Convicted murder says another man did it
By John Joyce
Published in News on October 4, 2014 10:59 PM
A motion for appropriate relief has been filed on behalf of Javonta Marquez Ellis, 17, a Wayne County teen convicted of first-degree murder in a joint trial with another defendant Sept. 15.
Both men were sentenced to life in prison.
The motion asks that the verdict be set aside, that both the state and defense be allowed to investigate new evidence and that a new trial be granted.
Defense attorney Charles Gurley said two witnesses came forward -- one the day the verdict was handed down -- with information he hopes will exonerate Ellis.
The motion had to be filed within a 10-day window following the verdict, a deadline Gurley met, and will now have to be heard by the trial judge, Superior Court Judge John E. Nobles.
"The family contacted me that day and said they had heard from someone in jail," Gurley said.
Gurley said the witness, Perez McDuffie, did not come forward because he was afraid.
A jury convicted Ellis, along with the alleged shooter, Stephon Deandre Jennings, 19, in the June 14, 2012, shooting death of Kevin Bell, 34.
Bell died outside his apartment in the Lincoln Homes community in Goldsboro after being shot in an alleged robbery.
Eyewitnesses for the state put both Jennings and Ellis at the scene, but the defense argued the identifications came days later, only after people in the neighborhood put the defendants' names out as having possibly been involved.
By then police had already ruled out another suspect, Nebraska Best, from a tip received through Crime Stoppers.
Best is currently in jail awaiting trial on another murder.
The lead investigator for the case, Karen Zwirblia of the Goldsboro Police Department, said she interviewed Best and he denied involvement. The witnesses did not pick his photo out of the several lineups they were shown. One of the witnesses did pick out a photo of Jennings. The other witness identified Ellis.
According to the motion, McDuffie said he is the one who made the call to Crime Stoppers, and he is now ready to come forward and say so. McDuffie was in a parked car the night of the murder and witnessed the entire event, according to the motion.
McDuffie does not name Best in the motion, but does say he definitely did not see Jennings and Ellis there.
The second witness to come forward does name Best as a suspect in the murder.
Jessica Uzzell, is the girlfriend of the man Best is a co-defendant with on the separate murder charge, Jaquan Dennis.
According to the motion, Ms. Uzzell and Dennis were at the apartment of Best's girlfriend the night of the murder.
The murder took place just after midnight.
The motion alleges that Best came to the apartment at 1 a.m. and told Dennis he needed to speak to him. The two men went out the back door and Best burned his clothes, including a black T-shirt.
Ms. Uzzell also alleges Best spoke about a robbery, shooting and a drug deal gone bad.
During the trial, the defense raised questions about pills discovered scattered near a dumpster at the crime scene. Two pills and a powder described as a crushed-up pill were also found in the victim's pocket when his body arrived at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Raleigh for autopsy, according to court testimony.
The state said the pills were medication Bell was prescribed after having his wisdom teeth removed.
Also during the trial, a witness for the defense said he saw two men running down the street a short time after hearing gunshots. One of them had a gun hanging from his pocket. Neither of the men was Jennings or Ellis, he testified.
District Attorney Branny Vickory said his office is aware of the motion, but will have to reserve comment until after it has been heard.
No motion for appropriate relief has been filed on behalf of Jennings. His attorney, Marry Darrow, could not be reached late Friday for comment.