Witnesses say they saw accused murderer shoot victim

Oct. 20—Two residents at a Decatur apartment complex identified a murder defendant as the gunman who fired several shots from a handgun into the victim's body at a close range in November 2019, but a state forensics analyst said DNA from the defendant was not found at the crime scene and no murder weapon has been found.

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In opening arguments Tuesday, Morgan County Assistant District Attorney Joseph Lewis told jurors that evidence would show Shadeed Abdul Fuqua, 31, of Decatur, was the gunman who killed Jarmaine Cardell Jones, 27, of North Courtland, who lived at the apartment complex some of the time.

The defense, led by attorney Brent Woodall, claimed the Decatur Police Department "jumped to a conclusion" that their client killed his cousin and friend.

"They have the wrong guy," defense attorney Ashley Feldman told the jury of seven women and six men. "The prosecution rushed to judgment in this case. Evidence won't show our client did it. DNA eliminated him. Facts don't exist. The wrong guy is here today."

State witnesses Letracia Lashawn Elliott and Lavell Dent each testified they saw Fuqua shoot Jones as he worked on his car at Decatur Place Apartments on Courtney Drive Southwest on Nov. 21, 2019. They each pointed to Fuqua, wearing a purple shirt and dark suitcoat, in Circuit Judge Charles Elliott's courtroom Tuesday and identified him as the gunman.

A resident at the apartment complex for four years, Letracia Elliott said she was checking her mailbox when she heard a gunshot or firecracker. She said she was 20 to 30 feet away from the shooting.

"I saw two guys standing face to face," she said. "Then he fired a second round. Jarmaine covered his face. He was walking away and (Fuqua) kept shooting."

She testified that Jones fell and the gunman "stood over him and kept firing" and got in his car, "an older model red or maroon" Chevrolet and "put on his seat belt and drove off." She testified she heard "12 to 13" shots and the gun click two or three times.

In the afternoon, Dent, who operates a food truck business, was walking towards Jones' apartment to tell him his barbecue ribs he had ordered were ready when he "saw Fuqua get out of his car. He had a gun in his hand. I heard gunshots."

"I turned around to run and then I saw Jarmaine on the ground and (Fuqua) was standing over him," Dent said. He said he saw a red four-door car speed away. He testified he heard four to six shots.

Jarmaine Jones' older brother Dalarius Jones testified that a few minutes after Jarmaine left his apartment he heard loud noises outside. "It sounded like a cannon, boom, boom. It was so loud," he said. "I just froze. I heard about 10 to 15 bangs. I got up off the floor and opened the front door and saw my brother laying in the grass and a red Chevy Caprice burning rubber getting away. I didn't see who shot him."

He said a woman neighbor began performing CPR on his brother before paramedics arrived. The victim was transported to Decatur Morgan Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Decatur police testified the crime scene showed about a dozen shell casings from a 9mm handgun, and Jarmaine Jones suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his chest, torso, neck and back.

A 32-minute video from officer Greg Rutherford's body cam and more than 190 photographs taken by crime scene tech Tran Ozbun showed 9mm shell casings scattered around the outside of the apartment and near Jarmaine Jones' gray Honda Civic, which he was working on at the time he was shot. Three cellphones were recovered on the ground next to Jones.

When asked by Woodall if a gun was found at the scene, Ozbun replied, "No."

State forensic DNA analyst Amber Wallace testified that Jarmaine Jones' DNA was found at the scene but no DNA evidence was linked to Fuqua.

Officer Timothy Hutchings of the Decatur Police Department said the department didn't collect any fingerprints or old cigarette butts at the scene.

"We're pleased with the way this case is going," said Woodall after the first day of testimony. "Evidence from the Department of Forensic Sciences has shown Fuqua is excluded."

Lewis said the state would not make any public comments on the case during the trial.

The state is expected to finish presenting its witnesses today. Both sides said the jury should receive the case this week.

— mike.wetzel@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442. Twitter @DD_Wetzel.