Eugene Scott Walmsley, a 33-year-old White/Caucasian man from Inkster, Michigan, was shot and killed on the night of June 23, 2014, in Huntington, West Virginia. The shooting was reported shortly before 10 p.m. outside a residence at 1305 8th Avenue. Officers arriving at the scene found Walmsley lying dead in a grassy area in front of the house. Investigators initially reported that he had been shot in the upper body, and later testimony established that the fatal gunshot struck him in the
face. Police quickly identified a potential suspect but did not immediately make an arrest.
As detectives reconstructed what happened, the investigation centered on Spanish Smith, a Detroit resident who, like Walmsley, had connections to Michigan. Huntington Police Detective Paul Hunter later testified that Walmsley and Smith exchanged words before the confrontation became physical. According to Hunter's testimony, the altercation escalated until Smith produced a firearm and shot Walmsley in the face. The detective further testified that Smith acknowledged using a. 22-caliber revolver during the incident. The shooting was later referred to by Huntington police as the "Whiskey Rocks" shooting.
In the hours immediately after the killing, investigators were also examining a white Cadillac that they believed might have some connection to the homicide. A vehicle matching that description was stopped by the Ohio Highway Patrol at a gas station in South Point, Ohio, after reportedly being driven suspiciously, and two occupants were questioned. Police did not publicly identify those individuals at that stage as responsible for the killing. Another fatal shooting occurred in Huntington roughly an hour after Walmsley's death, but investigators emphasized that the two homicides were unrelated.
The search for Smith continued for more than a week. Timothy Anderson was arrested in connection with the case and accused of acting as an accessory to murder. Then, on July 3, police located Smith at an apartment on Nash Street in Barboursville. His arrest followed a heavily armed police operation involving numerous officers. Authorities searching the residence reported finding a loaded rifle, heroin and cash, and several other people at the location were arrested on unrelated drug charges. Smith was taken into custody on the murder accusation stemming from Walmsley's death.
Investigators alleged that Smith had received substantial help while avoiding police. Retina Morgan was arrested after Smith's preliminary hearing in July 2014. According to the criminal complaint, Morgan obtained approximately $20,000 from a drug house for Smith, helped him leave Huntington and helped secure an apartment where he could hide. Morgan also faced a drug-conspiracy charge. Following Smith's preliminary hearing, the murder case was sent to a grand jury. Anderson was likewise accused of assisting Smith, with authorities later alleging that he helped obtain the money, arrange a hiding place and facilitate Smith's attempt to leave the jurisdiction.
The criminal proceedings continued for approximately two years before producing final dispositions. In August 2016, Smith resolved the homicide case by entering a Kennedy plea to voluntary manslaughter in Cabell County Circuit Court. Under that type of plea, he accepted the conviction and punishment without admitting guilt. The original murder charge was therefore reduced as part of the resolution, and Smith was sentenced to 15 years in prison for Walmsley's death.
Morgan also entered a Kennedy plea, accepting responsibility for accessory to murder after the fact without formally admitting guilt, and received a five-year prison sentence. Anderson ultimately entered a Kennedy plea to attempting to commit a felony. In September 2016, he was sentenced to one to three years in prison, but the prison term was suspended and he was placed on probation for three years. By that point, the prosecution of Walmsley's killing and the efforts to help Smith evade capture had resulted in punishment for Smith as the person accused of the fatal shooting and for two others accused of assisting him afterward.
