A man accused ofshooting and killing another man at a Speedway gas station in Covington repeatedly pulled the trigger even as his target tried to crawl away, police said.
Andrews Jacob Combs, 21, of Covington, is charged with murder in Kenton County District Court. He appeared before Judge Ann Ruttle on Oct. 21 for a hearing to determine if sufficient evidence exists to present the case to a grand jury.
Combs is accused offatally shooting 47-year-old Antonio Hinkston at the Fourth Street gas station early in the morning on Oct. 10. He told authorities that he'd never met Hinkston, but "felt compelled" to open fire after Hinkston walked into the gas station and hit him in the head, according to a criminal citation.
Covington police Detective Marcus
Jordan said in court that surveillance video captured Combs inside the gas station standing near the front door when Hinkston walked in and pushed Combs' head.
Hinkston went to the back of the store, Jordan said, adding that Combs watched Hinkston walk away and pulled a handgun on the older man. The detective said that Combs fired seven rounds at Hinkston and "continued to fire at him after he hit the ground and tried to crawl to safety."
Hinkston died at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. The shooting was caught on video and seen by several witnesses.
Hinkston was unarmed, court filings state. Combs admitted to authorities that he didn't know if Hinkston was armed and couldn't see the man's hands, but said he felt scared.
During an interview with Covington police, Combs told police, "This was not self-defense," according to Jordan's account of the conversation. The detective asked why, to which Combs responded, "because he had his back to me."
The judge allowed the case to proceed to grand jury review and set Combs' bond at $500,000 cash. Alex Lutgen Lacy, his attorney, requested a lower bond, noting Combs' lack of prior felonies.
He's being held at the Kenton County Detention Center awaiting trial.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 'Not self-defense.' Police say man fired rounds as target crawled away
