Expert links casings found on Sixth Street to De'ondre White's gun used in mass shooting
A firearms expert testified Tuesday that the eight bullet casings found at the scene of a shooting in downtown Austin in 2021 came from the Glock pistol that police found when they searched a house in Killeen where De'ondre White had been staying.
Ricardo Ramirez, a forensics analyst with the Texas Department of Public Safety, said during the fifth day of White's murder trial that he was able to fire the pistol and produce casings that had similar markings to those found at the scene of the shooting on Sixth Street on June 12, 2021, that killed bystander Douglas Kantor and injured 13 people.
"I was able to find an agreement in repeating patterns sufficient enough to establish a connection between the Glock pistol and the eight cartridges," Ramirez said.
Ramirez said the Glock was not automatic so the trigger would have to be pulled with every shot. He said it would have taken 5¼ pounds of pressure to pull the trigger, which is similar to the amount of force necessary to open a 12-ounce can of soda.
Another witness testified Tuesday that she could not find White's DNA on the Glock pistol when she tested it. Alexandra Polakovic, an analyst for DNA Labs International, said she found DNA from four individuals on the gun but didn't have enough data to test it. She said she did find White's DNA on a magazine for a Glock pistol that also was found at a Killeen house where White was staying after the shooting.
Defense attorney William Browning asked her if she tested for DNA on the guns carried by Tyshawn Degrate and Jeremiah Tabb, who also were at the shooting. "No," Polakovic said.
Tabb has been charged with tampering with physical evidence in connection to trying to sell the Glock pistol on Instagram. Degrate has testified that he never fired the gun he was carrying on Sixth Street when the shooting happened.
Tabb, who went to Sixth Street with White, took the witness stand on Tuesday afternoon and said that prosecutors had told him that the charge against him might be dropped if he told the truth in his testimony.
More: Detectives: Glock casings found at downtown shooting scene, Glock found at White's home
Tabb said that when he was on Sixth Street, he never motioned for a group to come over to him. Another witness had testified last week that Tabb started the entire incident by motioning for a group of people to come over to him and then saying something aggressive to them.
Tabb said Tuesday that a group of three male teenagers from Killeen had walked by twice staring at him and his friends, so Tabb asked them, "What are y'all looking at?"
"I said what are you guys trying to start?" he testified. "Are you trying to fight?"
He said he saw a guy with a ski mask, later identified as Degrate, about 6 feet away from him touching the waistband of his pants. He said it looked as if Degrate was reaching for a gun, but he never showed it. Tabb said he also had a gun but didn't pull it out. Tabb said he then heard shots fired and that the shots were coming from someone whose arm was over Tabb's shoulder. Tabb said he didn't see who shot the gun.
He said he rode home to Killeen with White and some other friends after the shooting. He and his friends were hanging out later at an apartment in Killeen when news about the shooting broke, Tabb said. White then said he shot his gun in self-defense, Tabb said.
Prosecutor Habon Mohamed then said to Tabb, "He admitted to the shooting but then he said it was self-defense and he was protecting you guys?"
"Yes," Tabb said. He said that White wanted him to get rid of the gun. "Why did you take it?," asked the prosecutor. "I thought we was basically like a family," Tabb said.
Tabb said he tried to sell the Glock on Instagram but could not. He said someone he didn't know asked him to return the gun to White so he left the gun in the passenger seat of a car for that person to pick up.
Defense lawyer Russ Hunt cross-examined Tabb, asking him if he felt threatened by Degrate. Tabb said yes. Hunt asked Tabb why he didn't pull out his gun if he felt threatened. Tabb said he was worried about two girls that were with him.
Mohamed then asked Tabb why he initially told police twice that he didn't know White.
"If all he was doing was protecting you, then why did you lie?" she said. "I didn't want to be a snitch," Tabb said.
White, a Killeen resident, is accused of killing Kantor and injuring the 13 others. Kantor, 25, was a tourist from New York who was in Austin visiting friends. He was struck by two bullets and died a day later in a hospital.
More: Witness testifies De'ondre White dyed hair after fatal shooting in downtown Austin
White, 20, has been charged with murder, a first-degree felony, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony. He faces up to 99 years on the murder charge and up to 20 years on the assault charge.
The shooting was the worst mass casualty event Austin had seen in nearly a decade. It happened about 1:25 a.m. in front of the Mooseknuckle Pub in the 400 block of East Sixth Street, which was particularly busy because of the Republic of Texas motorcycle rally.
Prosecutors have said they had evidence to show that White was the sole shooter and that he fired eight times at a group of people with whom he and his friends had an ongoing dispute.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Expert links casings found on Sixth Street to De'ondre White's gun
