Prosecution rests in Muncie man's murder trial
MUNCIE, Ind. — Prosecutors on Thursday completed their case in a Delaware Circuit Court 5 murder trial.
Prosecutors Eric Hoffman and Zach Craig contend Jason De'Andre Harris, 34, fatally shot Erik Sparks, a 28-year-old Muncie resident, on the Cardinal Greenway, south of McGalliard Road, in February 2022.
Sparks had allowed Harris and his brother to stay at his southside home prior to the homicide.
In addition to murder, Harris is charged with criminal confinement, unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, obstruction of justice and theft.
Authorities said he had the victim's keys, cellphone and wallet in the wake of the shooting, and also pawned a big-screen TV removed from the victim's bedroom.
The trial was not in session on Friday.
On Monday, after lawyer David Shircliff of Fishers presents the defense's case, the attorneys are expected to make closing arguments to the jury.
In Indiana, a murder conviction carries a maximum 65-year prison term.
In other court news:
Prisoner charged: An inmate at the Delaware County jail has been accused of possessing a "shank."
Hutson M. Jamison, 33, was charged Wednesday in Delaware Circuit Court 1 with being a prisoner in possession of a dangerous device, a Level 5 felony carrying up to six years in prison.
Jail officers said Jamison gave them his shank — "a jail-issued toothbrush which had been filed down to a sharp point on one end" — after he had made a court appearance on Nov. 22.
He reported he had forgotten to remove the item from his pocket before going to court that day.
The Muncie man is in jail awaiting a Jan. 15 trial, also in Circuit Court 1, on a count of battery against a public safety official, filed in July.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Prosecution rests in Muncie man's murder trial
