Parole approved for Hodge

A man convicted of second-degree murder is scheduled for parole in September, according to information provided by the N.C. Post Release Supervision and Parole Commission.

Floyd Curtis Hodge was convicted of the second-degree murder of Jerry Milo Sims on June 20, 1991. Hodge was originally charged with first-degree murder, but an Alleghany County jury found him guilty of the second-degree charge on March 26, 1992.

The parole release is a mandatory 90-day-parole and has a release date listed of Sept. 8, 2003.

The state's current sentencing law, Structured Sentencing, eliminates parole for crimes that were committed on or after Oct. 1, 1994. Since Hodge's crime and sentencing occurred prior to that date, he is being paroled under the previous sentencing guidelines.

According to court records, Hodge will be turning 45 in October of this year. Hodge was originally sentenced to 30 years in the N.C. Department of Corrections. He was first incarcerated in the state penitentiary on March 26, 1992, but received pre-confinement jail credit for 279 days served in the Alleghany County Jail. All told, if released on Sept. 8, he will have served a little more than 12 years and two-and-one-half months of that sentence.

Hodge's trial was presided over by Judge Julius A. Rousseau Jr. At the trial, Hodge was convicted of shooting Sims in the head while he rode in a station wagon driven by Donald Gilbert Shumate. Shumate was not charged with any offense. Up until about two weeks prior to the time of the offense, Shumate had lived with Sims in Laurel Springs. He moved in with Hodge and his wife at that time.

Shumate and Sims went to Hodge's home the night of the offense and were drinking beer and liquor in a building. Hodge, also drinking, periodically came to the building.

Shumate and Sims had been arguing over who shot Shumate's daughter's dog.

Around midnight, all three men decided to go for a ride in Shumate's car, with Hodge in the passenger seat and Sims in the left rear of the vehicle. Shumate and Sims started arguing again and Hodge tried to get involved in the argument.

The records show that Hodge had two pistols the day of the offense and gave one to Shumate. Shumate placed the pistol between his seat and the console.

Sims apparently insulted Hodge and, as Sims attempted to shield himself with his hands, Hodge hit him in the face with the pistol. Hodge then turned to face Sims, leaned toward the dash of the car, pointed the pistol at him and shot him.

Later recovered were a .357 magnum pistol and holster and another weapon (obviously a pistol), not identified in court records.

Court records also stated that Hodge suggested that Shumate help him roll the body into the bushes. Shumate refused and started driving toward the hospital, wrecking the car soon afterwards.

Get the rest of this article in this week's issue of the Alleghany News! Back