Testimony: Murder suspect had open-marriage relationship with victim

Dec. 7—MOULTON — A woman accused of cooperating with two others in murdering a man and kidnapping his wife in Lawrence County allegedly had been living with the victims in an open-marriage relationship, an investigator testified in Lawrence County District Court on Tuesday.

Auburn Renee Moore, 36, of New Hope, livestreamed to Facebook her arrest by a Morgan County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) SWAT team at a house on East Moulton Street the evening of Nov. 4. Moore spent much of the roughly 11-minute video asking "the Lord" and "Allah" for help before surrendering with a Bible in her hand to agents who breached the front door.

She was charged with murder, first-degree kidnapping and first-degree robbery in connection with a Lawrence County home invasion earlier that Saturday.

The Lawrence County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) said a man and a woman entered a home at 1577 Lawrence County 245 and shot and killed Dustin Grimes in his bedroom as he tried to protect his wife, Karen Grimes.

The suspects then stole firearms from the home, kidnapped Karen Grimes and forced her to withdraw money from an ATM, according to LCSO. Karen Grimes was then able to escape and call 911 from a convenience store at 6:57 a.m.

The male suspect, Jordan Cesar Hernandez, 35, of Decatur, was taken into custody on Nov. 5 after allegedly leading Decatur police on a vehicle pursuit. Officers said Hernandez fired multiple shots at them from his vehicle before crashing and fleeing into the woods east of Calvary Assembly of God, off Alabama 20.

Hernandez was located with the assistance of multiple law enforcement agencies, including an Alabama Department of Corrections K9 Unit, and charged with attempted murder for allegedly firing at officers. He has not yet been charged in connection with the home invasion.

A third person who initially stayed inside her vehicle outside the Grimes home before allegedly entering to help load stolen items was identified by an investigator as a woman named Asia Hubbard. She has also not been charged in connection with the home invasion.

In Lawrence County on Tuesday afternoon, Moore appeared for her preliminary hearing in a second-floor district courtroom to ask Judge Angela Terry to set a bond for her charges.

Moore, a slight figure in prison garb with hair tinted an unnatural red, glanced several times at the gallery as she waited for proceedings to begin. Her mother, aunt and sister sat in the front row.

When it came Moore's turn, she moved to the counsel's table next to her defense attorney, Kevin Teague. Assistant District Attorney Brian Clark called Lt. Adam Lentz, with the LCSO Criminal Investigation Division, as the state's witness.

Lentz said he went to the Grimes residence the morning of the crime after he was notified by the Moulton Police Department. After arriving at the house, Lentz said he saw Dustin Grimes on the floor next to a bed with a gunshot wound to the eye.

Dustin Grimes' 15-year-old daughter was asleep in bed at the residence when deputies first arrived, Lentz said. She had apparently slept through the shooting.

Karen Grimes later told investigators that she was sleeping in bed with her husband when she heard people come into the room, according to Lentz. It was dark, and there was a sound and noise like a flash-bang.

Then the lights came on, she told investigators, and she saw her husband was dead.

Karen Grimes said there were two masked individuals with guns in the room at the time, and a third person entered the home later, according to Lentz. She told investigators that Moore threatened to harm her daughter if she didn't cooperate.

The alleged perpetrators then forced Karen Grimes to load firearms into a black Dodge Ram pickup, Lentz said. She was still naked from sleeping, according to Lentz. On her way out of the residence, she grabbed a pillow to cover herself.

The group drove to another residence around daybreak and briefly locked Karen Grimes in a bedroom closet, Lentz said. While there, Karen Grimes later told investigators, she recognized Moore and heard Asia's name spoken. She was also given clothes at this location.

Lentz said that the perpetrators, having taken Dustin Grimes' wallet, then decided to drive Karen Grimes to an ATM to force her to withdraw cash. When they departed the residence, Lentz said the group split up into two vehicles: Karen Grimes and Hernandez in one, Moore and Hubbard in another. — Escape

Karen Grimes withdrew $800 from Bank Independent in Moulton and, while walking back toward Hernandez, saw her chance to escape, according to Lentz. Her hands still duct taped together, Lentz said she ran to a nearby convenience store and called 911.

