, to the stand. Earhart claimed Harmon drove up to the scene in an aggressive manner looking for a fight and that his father had no choice but to shoot Harmon.
Meanwhile, the prosecution attempted to punch holes in Earhart’s self-defense claim, emphasizing the two shots fired and that Earhart himself said he was not sure whether Harmon had a gun.
Testimony is expected to continue into Thursday, when the defendant is expected to stand the stand.
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