Grand jury will hear case of Hartselle man accused of shooting wife

Jan. 8—A Morgan County grand jury will hear the case of a Hartselle man who police allege shot his wife in the buttocks during a family Christmas dinner after he discovered she had been speaking to another man on the phone, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Jerry O’Neal Hutto, 76, is charged with first-degree domestic violence in connection with the Dec. 22 shooting. He sat in a wheelchair and appeared in jail garb Tuesday morning for a preliminary hearing before Morgan County District Judge Shelly Waters.

“She’s OK, I just shot her in the ass,” Hutto told a dinner attendee after allegedly shooting his wife on the front porch of a home at 1623 Barkley Bridge Road, according to testimony from Hartselle police Lt. Daniel Parker.

In the six months leading up to the incident, Parker said police had responded to the residence six times for domestic violence-related misdemeanor calls. “I would say three times he was the aggressor, and three times she was the aggressor,” he said.

Hutto’s wife petitioned for, and was granted, a protection from abuse (PFA) order against him in October 2024. The petition claimed Hutto had struck her with his walking cane.

A circuit judge ordered the couple to have no contact but allowed Hutto to live separately on the same property. Tuesday, Parker testified that Hutto had been living in a camper about 20 feet behind the home. “There were multiple instances where they had been around each other in violation of the PFA,” he said.

The Dec. 22 family dinner was one such instance, according to testimony. Responding Hartselle police officers summoned Parker to the residence at around 4 p.m. Hutto had already left the scene, Parker said, and was later returned to the Hartselle Police Department for questioning after he was picked up by Lawrence County deputies.

After he was mirandized, Hutto declined to speak to the police. Hutto’s wife told police that she and Hutto had a verbal altercation after he found out she had been speaking with another man “amid a divorce,” Parker said. No divorce proceedings between the couple appeared in court records on Tuesday.

Six to seven witnesses at the scene told a similar version of events, according to testimony.

“They all said the victim had advised him (Hutton) she was talking to another man, and he became irate,” Parker said.

A witness standing inside the home’s kitchen told police that he saw the assault through a window, Parker said, and then ran to the porch.

“I grabbed his arm and said, ‘What the (expletive), Jerry?'” the witness told police, according to Parker.

Parker said the victim’s daughter told police: “I seen my mama with blood running down her leg on the porch.”

After the gunshot, according to Parker, Hutto “took off” down the street.

“He shot her in the left buttock, and the bullet stopped in the thigh,” Parker said. “The majority of the blood was located on the front porch. There was a large amount … and a blood trail all the way to the bathroom.”

Parker said the victim was released from the hospital the next day, and police have had trouble getting hold of her for further questioning in the last couple of weeks. She was scheduled to visit the Hartselle Police Department on Monday, Paker said, but never showed.

Brent Burney, Hutto’s retained attorney, asked Parker to elaborate on the nature of the relationship between the victim and the extramarital male. Parker said the victim had told police the male was a “mutual friend,” sparking a reaction from Hutto at the defense table.

“Sure,” Hutto said sardonically. Burney gestured for his client to remain silent.

On redirect, Parker told Assistant District Attorney Kelly Cimino that the incident represented an “escalation” in the ongoing disputes between the couple. Parker said police are also investigating Hutto for another incident wherein he allegedly fired shots at his wife’s car while she was inside it, but he said the status of that investigation was unknown on Tuesday. Court records showed no criminal charges filed against Hutto for discharging a weapon into an occupied vehicle.

At the conclusion of the hearing, Waters said she found probable cause that a crime was committed and bound the case over to a grand jury. She ordered Hutto to remain in jail without bond.

— david.gambino@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438.

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