Karen Grimes later picked Moore from a photo lineup and told investigators Moore had lived with and worked for her family for two months, according to Lentz.

Lentz said investigators interviewed Moore a couple of weeks after her arrest and that she had prepared a three-page written statement.

"All three pages were just her quoting the Quran and saying she was a Muslim," he said.

Moore kept her eyes on Lentz throughout his testimony. Clark's questions shifted toward Hubbard's involvement.

Lentz said investigators had detained and questioned Hubbard, whose father owns a black Dodge pickup, the day of the crime. She told them that she had previously been in a romantic relationship with Hernandez and that she had driven to his house in Decatur — the same house where Moore was later apprehended — to retrieve some personal property.

After Hubbard arrived at the residence occupied by Hernandez and Moore, at some point Hernandez declared that they were going to rob Hubbard's father, according to Lentz.

Hubbard told investigators that she kept trying to talk Hernandez out of the plan before Moore eventually said that she knew a place to rob.

Hubbard told investigators that the three then drove to the Grimes residence and that she waited in the vehicle as Hernandez and Moore went inside. She claimed Moore later emerged from the home and told her to help load the vehicle, according to Lentz.

On cross-examination, Teague questioned Lentz about the daughter's presence in the home during the crime.

"The only thing she said was 'I didn't hear anything,'" Lentz said. He added that she is a sound sleeper, and she was awoken after law enforcement arrived on scene.

Investigators found a revolver with its hammer cocked on the daughter's nightstand, according to Lentz. He said she explained keeping it there for her protection.

Teague questioned the nature of the relationship between Moore and Dustin and Karen Grimes.

"They (Grimeses) had made contact with her (Moore) to initiate an open-marriage relationship," Lentz said.

Teague asked if Karen Grimes observed who killed her husband, and Lentz said no, it had been too dark.

Teague then turned his attention toward Hubbard and noted that the vehicle involved in the crime belongs to her father and that she leases the residence where Karen Grimes was locked in a closet.

"So, three people committing this crime?" he asked. "I'm assuming all three have been arrested?"

Not yet, Lentz said. Teague asked about Hernandez.

"Karen (Grimes) says Jordan (Hernandez) was asking her 'why did your husband have to be a hero?'" Lentz said.

Karen Grimes told investigators that Hernandez kept trying to persuade her to give him oral sex during her captivity, but that Moore and Hubbard kept stepping in to distract him, according to Lentz.

Investigators haven't taken a statement from Hernandez yet, according to Lentz. He said phones belonging to the accused were sent off for analysis, and that two 9 mm shell casings and a bloodstained sheet were retrieved from the Grimes home. MCSO also seized firearms, an SUV belonging to Hernandez, and bloodstained boots from Hernandez's Decatur home.

In arguing for bond on behalf of his client, Teague said Moore has a place to stay and could wear an ankle monitor.

"It's really hard for me to argue a low bond in this case," he admitted in the hearing. He requested it be set at $100,000.

Clark argued that Moore should not be granted bond due to her criminal history.

Moore was sentenced in 2017 to two years of probation and given a 12-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to a first-degree robbery charge related to an incident in 2014, according to court records.

Clark also said Moore has two drug trafficking charges pending against her.

Moore looked toward her family as she was escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs. Her family, their eyes wet, seemed stunned.

Afterward, Teague said he didn't believe Terry would set a bond for his client.

"Because of the serious nature of it, I'm not optimistic," he said. "The case is very young; the investigation is obviously not completed. There seems to be a real dispute about who did what."

Clark also said that it's still early in the case and cautioned against specifically targeting one person when multiple individuals were involved.

"We feel like it's important that the judge at least consider a no bond to ensure the community is safe," he said.

Terry filed orders denying Moore's bond motion and finding probable cause to bind the case over to a grand jury later Tuesday. Moore remained in Lawrence County Jail on Wednesday with no bond.

Hernandez remained in Limestone County Jail on Wednesday with no bond on the attempted murder charge.

— david.gambino@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438. @DD_DavidGambino