Witness says he saw Stancil kill victim
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on April 27, 2017 9:57 AM
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District Attorney Matt Delbridge on Wednesday instructs Johnathan Edwards, a Wayne Community College student who was in the same work study program as Kenneth Morgan Stancil III, to identify his location in a photo of the print shop on the campus of Wayne Community College the day he witnessed the killing of print shop technician Ron Lane.
Witness testimony and evidence presentation began Wednesday in the fourth day of the first-degree murder trial of 22-year-old Kenneth Morgan Stancil III after a jury for the trial was set before lunch.
The third and last witness of the day called by prosecutor Matt Delbridge was Johnathan Edwards, who said he saw Stancil shoot Ron Lane Jr. in the print shop of Wayne Community College on April 13, 2015.
Edwards was a student at the college in the same work-study program as Stancil under Lane at the time of the shooting.
He testified he was the first one in the print shop that morning, and Lane came in second.
Then, while he was working on an assignment Lane gave him and listening to music through headphones, he said Stancil came into the room.
Edwards said there was a few moments of conversation between the two men, and it became more and more heated as Stancil raised his voice.
He said he then removed one of his headphones and heard Stancil say to Lane, "(Expletive) you!" three times, Lane say, "I'm sorry," and then Stancil shot Lane and left the room without a word.
Edwards said he was only 4 feet away when Stancil shot Lane.
"He just fell dead and there was blood on the wall," Edwards said.
He said he was frozen for several moments after witnessing the shooting before running to get help.
Stancil's defense attorney, Walter Webster, has told the court and jury the defense admits Stancil shot and killed Lane, which are two of four elements the state is required to prove for a guilty verdict in a first-degree murder charge.
In addition to Edwards, Jordan Carr and Vanessa Jernigan were also called to the stand to testify Wednesday.
Carr works at Swop Shop on South George Street, which is where Stancil purchased the 12 gauge pump-action shotgun on Oct. 17, 2014, allegedly used to kill Lane.
Jernigan is a financial aid specialist at Wayne Community College, and oversaw Stancil's entry into the work-study program in which he worked for Lane.
She testified to how he was accepted into the program, how he came to work under Lane and confirmed several unexplained work absences by Stancil before Lane fired him.
Delbridge and Webster also gave their opening arguments in the case Wednesday before witness testimony and presentation of evidence got underway.
Delbridge substantiated his argument by reading quotes directly from a video recorded by Stancil before the murder.
The quotes were often profanity-laden and some pointed toward Stancil's reasoning for shooting Lane, and even showed Stancil pondered what it would be like in prison.
"This is going to be a case about respect," Delbridge told the jury. "Mr. Stancil worked for Mr. Lane on the campus of Wayne Community College. Mr. Lane took him on as a work-study student so Mr. Stancil could make some money. But Mr. Stancil didn't appreciate that. Mr. Stancil didn't even respect Mr. Lane -- because, in Mr. Stancil's words, Mr. Lane was a, '(Expletive) moron. A (expletive) (homophobic slur).'"
Delbridge read a multitude of profane-laden quotes to the jury pulled from the video Stancil recorded before the killing.
That video will be allowed in the trial as substantiative evidence, meaning it can be considered as fact on its own.
Delbridge pointed to Lane's firing of Stancil as partial reasoning for the killing, and also pulled quotes from Stancil's recorded video that said Stancil wanted to kill Lane every time he saw him.
"As the months went on, months went by, months went by, just, you know, I was dreading going up in there because of this stupid (expletive)," Delbridge said, quoting Stancil's videotaped diatribe. "It's like every time I seen him, I just wanted to (expletive) kill him, you know, with my bare hands. Just snap his (expletive) neck, and end his sorry, (expletive) life."
Delbridge also pulled quotes from that same video that pointed to Stancil believing Lane was messing around in his personal business by adding Stancil's younger brother on Facebook and added him as a friend, then liked one of his photos.
Webster expanded on this during his opening arguments, saying the photo Lane liked was of Stancil's then-16-year-old brother shirtless.
Webster also argued Lane allegedly told Stancil he was going to "get with" his younger brother.
Webster argued that Stancil's father instilled in him that if something should happen to him, Stancil would be responsible for being the man of the house since he was the eldest.
When Stancil was 14, his father committed suicide, Webster said.
From then on, Stancil was forced to act like a man, Webster said.
"Despite his young age, Mr. Stancil did his duty," Webster said.
Webster substantiated this argument by pointing to Stancil's involvement in Boy Scout Troop 92 in Dudley, eventually attaining the rank of Eagle Scout, as him shouldering the responsibility of being the man of his household.
Webster argued that scouting instilled values of citizenship and manhood in Stancil, and he valued it so much he kept his Eagle Scout patch and several other patches he earned on a jacket he wore after he aged out of scouting. Webster further argued that prior to the killing, Stancil and Lane had no altercations, even after he was fired, and said Lane's homosexuality never bothered Stancil.
"What did bother Mr. Stancil, though, was that Mr. Lane had shown a romantic and/or sexual interest in his little brother," Webster said.
No evidence of Lane's alleged actions toward Stancil's younger brother has yet been presented in trial.
This argument culminated in reasoning that Stancil was only doing what he felt he had to do to protect his family when he killed Lane.
Webster said in Stancil's videotaped, profane-laden monologue, he discussed what he wanted to leave to family members, and showed his younger brother how to handle several responsibilities around the house -- just like Stancil's father had prior to taking his own life.
Wednesday ended with Edwards still on the stand under cross-examination from Webster.
Stancil's trial will resume today at 2 p.m.
The trial is being presided over by Superior Court Judge Jay Hockenbury.