Hughes accused
in Owenby’s death
Murphy – A case that is sure to test the interpretation of defensive force statutes began this week in the Cherokee County Courthouse.
Jury selection began Tuesday for the trial charging Daniel James Hughes with first-degree murder in the 2015 shooting death of Terry Dewayne Owenby.
Hughes’ attorney, Rich Cassady, planned to argue that methamphetamine found in Owenby’s bloodstream caused his enraged state during the argument with Hughes, and that the drugs may have contributed to his quick demise.
Cassady had even filed an intent to introduce expert testimony from a medical doctor supporting the argument. The doctor was expected to testify that .81 milligrams of meth found in Owenby’s bloodstream was a toxic level that would have made him anxious, paranoid and perhaps delusional.
“The effect of methamphetamine to impair the ability of the brain to generate and apply ‘stop signals’ explains Mr. Owenby’s behavior to continue to aggressively charge at Mr. Hughes, despite Mr. Hughes displaying a handgun,” the doctor says in documents filed in court last week.
However, Judge William Coward ruled Monday that blood test results were not admissible during trial after prosecutors argued that drugs found in Owenby’s system were irrelevant and highly prejudicial to the state’s case.
“If the jury hears that [meth was in Owenby’s blood], the prejudicial effect would be tremendous,” assistant district attorney John Hindsman said.
Cassady argued that meth found in Owenby’s bloodstream after his death helped explain his “hyper-aggressive” behavior during the confrontation with Hughes.
“I frankly don’t know how the methamphetamine found in the lab results of Mr. Owenby’s blood isn’t relevant,” Cassady said. “To suggest that somehow the state is not getting a fair shake by the fact that Mr. Owenby was high on meth is nonsensical to me.”
In the end, Coward ruled in favor of the state. Now that blood test results and the doctor’s testimony are out of the picture, Cassady will try to convince a jury that Owenby’s actions that day were not proportionate to a request from Hughes to move his vehicle. Cassady will argue that Owenby was the aggressor, and that Hughes fired the gun in self-defense.
Cassady must also work to ensure the jury is composed of local residents with no connections to Owenby and no prior knowledge of news coverage and rumors that he characterized as “incorrect.”
“I guarantee you that when I’m doing jury selection, some people will remember what they heard about this,” Cassady told the Cherokee Scout last week. “I’ll have to decide if those people will appreciate that the reporting they heard was incorrect.”
On the afternoon of March 14, 2015, Hughes shot and killed Owenby during a confrontation outside King’s Leather Craft on U.S. 64 West in Ranger. According to court documents, Owenby and a tow truck driver pulled into the business’ parking lot to establish better cell phone reception so Owenby could arrange payment for the company following a wreck.
Hughes, whose family owned King’s Leather Craft, then stepped outside and asked both men to move their vehicles, which were blocking one of the entrances to the building. In an affidavit supporting a motion to dismiss the charges, Hughes said he walked back toward the store after asking them to move their vehicles, but stopped short after hearing squealing tires.
When he turned around, Hughes said, Owenby was doing a “donut” in the lot before backing his truck into a parking spot near the store’s entrance. Owenby then exited his truck, screaming obscenities and “flipping the bird at me,” Hughes added.
“Owenby looked directly at me and shouted, ‘After what’s happened to me today, I don’t care to whip your damn ass,’ ” the affidavit says. “At that time, I decided to call 911 because of Owenby’s actions, words and clear threats to my person.”
Court documents say several other people pulled into the parking lot in the moments leading up to the gunshot, including a man who tried to prevent the confrontation from escalating. Hughes claims that when he pulled out his cell phone to call police, Owenby threatened to kill him. The bystander then intervened, but that didn’t quell Owenby’s rage.
Hughes said Owenby ripped off his shirt, threw it on the ground and yelled, “I’ll just kill your damn ass.”
“He then charged at me, and I drew my revolver and fired one shot,” Hughes said in the affidavit. “At the time of Owenby’s threats and behavior, my right side and back were within inches of the glass entrance and latched door. I would necessarily have to turn away from Owenby to re-enter the store.
“With Owenby acting so out of control and threatening, I was afraid that if I attempted to do so, he would attack me from the side or behind, forcing me into and perhaps through the glass, and severely injure me in the initial rush. He would then have been on top of me following through on his threat to ‘whip my damn ass,’ or worse, ‘kill my damn ass.’ ”
In court Monday, Cassady said Owenby was known for removing his shirt when he was ready to fight.
“Terry was a violent bully of Cherokee County,” Cassady told the Scout prior to Monday’s proceedings. “Any objective law enforcement official you talk to will tell you that.”
According to prosecutors, witnesses said Owenby walked away from Hughes several times during the argument. However, each time Owenby turned away, Hughes would make another comment, to which Owenby would respond. After one such comment by Hughes, Owenby removed his shirt and approached him one final time.
A man at the scene stepped between them to diffuse the situation, according to prosecutors, who allege that Hughes then said, “I’ll fix this,” before firing a single shot from a small-caliber handgun. Owenby was pronounced dead at the scene after suffering a gunshot wound to the chest.
At trial, Cassady plans to play 911 calls from the incident that show Hughes was so focused on Owenby he didn’t even know a dispatcher had picked up the phone before he fired the gun. The Scout was unable to obtain those calls before press time Tuesday.
At the conclusion of Monday’s hearing, Coward ordered court officials to seal Owenby’s blood test results as well as the report submitted by the doctor who Cassady wanted to testify at trial.