Witness details night of shooting
By John Joyce
Published in News on September 9, 2014 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
During a break in the testimony, defense attorneys Mary Darrow, center, and Charles Gurley, right, examine a map of the neighborhood in which the 2012 murder of Kevin Bell took place. Also looking at the map are defendants Javonta Ellis and Stephon Jennings. Ms. Darrow would later complain to Judge John Nobles about Gurley's tactics, saying Gurley's defense of Ellis is hurting the defense of her client, Jennings. At left is private investigator David McGee.
Stephon Jennings and Javonta Ellis had guns in their hands the night 34-year-old Kevin Bell was shot to death outside his Slaughter Street home.
And Jennings was less than a block away from the crime scene shortly after the fatal shot rang out -- saying either, "I think they saw me," or, "I hope she didn't see me."
Two witnesses called by the state made those claims inside a Wayne County courtroom Monday during the third day of testimony in a murder trial that could see Jennings, 19, and Ellis, 17, jailed for the rest of their lives.
Brandon Leach told the court that he was present the night of the murder and saw two men with guns in their hands.
The young man would later, at the Mount Olive Police Department, identify Ellis as one of them.
And he would also, during the course of the investigation, name several other potential suspects based on what he was hearing from people in the neighborhood.
During cross-examination, Defense Attorney Charles Gurley questioned Leach about what he told investigators.
And he read, repeatedly, one of the descriptions the young man provided to lawmen during the investigation -- a light-skinned man with freckles and "dreads" who stands 6 feet tall -- a description that matches Jennings.
Leach told the court the men he saw commit the murder wore all black clothing and black hats.
One of them, he said, was the light-skinned man with freckles and dreads.
The other man was short, dark-skinned and stocky and wore a black bandana on his head under his hat.
Leach would later identify that man from a set of photos as Ellis.
But Leach was not the only witness who delivered seemingly damning testimony Monday.
Crystal Coley told the court that she saw Jennings on the front porch of a residence next door to her mother's home in Lincoln Homes -- just half a block away from the crime scene.
As she sat in her car, Ms. Coley heard Jennings say either, "I think they saw me," or, "I hope she didn't see me."
In a procedural matter, the two defense attorneys are at odds over a judge's decision to allow the two men to be tried together.
On Aug. 14, Judge Claire Hill approved Assistant District Attorney Mike Ricks' motion to try Jennings and Ellis at the same time.
Ms. Darrow renewed her objection to the "joinder" Monday.
She said that Gurley's continued references to Leach's description of the shooter as "a light-skinned man with freckles and 'dreads'" were prejudicial to her client's defense, in effect "tainting the jury."
Nobles was not moved by Ms. Darrow's objection to the joinder.
The trial, he said, would move forward as planned.
Testimony was scheduled to resume this morning.