Witnesses for the prosecution gave testimonies Wednesday in the murder trial involving Donte M. Washington, 26, who was allegedly involved in a Dec. 4, 2016 shooting that left 36-year-old Jerard Fountain dead.
The medical examiner who’d determined the cause of death for Fountain said the victim had been shot in the right upper chest area, and that the bullet had exited through his left armpit.
“The wound path was through the heart and severely disrupted the heart,” said Christopher Kiefer.
Daviess Commonwealth’s Attorney Bruce Kuegel brought forth witnesses ranging from detectives involved with the initial investigation to Washington’s former girlfriend, whose car had allegedly been driven when the murder occurred. Two different witnesses described the crime scene in the 600 block of Sycamore Street as “chaotic” after the shooting happened.
Ken Bennett, a Crime Scene Investigator with the Owensboro Police Department at the time, told the 14 jurors that 93 pieces of evidence were collected during the investigation.
Seven additional shell casings were collected from the scene, Bennett said. A bag of marijuana and a bag of crack-cocaine were also discovered at the scene. While the bag of cocaine was found in Fountain’s front pocket, Fountain’s toxicology screen — taken after he’d been declared deceased — was clear.
Bennett said no usable fingerprints were taken from the firearm that killed Fountain.
Video footage taken from cameras at St. Benedict’s Homeless Shelter provided footage from at least five different angles from outside the building. Kuegel shared seven videos with the jurors and those in the courtroom.
Camera footage showed the Lexus allegedly involved in the shooting from several different angles and cameras, but little can be seen of the actual shooting itself. In one video clip, a male is seen running from what appears to be the location of the shooting, but it’s difficult to identify the male.
According to Bennett, DNA swabs were taken from the steering wheel and gear shift of the vehicle.
“They were deemed to be of no value,” Bennett said of the fingerprints.
A former car salesman and Criminal Investigations Detective during the time of the incident, Joseph Jones, said he could tell from watching the video that the car being driven was a Lexus. When the defense questioned how Jones could know these details from watching the video, Jones said he was able to identify the Lexus based on its headlights and “front grill” design.
“But you couldn’t see the license plate? You couldn’t determine the year?” asked Washington’s attorney, Leigh Jackson.
“No,” Jones said.
Kuegel also questioned Washington’s then-girlfriend, Deanna Posey, who testified that Washington had been driving her car on the day and evening of Fountain’s shooting. However, Posey admitted to giving detectives two different stories before finally settling on the truth during her third story.
Posey told prosecutors she had owned a 2002 Lexus that Washington drove on the day of the shooting. After leaving Posey’s aunt’s house with another suspect in the murder, Preston Williams, Washington was supposed to return with Posey’s vehicle, but never did.
After finding her car the next morning, Posey said she decided to call OPD because she’d heard from her sister, India Johnson, that her vehicle had been involved in foul play.
Posey positively identified her vehicle in still shots Kuegel presented to her Wednesday. Posey said she was charged with two different counts for giving detectives false information before telling the truth. When the defense asked Posey whether the Commonwealth of Kentucky had offered her any kind of settlement for her testimony given during trial, Posey denied any offer had been made.
When Natisha Walls was called to the witness stand, she told Kuegel that she picked up a cell phone she’d found on the ground after discovering her cousin, Fountain, had been shot.
“There were a couple of phone calls that came through [after the shooting],” Walls said.
Walls said she spoke with three people who called the phone immediately following the shooting. Four days later, Walls surrendered the phone to OPD Detective Arthur Maglinger. Walls said she spoke to two males and one female while she had the phone in her possession.
Neither Kuegel nor Walls determined who that phone had belonged to, but Posey said she called Washington’s phone after the incident, and that a female had answered.
“I didn’t know the phone was involved with anything,” Walls said. “I spoke to a friend about [the situation], and that [compelled me to turn it in].”
Walls said she never made any outgoing calls or texts on the phone while it was in her possession, nor did she tamper with the device in any way.
The trial will continue Thursday morning at 10 a.m. when more evidence will be brought before the court.
