MOULTRIE — Jurors heard conflicting details Monday from two of the three star witnesses in the murder trial of Anthony Jerome Thompson.
Co-defendants Tyrus C. Carter and Marcus Adrian Stevenson were called as witnesses in the trial against Thompson. A third co-defendant, Charles Kinsey Jr., will give his testimony today. All three had earlier pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of Diego Diaz Gomez, 21, of 1022 Fifth Ave. S.W., during a home invasion Oct. 23, 2006.
When asked by Assistant District Attorney Brian McDaniel to describe what happened that night, Carter said he spent time with Stevenson and three others the afternoon before the home invasion. They were at Stevenson’s mother’s house in Packer Villas partying and drinking, though Carter said he was not, when Thompson came over and began talking about a “lick,” or robbery, of some Mexicans. Thompson came to the house because his girlfriend, “Peaches,” lived next door to Stevenson’s mother, Carter said.
Carter stated he, Stevenson and Stevenson’s brother, Shannon, all left briefly to go to Norman Park before returning to Moultrie at about 7:30 p.m. Oct. 22. They then went to Kinsey’s house, and Thompson and Kinsey talked about the “lick” again. Carter said he tried to leave, but his car would not start.
When the four got to the house on Fifth Avenue Southwest, thinking it was abandoned, Carter said everyone had guns, including Thompson with a .22-caliber rifle, but he did not go inside the house. Stevenson was the last to go inside, but he stopped just inside the side doorway when three or four gunshots were fired, and all four ran away, Carter testified.
Carter said he and Stevenson ran to his car and left to go back to Norman Park following the shooting. Carter said he threw his .32-caliber revolver into a pond a short time after the shooting, and he did not know anyone was killed until reading about it in the newspaper. He told McDaniel he did not see who fired the fatal shots at Gomez.
When asked by Defense Attorney Jody Peterman, Carter said the four all stayed at Kinsey’s house until they left to commit the robbery. All four had guns and walked down the street with them, and Thompson stuck the rifle into his pants as they walked, he said. He also stated he had not seen Thompson or Kinsey and had not talked to anyone about the incident since it happened.
When asked why he threw the gun into the pond, Carter said it didn’t work and he just got rid of it. Peterman asked why Carter pled guilty since his testimony showed he did not do anything wrong.
When McDaniel asked Stevenson about what happened that evening and night, he said it wasn’t until the four were together at Kinsey’s house about 7 p.m. when the topic of the “lick” first came up. Thompson was the one who suggested robbing the Mexicans, and the other three agreed to do it, he said. All four got guns, including Thompson who had a .22-caliber rifle with a “banana clip” on it and walked to the house on Fifth Avenue Southwest.
When the four got to the house, Stevenson said Thompson kicked in the side door after they waited about 15 minutes. Stevenson went in after Thompson, followed by Kinsey, but he did not know if Carter went into the house past the bedroom where they entered.
Stevenson said he followed Thompson through the kitchen and into the main bedroom. When they got there, one of the “Mexicans” jumped up and grabbed the gun before three shots rang out. Everyone then took off running out of the house, he said.
The four met back up at Kinsey’s house for about five minutes following the home invasion, and Stevenson said they were all scared. He then went back to his mother’s house, and Carter drove back to Norman Park, he testified.
A few days after the shooting, Stevenson said he went to his girlfriend’s, Brittany Brown, apartment in Valdosta. He threw the .32-caliber handgun he carried during the invasion through a window to wake Brown up after knocking on both doors. He initially told Valdosta Police Officer Jane Kraholik someone else had thrown the gun through the window but later changed the story.
Peterman focused on the differences in stories between Carter and Stevenson, who had grown up together in Norman Park. He asked Stevenson about the group hanging out before the robbery came up, and Stevenson said he thought he remembered Carter smoking and drinking along with everyone else. Even though they had been together since the shooting, Stevenson and Carter both stated they never discussed the incident.
Peterman also asked Stevenson why he was saying Carter had carried a different caliber gun from his interview with investigators. Stevenson said he had lied to investigators then and was telling the truth in court.
Stevenson initially had stated he saw Carter and Kinsey together following the shooting, but he clarified it was immediately after the incident. He said he was not sure if they ever were together since then, however.
The trial will continue at 9 a.m. today, May 7, with Kinsey expected to testify.
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