August 10
NORTH CAROLINA:
N.C. man testifies in own defense in double murder trial
A man on trial for the shooting deaths of two Illinois men at a North
Carolina State University tailgating party testified Tuesday that he fired
the shots because he feared for his brother's safety.
In an unusual turn, the defense called Timothy Johnson, 23, as its 1st
witness. Johnson is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the
Sept. 4, 2004, shootings of Kevin McCann, 23, of Chicago and 2nd Lt. Brett
Harman, 23, a Camp Lejeune Marine from Park Ridge, Ill.
Johnson said that his brother, Tony Johnson, had been cut by a bottle
during a fight and that he was afraid for him when he fired a gun. He said
he did not intend to shoot anyone.
"I know what I should have done," Johnson testified. "But it happened so
fast. I couldn't let them hurt my brother."
Tony Johnson also is charged with murder and has a trial scheduled for
October. Each brother could receive the death penalty if convicted.
During cross-examination, prosecutors concentrated on Johnson's criminal
past, including drug dealing and robbery. They also zeroed in on the fact
that he fled the scene of the shootings, changed his appearance and got
rid of his murder weapon.
Both brothers have been sentenced in a home invasion that took place last
August. On Monday, a witness who has pleaded guilty to participating in
that home invasion testified that Timothy Johnson called him on his cell
phone about an hour after the shootings and told him what happened.
"He called and said, 'I'm sorry, but I shot two people. One of them's
dead. No, I think both of them are dead,'" said Christopher Edge, a friend
of Timothy Johnson.
Edge, 22, who testified for about 3 hours, said he went inside the stadium
after hearing 2 shots but never saw anyone fire a gun.
The prosecution rested its case Tuesday morning.
(source: Associated Press)
OKLAHOMA----impending execution No Appeals Standing In Way Of Tulsa
Killer's Execution
An Oklahoma death row inmate is scheduled to die Thursday for the 1994
shooting death of his estranged girlfriend.
Clemency has been denied and there are no pending appeals for 52-year-old
Kenneth Eugene Turrentine.
Turrentine was originally convicted of killing 4 people in the June 4th,
1994 shooting spree that claimed the life of Anita Richardson.
But a federal appeals court last year threw out his convictions and death
sentences in the slayings of Richardson's 13-year-old son, Martise, and
her 22-year-old daughter Tina Pennington. Turrentine received a no-parole
life term for killing his sister, 47-year-old Avon Stevenson, in Tulsa on
the same day.
Prosecutors say Turrentine believed Richardson was seeing other men and
that his sister was helping her deceive him.
(source: Associated Press)
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Quadruple homicide arrest made
Authorities made an arrest Tuesday related to a quadruple homicide
Memorial Day in Oklahoma City.
Arthur James Wilder, a 24-year-old Midwest City man with several past
felony convictions for drug crimes, was arrested at the Oklahoma City
Police headquarters on a criminal complaint of accessory to murder about
4:30 p.m., Sgt. Mike Klika said.
Klika had no other information Tuesday night, including what role Wilder
may be accused of having played in the slayings.
According to court records and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections,
Wilder has been serving a suspended sentence for possession of
methamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
In Oct. 2004, Wilder pleaded guilty to the drug charges. He received two
4-year suspended sentences for possession of methamphetamine and marijuana
and a one-year suspended sentence for the possession-of-drug-paraphernalia
charge. The sentences were to be served concurrently.
He also was fined $300 and ordered to perform 40 hours of community
service.
Wilders' arrest appears to be the first major development since early June
for investigators seeking to learn who committed the crime.
On June 1, they served a search warrant on a south Oklahoma City home,
where they confiscated a maroon van from the home, and arrested a man
there on an unrelated drug possession complaint. On Memorial Day, officers
found three men and a woman dead after a man attending a party near 1800
SE 29 flagged down police to report hearing gunshots.
The dead people were found near trailers in a fenced-in area south of D&L
Alignment and Brakes. The trailers are accessible only by passing through
two gates in the alignment shop's chain-link fence, which is topped by
barbed wire.
But Les Elwood, 59, the shop owner, said the front gate was left half open
on Memorial Day - wide enough for a vehicle to drive into the yard.
Police reported recovering 37 casings from ammunition used by assault
rifles at the crime scene in southeast Oklahoma City.
The victims were Amy J. Wright, 26; James "Donnie" Swindle Jr., 49; Terry
L. Smith, 56, and James D. Alderson, 57.
Wilder was being held without bail in the Oklahoma County jail late
Tuesday.
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4 inmates to be tried in prison slaying
In Cushing, 4 inmates accused of participating in a prison riot in which
an inmate was killed were ordered Tuesday to stand trial in Payne County
District Court.
Payne County Special Judge Phillip Corley found probable cause that Cedric
D. Poore, 31; Eugene Gutierrez, 33; Shawn P. Byrd, 32; and Jason J.
Williamson, 22, participated in the March 22 riot at Cimarron Correctional
Facility that left inmate Adam Lippert dead from stab wounds.
The 4 men have been charged with participating in a riot that resulted in
a death.
The charge carries the possibility of the death penalty.
Poore, Gutierrez and Byrd will be arraigned Sept. 2. Williamson will be
arraigned Sept. 16.
(source for both: The Oklahoman)
