"I couldn't go no place without having to watch my back," Hoak testified.
Hoak led the jury through his version of the events of Feb. 9, 2003, when Hose was shot.
Hoak said the evening started when he and a group of friends went to Shenandoah Lanes to bowl. Hoak said the group enjoyed a few pitchers of beer, but Hoak said he was not intoxicated.
Hoak testified he later left Shenandoah Lanes and went to Images with his wife.
After he entered the bar along W.Va. 51 near the intersection with Leetown Road in the southwest portion of Jefferson County, Hoak said he saw Hose, who motioned for Hoak to come over to him.
Hoak said there was a conversation where Hose asked Hoak to stop calling the police and Hoak said he asked Hose to leave him alone.
Hoak said after a bouncer suggested to him to "let it go," he shook hands with Hose.
Hoak testified he and his wife left the bar about 2 a.m. and he got in their car to start it and warm it up. Hoak said he was also waiting for a friend to come out of the bar.
Hose came out of the bar and Hoak testified that he asked Hose if everything was OK. Hose responded with a comment that indicated everything was not OK, Hoak testified.
Hoak testified that Hose reached into a car, which concerned him.
"I knew he was going after something in his car," Hoak said.
"He kept coming at me. I told him to stop. I said just leave me alone," Hoak said.
Hoak broke down on the stand at that point, and Circuit Judge Thomas W. Steptoe Jr. called for a short recess.
When Hoak resumed his testimony, he recounted the shooting of Hose.
"I closed my eyes and squeezed the trigger. I don't recall the gun going off," Hoak said.
A witness to the shooting testified that a "crazy" atmosphere among a large group of people developed in the bar's parking lot after Hose was shot, and Hoak testified that he felt he needed to get out of the area.
Hoak said he went to his father's house on nearby Jefferson Orchard Road and told his dad to call the police.
Hoak began his testimony describing how the threats from Hose started.
Hoak said Hose starting making the telephone calls to a home he had in Hedgesville, W.Va., and testified that a fire was started outside his Hedgesville home and another fire was started outside his house in Leetown, W.Va., where he later lived.
"Larry told me he would burn my house down," Hoak said.
Dawson Mongold, Hose's second cousin, testified that Hose was "out to get" Hoak and that Hose was "obsessed" about the situation.
"He was crazy," Mongold testified.
West Virginia State Police Trooper James Long testified that he was familiar with Hose's violent tendencies.
The trial has focused at times on whether Hoak was acting in self-defense, although prosecutors have downplayed the possibility.
Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Michael D. Thompson referred earlier to comments from the Images bouncer the night Hose was killed.
The bouncer, Chris Burnette, testified last week that he told Hoak to "let it go" after Hose and Hoak had their initial conversation in Images.
Burnette said Hoak responded by saying, "This is the thing you can't let go."
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Larry Crofford pointed out Tuesday in cross-examination that discrepancies exist between what Hoak testified to Tuesday and what he told police shortly after the shooting.
Hoak testified that he believed Hose had a weapon when the two met in the Images parking lot, but in a statement to police after the shooting, Hoak said he did not believe Hose had a weapon, according to Crofford.
Hoak told Crofford there is a "lot of conflicting stuff" in his statement to police and said he was not functioning well after the shooting because he was stressed over what had happened.
"I was terrified. I was scared out of my mind. I just wanted to be alone at that point," Hoak said.
The trial started May 10 and defense attorney Kevin D. Mills said he and defense attorney Harley O. Wagner may be able to complete their case today.
