For the second time, Springfield man charged in 2014 quadruple homicide at motel
A Springfield man is again facing charges in a quadruple homicide that occurred in 2014 at the Economy Inn on North Glenstone Avenue.
Scott Goodwin-Bey, 55, was indicted by a grand jury on four counts of first-degree murder and four counts of armed criminal action after prosecutors say he fatally shot four people inside Room 149 at the Economy Inn on North Glenstone Avenue on Nov. 15, 2014 because he believed the victims — Trevor Fantroy, 43, Lewis Green, 44, Danielle Keyes, 29, and Christopher Freeman, 24 — were informing police about his drug use.
Goodwin-Bey had been in federal prison since 2017 on an illegal gun charge, but he was transferred to the Greene County Jail this week on the murder charges. The grand jury indictment in the murder case was filed in August of 2018, but only unsealed recently.
This is Goodwin-Bey's second time being charged with the murders. He was initially charged in 2015, but the Greene County Prosecutor's Office dismissed that case in 2016 after the now retired Judge Calvin Holden ruled that Goodwin-Bey's gun could not be incontrovertibly connected to bullets found at the scene of the killings.
After prosecutors dropped the charges in 2016, Goodwin-Bey's attorney Chris Hatley said the state had a "flimsy" case and that his client was innocent. Hatley said the prosecution's witnesses were "beyond shaky" and the gun evidence was based on questionable scientific practices.
Hatley did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.
More:Attorney said Springfield man is innocent as four murder charges are dropped
Prosecutors painted a different picture in 2016, saying they dropped the charges days before the trial so they could strengthen their case while they had the luxury of Goodwin-Bey staying behind bars for the federal gun charge — for which he was eventually sent to prison.
Goodwin-Bey is now being held in jail without bond on the murder charges. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 2.
The probable cause statement used to charge Goodwin-Bey in 2015 relied heavily on an eyewitness identified as E.B. who allegedly told police he was in the room when Goodwin-Bey shot the four victims. The statement says E.B. told police he believed he would have been killed, too, but he was able to flee the motel room.
The statement also detailed some strange behavior from Goodwin-Bey in the days following the shooting.
Goodwin-Bey allegedly went to a convenience store at 3905 W. Chestnut Expressway on Nov. 30, 2014, and handed one of the clerks a gun — police believed it was the same gun he used in the shooting. Police confiscated the gun and arrested Goodwin-Bey that day, the statement says.
Court records indicate Goodwin-Bey has been found guilty in the past of drug possession, unlawful use of a weapon, conspiracy to distribute cocaine and unlawful possession of a weapon.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Grand jury indicts man on four murder charges in motel shooting
