Closing arguments are set to begin when court resumes Wednesday morning in the trial of two men accused of shooting nine people at a Colerain Township home in 2017.
Seth Hagaman, a former special agent with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, will be the last witness called by the prosecution. He will testify via video conference.
On Tuesday, jurors heard testimony from FBI Special Agent Lance Kepple, who detailed how cell and GPS data was used to trace the locations of devices linked to James Echols and Michael Sanon.
Records placed a Gmail account investigators say belongs to Echols at the scene just minutes before the shooting began, Kepple said.
Echols, 26, and Sanon, 24, both Columbus residents are facing multiple charges in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court including aggravated murder.
The charges stem from a mass shooting that happened at a Capstan Drive residence nearly five years ago.
Autum Garrett, 22, of Andrews, Indiana, died after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds. Eight other people, including three children, were injured.
Roshawn Bishop, another man charged in the case, testified last week that he paid Echols and Sanon $1,500 for their alleged role in the shooting. Prosecutors say it was an attempted murder-for-hire that stemmed from a $10,000 debt.
Bishop, 31, of West Price Hill was loaned that money from Cheyanne Willis, 26, who was renting the house on Capstan Drive with her then-boyfriend Elijah Clemons.
During his testimony, Bishop, who admitted to being a drug dealer, was going to use that money to buy more product but his "business partner," who hasn't been charged in this case, didn't want to repay the money.
He said a plan was devised to hire Echols and Sanon to kill Willis to avoid repaying the money. Bishop was also in a sexual relationship with Willis despite being married.
Bishop's cousin, 33-year-old Vandell Slade, is also facing murder charges in this case.
Slade is accused of connecting Echols and Sanon to Bishop and of driving the two men to the scene of the shooting.
Records placed a phone linked to Slade to Capstan Drive on the night of the incident, according to Kepple.
Google records show an account connected to Slade searched for directions to Capstan Drive on the day of the shooting, according to Corey Boyle, a former Colerain police detective who testified Monday. That same account searched for "Cincinnati homicides Saturday" the following day, Boyle said.
The trial will resume at 8:15 a.m. before Judge Robert Goering.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
Source link
