FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) – The special prosecutor assigned to the killing of Jason Walker said it is taking a “significant amount of time” to complete her review of the case.
Jason Walker, 37, of Fayetteville, was shot to death after jumping on the hood of a truck in the middle of Bingham Drive around 2:15 p.m. on Jan. 8, according to a police press release at the time.
The man who shot and killed Walker was later identified as Jeffrey Hash, a Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office deputy who was off duty at the time of the fatal shooting.
Fayetteville police said that some witnesses told officers who responded to the scene that Walker ran out into the road and jumped onto the hood of a red pickup truck before ripping off the windshield wiper and hitting the front window with it.
Kimberly Overton Spahos with the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys is the special prosecutor assigned to the case.
While Spahos cannot comment on the investigation, she said the review of the materials from the case is taking some time.
She said reviewing “information, materials, digital data, statements, interviews and other reports compiled during the SBI investigation is taking a significant amount of time to complete.”
Spahos said there is no timetable for when the review could be complete but understands the importance of the investigation.
“It is not unusual for a case of this volume to take several months to review,” she said in a statement to CBS 17.
Authorities have released 911 calls and body camera footage from the incident.
The autopsy released by the medical examiner’s office shows that Walker was shot four times with hollow-point bullets from a 9mm gun — once in the head, once in the heart, once in the back and once in the left thigh.
The bullet that struck Walker in the head went through his brain, his neck and then became lodged in his spinal cord, according to the autopsy.
The bullet that hit Walker in the torso entered his lower chest, hitting him in the right ventricle of his heart, then tore through his liver, stomach, pancreas and aorta before becoming lodged in the left side of his back, according to the autopsy.
Walker was pronounced dead at the scene. The manner of death listed on the autopsy is homicide due to multiple gunshot wounds.
A toxicology report sent along with the autopsy showed that Walker was not under the influence of any illegal substances at the time.
Caffeine and nicotine were detected, as well as Diphenhydramine, which is more commonly known as the allergy medication Benadryl.
Fayetteville Police Chief Gina Hawkins said Hash was detained following the shooting, his statement was taken, and the gun used in the shooting was seized by police. Hawkins also stressed the deputy called 911 to report the incident.
In the days after the shooting, Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West said his office would not be involved in the case. He has instead asked the NCCDA to handle any prosecution.