State V. Johnson
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{¶61} Tamera Coleman (“Coleman”) testified on behalf of the State and admitted she had been charged with the same offenses as Johnson, but entered into a deal where she would be pleading guilty to manslaughter in exchange for testifying against Johnson.
for 10 years and whom she met through her late older brother. She further testified that she knew Green, Coates, and Fussell for about 15 years. She stated she met Howard on the night of the murder and that Gale was her boyfriend of three years. {¶63} Coleman told the jury her version of events about the evening of June 11, 2012, and early morning of June 12. She testified that Gale had someone drive her over to Green’s house earlier in the day. Green became upset with Coates and when the argument turned physical, Coleman broke up the fight. However, Coates started fighting with her and then she and Green began fighting. Coleman testified that Coates put his hands on her by punching her with his fists and she defended herself. She said she felt disrespected and mad because she was only trying to break up a fight between him and Green. {¶64} According to Coleman, Green wanted Coates to leave her house because of all the fighting but he refused. Coleman wanted to leave Green’s house, but Howard refused to take her and her children home; therefore, she called Johnson. Coleman told the jury that she told Johnson that she got into an altercation with Coates and that she needed someone to come pick her and her children up at Green’s house.
{¶65} Coleman testified that they left for the bar around 2:00 a.m. and she went to the bar to wait for Johnson. She stated that while at the bar, she called Johnson to make sure he was coming to pick her up, and she and Green were discussing what happened with Coates. {¶66} During this time, Gale had called her and was upset that she went out. She told Gale that she got into an altercation with Coates, but that Johnson was coming to pick her and the kids up. Gale responded that he wanted her to stay where she was and that he would come for her. She told Gale they were going to a gas station so Green could meet up with Fussell. According to Coleman, because Gale told her that he would call Johnson and tell him that he was picking her up now, she did not call Johnson. Coleman stated that Gale and Johnson were not friends, but social. She denied that Gale ever questioned her relationship with Johnson, until this incident happened. {¶67} Once at the gas station, Coleman sat in Howard’s car until Gale drove up in a Jeep. According to Coleman, everyone followed each other back to Green’s house. Coleman denied that she ever called Johnson from Gale’s cell phone. She testified that the last time she talked to Johnson was when she was at the bar. She testified she assumed Gale called Johnson and told him not to come up; she had no idea that Johnson was still coming to Cleveland. However, when they arrived on East 169th Street, Coleman saw Johnson’s car parked on the street. Even though Johnson was parked by Fussell’s truck, and Coleman spoke briefly to Fussell, she did not talk to Johnson. {¶68} Coleman testified that she went inside to get her children while Gale stayed in the Jeep. According to Coleman, Green approached her and asked her why she was leaving. Coleman stated that she pushed Green stating that she was too drunk to remember what happened, and they started pushing and tugging each other. {¶69} Coleman stated she was able to walk away and walk to Green’s house. She believed Johnson was still in his car, and she saw Coates and Gale were on the porch. Once inside the house, she and Green got into another physical altercation. She testified that after breaking loose and getting her children, she came downstairs and saw Coates lying in the doorway. She denied hearing a gunshot.
and they left. When asked about the black Chevy Impala owned by Johnson’s fianceé, Coleman stated that Johnson picked them up in his green Chevy Suburban. Coleman testified that she asked Gale and Johnson what happened, and Gale told her, “Carlos stabbed him, and Edward shot him”; Johnson was not really saying anything. She testified she called the police and told them there was an altercation, which Detective Smith stated the police never received.
the detectives; however, she subsequently admitted she told the detectives and the prosecutor that Johnson admitted that he shot Coates. Coleman could not explain why she did not tell the jury that Johnson made this admission, but after being pressed, she testified that Johnson stated in the car that he shot Coates.
{¶72} Coleman admitted that she does not know what happened on the porch, but denied that she ever called Johnson for him to murder Coates and stated that she never saw Johnson get out of his car.
she still talked to Gale. When asked whether Gale killed Coates, she responded “I don’t know about that because I was not out there. I only know what I was told. I don’t know that. I don’t know what happened outside.” When asked what she was told she responded: A: That Edward shot Capone and Capone — and Carlos stabbed Capone.
Q: Right. And who — tell us again who the words — whose mouth did it come out of?
A: Edward said that and Capone did. Q: Said what? What did Edward say to you?
A: Edward said that he — Ca — Carlos stabbed Capone, and he shot him. {¶74} Dr. Krista Pekarski, who conducted Coates’s autopsy, testified that the proximity of the gun to the entrance wound was at an indeterminate or distance range — beyond a couple of feet. Dr. Pekarski testified that the bullet was recovered from the victim’s cerebellum and that the trajectory of the bullet, based on the entrance wound and where the bullet was recovered, was from left to right, from the front of the head to the back of the head, and slightly upward. On cross-examination, Pekarski clarified that the she stated “slightly upward” because the bullet was recovered from the brain after it was removed; therefore, there was no way to do an exact measurement. But anatomically Yüklə 109,03 Kb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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