According to Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson:
A thirty-three year old homicide in Walker County, Georgia has been cleared after “sufficient evidence to prosecute” was identified recently, according to Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson.
On February 5, 1979, Ernest Harrell Hulsey was found deceased at his business, Sonny’s Used Cars, located at 1940 McFarland Road, Rossville, Georgia. Hulsey had been shot once in the abdomen.
In April 2008, the homicide case was reopened by Walker County detectives. During the time of the current investigation, Jimmy B. Cardin, Jr., of Ringgold, Georgia was identified as a suspect.
Furthermore, witnesses were identified whose statements corroborated evidence and other known facts from the crime scene, Sheriff Wilson said.
In April 2009, as detectives were completing the investigation, Jimmy B. Cardin Jr. died from injuries sustained in an automobile accident in Ft. Oglethorpe, Georgia.
After completing the investigation, detectives consulted with Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney Herbert E. (Buzz) Franklin.
In June 2012, District Attorney Herbert E. (Buzz) Franklin reviewed the case and issued a written opinion that states “it appears from the evidence we now possess that there would have been sufficient evidence to prosecute Jimmy Bedford Cardin, Jr., for the murder” [of Ernest Harrell Hulsey].
Investigators believe the shooting stemmed from an argument about a dog fight.
