State V. Johnson
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they able to interview Howard. This occurred in the winter of 2012 — six months after the murder. {¶12} Green testified that Coates was her second cousin but “like a brother.” During her testimony, Green identified the witnesses to Coates’s death. Coleman is the mother of Green’s niece and had been dating and living with Gale. Green stated she knew Coleman for “years” and only knew Gale for one week prior to Coates’s murder. Green also identified Fussell and Howard as friends, whom she knew for years. Green denied knowing Johnson. {¶13} Green described the events leading up to Coates’s death. She testified that earlier in the evening on June 11, 2012, she was at her house with Coleman, Howard, and Coates. They planned on going out while Coates stayed home to watch her and Coleman’s children. {¶14} As the evening progressed, Coleman and Green started “bickering” about “the past” and about Coleman “turning tricks” out of Green’s house. Coates started getting involved in the conversation, which caused Coates and Green to exchange words. Although Green believed that they were “just playing around,” a pushing and slapping match began between the two, with Coates initiating the first contact and then Green hitting him with a shoe. {¶15} During this commotion, Coleman told Coates to stop hitting Green or she would “kick his ass.” Coates pushed Coleman against the wall and she was in his face and hitting him. Coates hit Coleman back, which prompted her to start yelling that he
“wanted to fight like a bitch,” so she was going to call her “brother.” Coleman was heard on the phone screaming about Green and Coates. {¶16} After the phone call, Green, Coleman, and Howard went to a bar, where Green and Coleman talked about the fight with Coates. During this conversation, Coleman received a telephone call and went into the bathroom to take the call. When Coleman did not come out of the bathroom, Green went into the bathroom and Coleman was still on the phone talking to someone who Green testified she did not know. According to Green, Coleman was “angry and hostile.” After Green told her not to call anyone to her house, Coleman became “real hostile, eager, and mean.” When questioned later by the police, Green told them that Coleman was talking on the phone with “Ed” and that she learned from Coleman that he was coming to Cleveland from Akron. “Ed” was identified as Johnson. {¶17} They left the bar and Howard drove them to a gas station to find some drugs. Green testified that she left Howard’s car and went across the street. When she came back, she saw Gale, Coleman, Howard, and Fussell standing near Gale’s vehicle. Coleman sat inside Gale’s vehicle, and Green sat in the front seat of Howard’s car where she and Howard smoked with Fussell.
lawn of her house upset because no one brought him cigarettes. Green then walked up to the corner of Grovewood and East 169th Streets where Fussell had parked his truck. Green stated that after Coleman and Gale arrived, Coleman was upset with her because Fussell was there. Green testified that Coleman kept “walking up on her,” so, “I hit her,” which caused them to start fighting in the street. While they were fighting, Green saw a man walking toward her house, on the other side of the street. She stated she did not recognize the man, but described him as being “light-skinned, tall, dark clothing” and it “looked like he had something on his hip.” Green initially though the man was coming to help, but about five seconds after the man walked by, she heard a gunshot. Green was able to break free from Coleman, and ran to her house with Coleman following.
forth in front of her house looking for his car key, and saw Coates lying in the doorway. Green testified that she knew Coates was injured, but just thought he was “knocked-out,”and she did not at that time associate the gunshot with Coates’s injury. In fact, she tried lifting Coates to wake him. When she did this, Coleman approached her, said some words to her, and then hit her. {¶20} After this altercation, Coleman, her children, and Gale left, and Green ran to call for help. On the porch of her friend’s house, Green saw Howard for the first time since the gunshot was heard. Green testified that she used his phone, over his protest, to call 911. However, a police cruiser was driving up the street, so she flagged down the cruiser.
because of the male’s walk. She further admitted that when she gave her initial interview to the police at the scene, she did not tell them about the unidentified man
walking down the street before she heard the gunshot. According to Green, she never saw the unidentified man again. {¶22} Fussell testified that he grew up with Coates, Coleman, and Green; he did not know Gale or Johnson, and met Howard for the first time in the early morning of June 12, 2012, after receiving a phone call from Green, who wanted money so she could buy PCP. He testified that he rode his bicycle to the gas station and when he got there, both Coleman and Green got out of Howard’s car. Green then went to a friend’s house on another street. While he waited for Green, Coleman had some words with him, and then she got into a Jeep that pulled up at the gas station. After Green returned, he, Green, and Howard smoked a PCP cigarette, and Green invited him back to her house. {¶23} Fussell testified that he went home and then drove his truck to Green’s house. When he drove by her house, he saw Coates standing in the driveway. According to Fussell, Coates had a serious look on his face like something was wrong. Fussell spoke briefly with Coates, who told him to “watch out for that car right there,” pointing at a car parked up the street. After Fussell parked his truck on the corner of East 169th and Grovewood Streets, Green walked up to the corner. Fussell testified that Coleman arrived, jumped out of the Jeep, and immediately started fighting with Green.
going to get out of his truck, but he saw somebody walk by the passenger side of his truck — “like cocking a gun or something.” He described the person as a male who was a little taller and heavier than him; and his skin complexion was a little lighter than his Yüklə 109,03 Kb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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