LISBON — James R. “Jimmy” Howell said he saw the man he later learned was Jeno L. Wall hit Robert E. “Hubba” Herron, pull out a gun, hit him again and then shoot him the night of Sept. 9, 2024 near his garage on Tenth Street in Wellsville.

“Why didn’t you do anything to help Hubba at the time,” Columbiana County Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Weeda asked. “I was scared,” Howell replied. “Did you know the defendant was going to shoot Hubba?” Weeda asked. “I didn’t,” he said.

Howell was one of eight witnesses for the prosecution who testified Wednesday in county Common Pleas Court in the jury trial against Wall, also known as Mally, 35, of Steubenville, who’s charged with aggravated murder, murder, intimidation of an attorney, victim or witness in a criminal case, along with firearm specifications for allegedly using a firearm to cause Herron’s death.

If convicted, he could face a possible sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the aggravated murder charge, which alleges that he “did purposely, and with prior calculation and design, cause the death of another, to wit: Robert E. Herron.”

Howell described the events that happened before Hubba was killed, what he saw when the shooting occurred and what happened afterwards. He was friends with Hubba and allowed him and his girlfriend, Tiffany Sattler, to stay in his garage for a couple months the summer of 2024, but then asked them to leave about a week before the murder due to them arguing all the time.

When asked who came to help them move out, Howell said the defendant, saying he didn’t know him but they talked and he was fine and was calm. They all left in a black truck with someone driving.

The morning of Sept. 9, 2024, he said Tiffany was in the front part of the garage when he was out looking for his dogs, then Hubba showed up a couple hours later and she was still there. They were fighting and he left, then when he came back out, they were gone. He then went to his sister’s house for an hour, went back home and a friend came over and then Hubba came over. When Jimmy’s mom came with dinner for him, he went into his trailer with her and Hubba and the friend left.

When asked if anyone else arrived, he said the defendant, wearing a white hoodie, looking for Hubba. He said he was different this time and seemed like he was drunk. He told him Hubba wasn’t there and he didn’t believe him. A black truck picked him up with the same driver as before. The defendant came back a second time and left and at that point, Howell said he texted Hubba to tell him the guy was looking for him. He said he was kind of irritated and put on his holster with his .380 gun. He was scared and the defendant was acting reckless.

Wall returned a third time, accompanied by Howell’s neighbor, Brandon Kessler and he wondered why they wanted Hubba so badly. He said they walked away, but then he heard a noise and shouted “who’s there?” and they came running back.

Hubba was found lying on the side of the garage and Wall was real aggressive, telling him to get up and fight him. That’s when Howell said the defendant pulled out a gun, handed it to Kessler, and then hit Hubba, pulled out the gun, hit him again and shot him.

He said the defendant showed him the gun and told him “if you say anything, you’ll be next.” He went to his sister’s house and stayed there until she got home.

Defense attorney Joe King said “you want us to believe a black man shot your friend” and questioned Howell about why he didn’t go check on his friend after the shooting or walk to the police station to report it or try to call 911.

“I saw somebody shot at point blank range. I was scared,” Howell said.

He also said he could hear Hubba moaning and thought he was still alive. According to Wellsville Police Patrolman Jeff Weekley, who was called for a possible shooting, he and another officer had searched the trailer and garage on 10th Street and not found anyone, but when he was preparing to leave, he noticed someone laying there in the yard raising his hand up. Jeff Weekley went to the victim, who was asking for help. His fellow patrolman knew Hubba’s name. When asked what happened, he said Hubba didn’t respond. He told Jeff Weekley, “My back hurts and I can’t breathe.” When EMTs arrived, they found the gunshot wound on his upper back.

Jeff Weekley interviewed Howell, who was found at his sister’s residence after fleeing the shooting scene. He relayed what Howell told him about the shooting and when asked who Howell identified as the shooter, he said Jeno Wall, also known as Mally.

During cross-examination by defense attorney Charley Kidder, Jeff Weekley also confirmed one of the statements made by Hubba was that “he said they were just playing around.”

Howell’s sister, Leanna, also testified that she came home after 1:30 a.m. Sept. 10 and found her brother hiding under a bed and scared. She said he told her his friend Hubba got shot at his house, by a black man, an alleged drug dealer, but he didn’t know his name. He had seen him before. She didn’t want him bringing the situation to her house, so she was going to drive him home and he didn’t want to go out of fear that he was going to get shot or hurt. When they were backing out of the drive, police showed up.

Under questioning by Kidder, Leanna said they were going to drive to her brother’s house to make sure Hubba was cared for. They didn’t call the police. During questioning by county Assistant Prosecutor Tammie Riley Jones, she said there’s no landline at her house.

Other witnesses who testified about Wall’s whereabouts before and after the shooting included Joshua Kersey, Codie Balser and Joseph Savin, who it turns out drives a dark green truck and recalled picking up Wall that night and eventually taking Wall and Tiffany to the Rich Oil all-night gas station and then dropped them off in another store’s parking lot. He said he went back to Brandon Kessler’s house and they went to Rich Oil and Kessler had him stop on Riverside and Kessler got out of the truck for a while and came back.

All three talked about finding out through social media or text messages about Hubba’s death. There was also talk about Jeno being at a Clark Avenue home where people were hanging out, including Kersey and Balser. Balser said she left the home on Clark Avenue, saying she had a bad feeling. On Sept. 10, 2024, she said she was doing some clean up on 10th Street and found a shell casing which she took to the police station.

Testimony is scheduled to continue this morning.

mgreier@mojonews.com