HUNTINGTON Ƶ A Michigan man was found guilty of first-degree murder after a two-day trial for the fatal stabbing of a Huntington man in 2022.
At approximately 3:10 p.m. on July 3, 2022, Huntington police officers responded to reports of a stabbing outside the Sheetz gas station and convenience store at 740 6th Ave.
Kahmal K. Dillahunty, 47, of Pontiac, Michigan, had fled the scene on his bicycle just moments before. Timothy Stratton, 36, of Huntington, would later die in a local hospital from his injuries.
ƵI did not mean to kill that man,Ƶ Dillahunty told the jury.
The jury will return to the Cabell County Courthouse at 1:30 p.m. April 17 to hear attorneysƵ arguments over DillahuntyƵs sentencing.
During two days of the trial, seven witnesses testified for the prosecution, three of whom were with the Huntington Police Department at the time of the incident, and one was formerly the assistant manager of the store. The prosecution showed the jury footage from the storeƵs security cameras, DillahuntyƵs interview with police and bodycam footage from Jacob Blackburn, an officer who arrived on the scene to help Stratton after the stabbing. The jury was also provided records from a medical examiner.
Dillahunty was the only person to testify for his defense.
The story
Earlier on the day of the stabbing, Dillahunty was hanging out with a friend when he rode his bike to Sheetz to buy some food.
According to DillahuntyƵs testimony, his bike didnƵt have brakes, causing him to run into Stratton at the entrance of the store.
Dillahunty said Stratton ƵchasedƵ him out of the storeƵs entrance. Although he said he was scared, he was still hungry. So, he rode a loop around the building on his bicycle.
According to Ƶsistant Prosecuting Attorney Tyler Shoub, Dillahunty was practicing stabbing motions behind the building. But Dillahunty testified he was just moving his arm so as to not fall off of his bike because he had been hit by the door in his rib cage.
When Dillahunty circled back around to the front of the building, he said he went to apologize to Stratton in the storeƵs breezeway. Then, he said, Stratton threw down his backpack and started threatening him.
Afraid Stratton would chase him on his bike, Dillahunty testified he stabbed him one time to get away from him using a one-inch pocket knife he carried every day.
The footage
During the first day of DillahuntyƵs trial Tuesday, the jury watched a video of his interview with HPD. According to Shoub, Dillahunty originally told the officers the knife was not his, as he had grabbed it off of Stratton during their Ƶtussle.Ƶ
After watching a video from a Sheetz security camera, Shoub said not only had Dillahunty lied about where the knife came from, but there had been no Ƶtussle,Ƶ and no punches were thrown. Shoub also said, in the video recording, Dillahunty looked like he had his hand on the knife in his pocket, which he said looked much larger than a small pocket knife, during his interaction with Stratton.
According to Shoub, when Dillahunty finally pulled the knife on Stratton, Stratton was at his bike with his back turned.
ƵThat knife was coming out from the moment (Dillahunty) ran into Timothy Stratton,Ƶ Shoub said during his closing arguments.
According to Shoub, the knife was never recovered. No weapon was submitted for evidence during the trial.
Dillahunty said he was ƵnervousƵ at the police station. Defense lawyer Tanner Wall pointed out that while Dillahunty was under oath at the Cabell County Courthouse, he had not been under oath at the police station.
Shoub said that although Dillahunty said he was so scared of Stratton that he had to stab him to get away, Dillahunty stayed at the gas station after the first interaction to get food and even approached Stratton.
Shoub said the footage showed Dillahunty fleeing the scene on his bike, which Circuit Court Judge Gregory Howard said during his instructions to the jury could show guilt.
ƵHeƵs not running out of fear. HeƵs just fleeing a crime scene because he knows he just stabbed somebody,Ƶ Shoub said.
No audio from the video of the incident was taken into evidence, according to Wall, and no audio was presented to the jury.
The outcome
ƵThe bleeding never stopped. At 3:12 p.m. it started. At 7:22, Mr. Stratton was gone,Ƶ Shoub said.
Wall said, after looking at the records from the medical examiner, he read there was a possibility that Stratton may have died from problems with his blood not being able to clot. He told the jury that although he could not Ƶin good conscienceƵ say Dillahunty was innocent, he encouraged them to convict the defendant of involuntary manslaughter, meaning Dillahunty committed the crime without intent or malice.
According to HowardƵs description of the first-degree murder charge, the jury ultimately found Dillahunty guilty of murder that was malicious, intentional and premeditated.
ƵWeƵre satisfied with the verdict. We thought it was the appropriate verdict given the evidence we presented,Ƶ chief assistant prosecuting attorney Glen Conway told The Herald-Dispatch.
