Suspect in alleged hit
and run death could appear in court Monday
Randall “Shorty” David Penland
By Becky Long
Publisher
More than four years after an alleged hit and run caused the death of Randall “Shorty” David Penland the case has yet to be heard in court. His family is hoping this time is different.
Penland’s case is now scheduled for Monday, Jan. 9, during a superior court session in the Bryson City Courthouse, according to his uncle, Dwight Penland.
The case stems from the discovery of Penland’s body in the early morning hours of Nov. 16, 2018.
A caller dialed 911 to report the body around 2:30 a.m. which resulted in N.C. State Highway Trooper K.D. Hyde being dispatched to the scene near Ridgeline Apartments in the Shooting Creek community. Penland was found in the east-b0und lane of Highway 64 east. One of his boots was discovered about 20 feet away on the ground, according to Dwight Penland.
In the initial report Hyde determined Shorty Penland, 49, had been involved in a motor vehicle collision, but the vehicle and its driver had left the scene. Penland lived in the lower Bell Creek community in Towns County,
Clay County Sheriff’s deputies and investigators assisted troopers during a five-month investigation into circumstances surrounding the death which resulted in a local man facing felony charges.
On April 26, 2019, Raymond Leo Hohmann III, of Hayesville, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, felony hit and run and felony obstruction.
Hohmann was allegedly driving a 2005 Dodge pickup heading east on U.S. 64 in the same lane where Penland was found, according to the accident report. He is accused of striking Penland with his vehicle and leaving the scene.
Early in the investigation, Sgt. Chris Wood confirmed that the Highway Patrol had impounded a vehicle and it had been sent to the crime lab for forensics testing.
The arrest warrant for the obstruction charge accuses Hohmann of willfully and feloniously destroying evidence, physical and biological, from a 2005 Dodge truck, relevant to a criminal offense.
On the felony hit and run and involuntary manslaughter charges, in summary the warrant states that Hohmann should have known his vehicle was involved in a crash and he should not have fled the scene.
Hohmann and Shorty Penland had been traveling with a third male passenger throughout the day and into the evening of the accident, according to family members. The third passenger has not been charged in connection to the case.
Hohmann’s criminal case has been continued at least six times since the initial December 2019 Superior Court session. Shorty Penand’s family has also filed a wrongful death suit which has been continued several times and is also yet to be resolved.
“This needs to come to a conclusion,” Dwight Penland said. “This has been hard on our entire family, especially Shorty’s mom and dad. We need to know what happened.”