Video shows man accused in death of reverend was not the shooter, will face grand jury
General Sessions Judge Karen Massey upheld the four charges against a man implicated in the carjacking and killing of a Whitehaven religious leader, even after new surveillance footage showed he was not the shooter.
The footage shows Eduard Rodriguez Tabora and a 15-year-old approaching the sides of Rev. Autura Eason-Williams' car, with Tabora walking up to the passenger side. The juvenile can be seen in the video firing multiple times into the car.
Tabora could then be seen running away to the car he arrived in.
Rodriguez Tabora, 20, was arrested alongside two 15-year-olds, both of whom are not being named by The Commercial Appeal as they are charged as juveniles, in late June. He is charged with first-degree murder, especially aggravated robbery, using a handgun while committing a felony, and facilitation of first-degree murder.
The Shelby County District Attorney's office, under former DA Amy Weirich, had previously planned to charge both teens as adults, but the prosecutor's office under current DA Steve Mulroy has not said whether or not they plan to continue pursuing that route.
The two teens will next appear in court October 24, after a previous appearance was granted a continuation for prosecutors to discuss the next steps with Mulroy.
In court Wednesday, Tabora's attorney Robert Amann, asked Sgt. Qadeer Smith, who is with the Memphis Police Department's homicide bureau, about what led up to the shooting, including new details about Tabora not knowing the shooter prior to meeting him when the other 15-year-old who was driving picked him up.
Previously:Memphis prosecutors seek to try second teen as adult in death of Rev. Autura Eason-Williams
In that line of questioning, Amann asked if Tabora seemed concerned for his own safety prior to the robbery. Tabora told Memphis police he had asked to be dropped off at his girlfriend's house, but the 15-year-old driver did not let him.
Smith testified that the ski mask and gloves Tabora and the alleged shooter wore were both provided by the 15-year-olds.
"[Tabora] didn't specify if he was nervous or not, but you do see him running from the car after the shots were fired," Smith said to the court. "In my opinion, if you do not want to participate, you have to make it extremely known. In this case, in my personal opinion, that was not expressed enough."
Amann also requested a bond be set, which previously had not been. Massey set bond at $1 million after saying Tabora had plenty of opportunity to leave the situation if he had wanted to.
"Instead of running up the driveway behind [the 15-year-old], [Tabora] could have run down the street and away from these people," Massey said. "But he didn't and he participated. It was clear on the video that he participated. I feel like he's a danger to this community. He had a choice whether to run up that driveway and do this or run out, and he made that choice. I'm not going to set [bond] lower than this."
Eason-Williams was found dead in her driveway July 18, and her Infiniti Q50 was stolen. A police affidavit said there were six bullet casings found on the ground. Her cause of death was also presented in court as "multiple gunshot wounds."
An affidavit said she was shot and then pulled from the car prior to it being stolen, and new surveillance footage also showed her car being driven away by who prosecutors say is the 15-year-old who shot her.
"At this point, the co-defendant (the 15-year-old) is in the vehicle," Smith said when reviewing the footage. "He actually runs over the victim as he's backing out of the driveway. They leave together — well — one vehicle going one direction and the other vehicle going into a different direction."
Eason-Williams was the district superintendent of the Metro District in the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Annual Conference, the pastor of Capleville United Methodist Church, and a Memphis Theological Seminary alumna.
Lucas Finton is a news reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com and followed on Twitter @LucasFinton.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Man accused in reverend's killing did not shoot her, court video shows
