T-L Photo/ROBERT A. DEFRANK David Carl Kinney, accused of the shooting murder of Brad McGarry in Bellaire, consults with his defense attorney, Chris Gagin in court Tuesday. Kinney’s request for a reduction of his $1 million bond was denied.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The man accused of shooting Brad McGarry to death in his Bellaire residence appeared in Belmont County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday and learned that his bond will remain set at $1 million.

David Carl Kinney, 30, of Brilliant is charged with murder with a firearm specification. His defense attorney, Chris Gagin, brought more than a dozen motions before Judge Frank Fregiato on Tuesday, including the bond reduction request. Kinney’s next hearing is set for July 6, when the question of suppressing evidence will be reviewed. His trial date remains set for July 18.

On the day of the murder, May 7, Kinney contacted police and said he had found McGarry’s body while visiting McGarry’s home. Kinney’s wife and daughter accompanied him on the visit. He was arrested days later, after allegedly giving several conflicting stories under questioning by law enforcement and eventually claiming to have shot McGarry, 43, in self-defense.

Numerous friends and family members attended the hearing Tuesday in support of Kinney. Gagin requested that his client’s bond be reduced to $250,000, an amount Kinney’s family could raise. He called several witnesses to the stand, including Kinney’s wife, Cheri Kinney, his mother, Cathy Cline, his father-in-law, Bruce Butler, and his stepfather-in-law, Martin Marn. They testified about Kinney’s character, saying he has always been honorable, hard-working and responsible, as well as a loving husband and father.

Cheri Kinney said her husband has been a father to her three children for the past 10 years, despite not being their biological parent.

“They’re all really close. They have a really good relationship, a bond,” she said, adding that his incarceration has been difficult for the children. “It’s really hard for them.”

She said her feelings for her husband and her trust in him remain despite the fact that the investigation has revealed that a romantic relationship existed between him and McGarry.

Kinney’s mother said this crime does not match the nature of the person she raised.

“Something tragic had to happen for this to happen,” Cline said. “This is not him.”

Gagin suggested a reduced bond could be paired with house arrest and electronic monitoring.

Chief Assistant Prosecutor Kevin Flanagan cross examined the witnesses on the nature of the crime, with Flanagan stressing the deception involved in the allegations as well as the firearms that Kinney owns.

“There was actually another side of Mr. Kinney you do not know about,” Flanagan said to Butler, referring to the relationship between Kinney and McGarry.

In his cross-examination of Cheri Kinney, Flanagan questioned her about the events of May 7, alleging prior calculation and design on Kinney’s part when he took her and their daughter to McGarry’s house. She said Kinney said the purpose was to return a weed trimmer to McGarry.

“Did Mr. Kinney act like he expected to see Mr. McGarry at Mr. McGarry’s home on May 7?” Flanagan asked.

Cheri said Kinney gave no indication anything would be wrong in the house. She described arriving at McGarry’s house, knocking, and finding the back door propped open, then entering and observing an apparently ransacked home before Kinney went down to the basement and yelled at her to call 911.

“As soon as he yelled, I went down,” she said, then described seeing the victim. “He was laying face-down on the basement floor.”

Flanagan said Kinney gave the impression that the presence of the victim’s body was a surprise to him.

“You’re down in the basement with Mr. Kinney. You’re saying he is expressing the same shock you are?” Flanagan asked. “Is it fair to say he was acting surprised to find Mr. McGarry?”

Flanagan inferred that during the trip to McGarry’s house, Kinney was putting on a ruse.

“You then however came to learn that Mr. Kinney knew all along what you would find in that basement,” Flanagan said. “We now know that while he takes you and your daughter to this house, he knows that Brad McGarry is dead in that house, and yet he brought you and your daughter into that residence.”

Fregiato acknowledged the dedication of all who attended, but said the issues that came up during testimony did not justify a bond reduction.

“The purpose of the witnesses today … was to show that this defendant was so dependable, honest … the testimony that came through, quite frankly, was the exact opposite,” Fregiato said, noting the testimony indicated Kinney had led a dual life, secret from those closest to him. Fregiato said this impacted Kinney’s reliability and honesty and suggested duplicity. “This defendant took his own wife and daughter into the … incident scene home, where there was a dead person there, under the ruse that he was just stopping by and didn’t know that was going on — basically lying through his teeth to his wife and his child. So the evidence that came through paints quite a different picture than what one initially tries to show as ‘dependable, reliable, honest.'”

Fregiato added that his duties include protecting the community and ensuring the defendant appears at trial. He said he has a poor impression of electronic monitoring systems.

“They assure nothing. They assure that we will be notified once he leaves. I’ve had experience with those, and they have all been bad,” Fregiato said.

The other motions filed by Gagin dealt with issues such as sharing evidence and a request that Kinney would henceforth appear in civilian clothes and without restraints. These motions were granted or would be settled between prosecution and defense.

The July 6 hearing will deal with the request for suppression of evidence gained during Kinney’s five-hour interrogation.