Man killed his friend inside a van in Portsmouth, prosecutors say. Now the case is heading to a grand jury.

PORTSMOUTH — A man accused of killing his friend inside a van last year will be prosecuted in Portsmouth.

At a preliminary hearing Tuesday, a judge found prosecutors had established probable cause in their case against Vinol Shinault, 60, and sent the case to a Circuit Court grand jury.

Shinault faces a first-degree murder charge and numerous weapons counts in the December death of Rommel Stroud.

On Dec. 16, just minutes before midnight, police were called to the emergency room at Maryview Medical Center for a man brought in with a gunshot wound to the head. He later died. Stroud’s injury was a “contact wound,” and the muzzle of the gun was pressed against his head when it was fired, the doctor who performed the autopsy testified.

In an interview with police, Shinault told detectives he was homeless and lived with Stroud in a van, a detective testified Tuesday in General District Court. The two men had known each other for at least a year, according to testimony.

Shinault told the detectives he drove Stroud to buy narcotics on the day of the shooting. He said he had a gun in his van and was worried for his safety. He said he’d taken the gun from his ex-wife years ago for protection.

Shinault told police that after they left, a car started shooting at them, and he returned fire, the detective testified.

Shinault said he went to his brother’s place and noticed Stroud was slumped forward in the passenger’s seat, the detective said. He said he then took Stroud to the hospital.

Police found a shell casing on the driver’s seat of Shinault’s van, and multiple gunshots could be seen on the exterior of the van, according to testimony.

Breaking News

As it happens

Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts.

When Shinault drove to the emergency room, he pulled up fast, horn blaring, a security guard testified. He initially told the guard and police that he’d found an injured Stroud on the side of the road under a bridge and picked him up to bring him to the hospital, according to testimony.

He asked the guard if he could leave, but the guard said he had to wait for police to get there, which he did. Police found a gun on Shinault at the hospital.

Before the case moved forward to Circuit Court, Shinault’s attorney, Nathan Chapman, asked the judge to throw out the charges.

Chapman said no evidence had been presented connecting the gun found on Shinault to the bullet that killed Stroud.

Prosecutor Chris Warman argued that he had established probable cause. A shell casing was found in Shinault’s driver’s seat, and the medical examiner determined that Stroud was shot at close range, which didn’t match Shinault’s stories.

Warman said bullet fragments from Stroud’s body weren’t matched.

Margaret Matray, 757-222-5216, margaret.matray@pilotonline.com