Guilty on both charges
By John Joyce
Published in News on September 16, 2014 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Javonta Ellis, center, sitting beside his defense attorney Charles Gurley, hears that he has been convicted of the murder of Kevin Bell and will go to prison for life. Gurley and defense attorney Mary Darrow, right, who represented co-defendant Stephon Jennings, each said they would appeal their clients' guilty verdicts.
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Javonta Ellis, center, sitting beside his defense attorney Charles Gurley, hears that he has been convicted of the murder of Kevin Bell and will go to prison for life. Gurley and defense attorney Mary Darrow, right, who represented co-defendant Stephon Jennings, each said they would appeal their clients' guilty verdicts.
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Carolyn Bell, mother of victim Kevin Bell, is comforted by her other son, Charles Bell, and friends of the family after hearing the news of the guilty verdicts Monday.
Some shed tears for the 34-year-old who lost his life June 14, 2012.
Others were moved by the notion that their loved ones -- the two Wayne County teenagers convicted of murdering Kevin Bell -- had been found guilty.
Stephon Deandre Jennings, 19, will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Javonta Marquez Ellis could get out one day -- but only because Assistant District Attorney Mike Ricks reminded Superior Court Judge John Nobles that the young man was only 15 years old when he was involved in the robbery and shooting that resulted in Bell's death.
After being deadlocked less than a week ago, the jury charged with determining the guilt or innocence of the two teens reached a verdict late Monday morning.
Jennings and Ellis, its members said, were guilty of attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon and first-degree murder.
But the man and woman who represented the young men are still not convinced.
And both said they plan to appeal -- that the fact that the two were tried together likely made an impact.
"I wish (the jury) would have considered them separately," said Charles Gurley, Ellis' defense attorney. "My guy wasn't there.
"If he had been on trial by himself, I believe he'd be going home today."
Jennings' attorney, Mary Darrow, objected to the fact that her client and Ellis were being tried at the same time several times during the trial.
But even so, she still does not believe the state had enough evidence to warrant a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt.
"I'm curious as to what the jury thought," she said. "I thought the identifications were weak.
"My client maintains he was not there."
Jennings and Ellis were both offered 13-year sentences in return for plea bargains, Ms. Darrow said. Both, however, turned the deal down.
Ellis' grandmother, Linda, is convinced her grandson is innocent -- and said the family will appeal as many times as it has to until he is vindicated.
"It's not right," she said.
And Ms. Darrow, who has her own theory about who committed the crime, said no matter who the killer is, the Goldsboro Police Department did not conduct the type of investigation needed to prove it.
"I felt there was more the Goldsboro Police Department could have done to make their case -- to either make a stronger case against my client or to find out whoever did it," she said.
The District Attorney's office -- and Bell's mother, Carolyn -- declined to comment.