Becky Manley, Staff Writer
The Times-Tribune
— During the weeks before Larry Wilson fatally shot Tod Carter at Corbin’s iconic Root Beer Stand, Wilson had sent over 400 text messages and made about 90 calls to Tod Carter’s wife, Kristi Carter.
In that same period, Kristi Carter had sent over 520 texts and made over 70 calls to Wilson — including the initial 83 minute call during which she asked Wilson out on a date.
Details about the brief but intense affair between Wilson, owner of Wilson’s Towing in Williamsburg, and Kristi Carter, who worked as a waitress at the Root Beer Stand, emerged during the first day of Wilson’s jury trial.
Wilson is charged with murder and first degree wanton endangerment following the July 31 shooting.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Allen Trimble was first to speak about the affair during his opening remarks, saying it began last June.
“Wilson pursued her. Gave her big tips and it resulted in Kristi Carter and Larry Wilson having a brief affair,” Trimble said.
By July, Trimble said the affair had ended and Kristi Carter had returned to her husband.
“He (Wilson) was persistent in his pursuit of Mrs. Carter after she had broken it off with him,” Trimble said.
Trimble said that pursuit included multiple visits by Wilson to the Root Beer Stand, culminating in his visit the night of the shooting.
That night, Trimble said Wilson came to the Root Beer Stand late, about 9:30 p.m., armed with a 9 mm Ruger. Wilson arrived about the same time as Tod Carter, who was there to eat and to pick up his wife from work.
After Tod Carter saw Wilson’s tow truck, Trimble said Tod Carter removed his necklace and left it on the front seat of his car before he walked over to Wilson’s truck.
Trimble said most witnesses would testify they heard no words exchanged between the two men, only the sound of a gunshot.
The bullet entered Tod Carter’s body beneath his left arm and exited his right shoulder blade, Trimble said.
“That shot that killed Tod Carter struck a vehicle that was sitting right next to Larry Wilson,” Trimble said.
Because the bullet — which was never found — is believed to have struck the truck parked near Wilson’s vehicle, Wilson was charged with first-degree wanton endangerment.
Trimble then played the 911 call Wilson made, during which Wilson said Tod Carter had struck him with a mug, injuring his eye.
Wilson asked for an ambulance and told the dispatcher he had shot Tod Carter.
“Yes, I shot him,” Wilson said to the dispatcher. “Makes twice he threatened me and I’m tired of it.”
Trimble said a mug and a tray were found inside Wilson’s tow truck and that Wilson’s blood was on the gun.
During his opening statement, Larry Wilson’s defense attorney, Warren Scoville, displayed photos to the jury that showed injuries to Wilson’s face.
Before he showed the photos, Scoville talked about the communication between Wilson and Kristi Carter, sharing the number of phone calls and text messages the two exchanged.
“They had a very intense relationship,” Scoville said.
After the two began their affair, Scoville said Kristi Carter moved in with Wilson for about two weeks.
Once the relationship ended, Scoville said Wilson went to the Root Beer Stand, but it was to eat, adding that Wilson didn’t know Kristi Carter’s work schedule.
On July 31, Wilson parked his tow truck near 18th Street, and Scoville said Wilson was unaware of Tod Carter’s presence.
Displaying a photo of the necklace and watch that Tod Carter removed and placed on his car seat, Scoville said, “He (Tod Carter) walked over to Larry Wilson. Larry Wilson didn’t walk over to him,” Scoville said. “And he never saw Tod Carter coming,” Scoville said.
Scoville said Carter climbed on the step to Wilson’s tow truck, grabbed the steering wheel with his left hand and the mug with his right hand, which he used to strike Wilson.
Because of his business, Scoville said Wilson routinely carried a gun. As Tod Carter hit Wilson, spilling his food and his drink, Scoville said Larry Wilson fired his gun.
“He was acting in self-defense,” Scoville said.
Scoville also argued that the damage to the truck parked near Wilson’s tow truck was caused by flying plastic and that the bullet’s trajectory would not have made it possible for it to strike the truck.
Following the shooting, Scoville said Wilson unloaded his gun, removed the clip and called 911.
“He (Wilson) was in shock,” Scoville said. “He told exactly what happened.”
Scoville said Wilson, 55, is in poor health.
“He didn’t go there for an altercation with a younger man,” Scoville said.
Scoville said blood tests taken showed that Wilson was sober while Carter tested positive for drugs including marijuana, opiates and hydrocodone.
After opening statements, Trimble called 13 witnesses to the stand, most of whom were dining at the Root Beer Stand the night of the shooting and a couple of whom worked there.
Most of the witnesses reported hearing a firecracker-like noise they later learned was a shot. A couple of witnesses said they thought they heard two of the noises.
Many witnesses saw Tod Carter stagger to the Root Beer Stand, bleeding profusely, where he then collapsed.
Witnesses included Amanda Blevens and Darrel Blevens, of Rockholds, who said they were in the car parked next to Tod Carter’s vehicle.
Amanda Blevens said she heard Tod Carter’s passenger — his daughter Hannah Carter — ask him where he was going after Tod Carter climbed out of his car. Tod Carter told his daughter he had to take care of something, then he walked across the parking lot to Wilson’s tow truck, Amanda Blevens said.
Once Tod Carter was at Wilson’s truck, Amanda Blevens said she heard one of the men speak, though she couldn’t identify the speaker.
“One of them said, ‘I told you I was going to get you, you SOB,’” Amanda Blevens said.
After Tod Carter was shot and began to walk back to the Root Beer Stand, Amanda Blevens said Hannah Carter “jumped out” of the car. The girl was stopped by Amanda Blevens’ husband, Darrel Blevens, who handed the girl to his wife.
Amanda Blevens said she took her son and Hannah Carter to the restroom.
“No kid should see anything like that,” Amanda Blevens said.
While on the stand, witness James Grubb Jr. said he saw Tod Carter remove his necklace and that Tod Carter had a flushed face and appeared to be nervous.
“I told my wife, ‘the fight’s on,’” Grubb said.
Debra Poynter and John Michael Poynter, the married couple who sat in a Dodge duel-wheel pickup truck near Wilson’s tow truck, also testified.
Debra Poynter, who estimated her truck was parked about 15 feet away from Wilson’s tow truck, said she was preparing her son’s food when she heard a loud bang and felt a “thud” against the side of the truck.
John Michael Poynter said he felt something hit the truck and that he later found a dent that hadn’t been there before.
When Trimble asked where the bullet struck his truck, John Michael Poynter said, “Basically two inches in front of where he (his son) sat.”
When asked, the Poynters said they found no plastic on the ground near their truck.
Opening statements and witness testimony came in the afternoon following jury selection, which began shortly before 10 a.m.
The 13-member jury, including one alternate juror, was seated before noon.
Before they were admitted to the courtroom, potential jurors and spectators had to pass through a metal detector manned by two security guards.
The trial continues today and is expected to conclude Thursday.
