The trial began Tuesday in Garland County Circuit Court for a local man charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder for the 2012 shooting death of another local man and the shooting of a second man in the arm.
Kenyon Wayne Taylor, 23, and his brother and alleged accomplice, Jacorei Lance Thornton, 28, were both arrested June 26, 2012, in connection with the fatal shooting two days before of Randy Shinkle, 28, near his residence at 402 Estelle St., and the shooting of a passenger in Shinkle's vehicle, Juan Santiago, 21, who lived across the street.
The charges against both suspects were withdrawn in March of this year because they were unable to locate two key witnesses and time was running out to bring the case to trial under the speedy trial law, but the charges were refiled against Taylor and he was arrested again April 23.
Deputy Prosecutor Joe Graham said Tuesday they have not refiled the charges against Thornton yet in the case, and that decision would likely depend on the outcome of Taylor's trial this week.
In his opening remarks to the six-man, six-woman jury, Graham said the prosecution would prove Taylor and his brother "beat down and gunned down" Shinkle in the middle of the street around 12:30 a.m. on June 24 because of a confrontation between Shinkle and Taylor a few hours earlier at Shinkle's house.
He said Shinkle had taken offense at some comment Taylor made and Shinkle had slapped Taylor. Graham said Taylor "didn't do anything" when he slapped him but "got madder and madder" about it later.
He said they allege Taylor called Thornton and the two of them drove over to the victim's house on a motorcycle and confronted Shinkle as he and Santiago were coming back from a trip to the store in Shinkle's pickup.
He said Shinkle saw the two suspects approaching him and got out of his vehicle to confront them and "they began firing at him." Graham said there was evidence Shinkle died from a "near contact range" shot and was also beaten in the head with the butt of a gun.
Taylor's attorney, public defender Mark Fraiser, said in his opening that the "dates, times and players" of the earlier confrontation involving Taylor and the victim were correct, but there was nothing connecting Taylor to the shooting.
He said there was no gunshot residue on Taylor's clothing, no blood or DNA found on him from the victim and "no evidence placing (Taylor) at the scene." He also noted that Santiago, the only witness to the shooting itself, couldn't identify Taylor as the shooter.
"There is no proof he returned and fired a weapon. The only link to Taylor is that he was there earlier and was slapped."
Tammy Hunter, Shinkle's live-in girlfriend, testified that an old friend of Shinkle's, Brice Lewis, and his girlfriend, Christi Myers, had come to their residence earlier that night with two other males, one of whom was later identified as Taylor.
She said Shinkle and the other four went into his bedroom while she stayed outside so she didn't see what happened, but they left a short time later and Shinkle was following them out, saying, "I"m sorry. I'm sorry."
She said Shinkle and Santiago later left to go to the store and she heard him return about 10 minutes later but he stopped up the street from their house.
"I walked outside to the middle of the street and saw (Shinkle) stopped at the corner, standing in front of his truck with his hands on the hood," she said. "He was screaming, 'Come on, you MFs. Come on."
Then she heard gunshots and "all I could see was gunfire" so she ran back inside and never saw the shooters.
Under cross, Hunter denied that Shinkle had a gun with him, but had no explanation when Fraiser asked her how six spent .380-caliber shell casings were found inside the pickup.
Santiago testified the shooters were two black males on a motorcycle and that Shinkle had got out and was "saying stuff to them" when they started shooting. He said he couldn't see the shooters very well, but noted one was bigger than the other.
He said he ducked down when the shooting started and "was trying to get out of the truck but the door was stuck."
He said he finally got the door open and ran to his house where he discovered he had been hit in the arm by a bullet. He denied that he or Shinkle had a gun, but also had no explanation for the shell casings inside the pickup or how his blood was reportedly found on some of the casings.
Under cross, Santiago admitted he was an illegal immigrant whose deportation hearing was coming up and had been "put off" so he could testify, but denied he was promised any kind of deal for his testimony.
He said he didn't see anyone come up to the truck and shoot Shinkle at close range or hit him with a gun.
HSPD Sgt. Tom Winton, who helped process the crime scene, testified they found six .380 shell casings inside the pickup and one on the ground near it. They also found six 9 mm shell casings on the ground, but none inside the pickup.
He noted there were multiple bullet holes in the pickup, all on the passenger side, and in the windshield and rear glass.
During a later search warrant at Thornton's residence on Plateau Street, they found a motorcycle similar to one Santiago had described and located a 9 mm handgun, but didn't find a .380 handgun.
Brice Lewis testified he and Shinkle had been friends for 25 years and he and the others had gone to Shinkle's house that night "to smoke weed with him."
He said when they arrived Shinkle was outside dancing and listening to rap music and that they had all laughed about it which prompted Shinkle to make a comment about how dark skinned Taylor and the other guy with them were.
He said Shinkle insisted they come inside so they did and were in his bedroom when he started bragging about an antique beer sign he had. He said Shinkle got upset about something Taylor said about the sign and was suddenly standing over him, saying, "You think this is a game, son?" and then slapped Taylor.
Lewis said Taylor asked him, "Is he serious?" and then Shinkle told them to leave, so they all did.
He said Taylor was upset and made a phone call to someone at one point asking the person to meet him. He said they dropped Taylor off, but Taylor later called him wanting him to get Shinkle to "come outside and fight him."
Lewis said he refused and told Taylor not to go over there. He said Taylor called him later and said, "I handled that."
Fraiser asked why Lewis had never mentioned the last call from Taylor to police or to anyone before Tuesday's testimony and Lewis said he "can't recollect leaving it out."
Fraiser accused Lewis of never mentioning it before because it wasn't true, but Lewis denied it. But then under further cross he finally admitted, "I have a really bad memory sir," and Fraiser said, "I"m done with this witness."
The trial is scheduled to resume today at 8:30 a.m. with Judge John Homer Wright presiding. Deputy prosecutor Ron Jones is also representing the state in the case.
Local on 09/17/2014