Columbus defense attorney blasts lack of evidence in fatal shooting at Wilson Homes
Another defense attorney is decrying the dearth of police evidence presented to back murder charges against suspects in a June 5 fatal shooting at Columbus’ Wilson Homes apartments.
William Kendrick represents Corey Tremaine Troupe, the second suspect charged with shooting 21-year-old Marcel Samedi of South Carolina at the at the 3400 Eighth Ave. apartments.
The first suspect police arrested, Elysia Cooley, who was 16 when Samedi was shot, was represented by Columbus attorney Stacey Jackson. Like Jackson, whose client had a preliminary hearing on Jan. 7, Kendrick said the evidence is insufficient to warrant jailing someone for murder, possibly holding them years as they await trial.
Police Sgt. Donna Baker testified video surveillance at Wilson Homes recorded Troupe at the scene, showing him, Cooley, Samedi and others arriving at the apartments in two cars. They went to a birthday celebration outside Building 108, where cameras recorded muzzle flashes as the shooting started, Baker said.
The video showed the suspects running back to their cars and fleeing, leaving Samedi dying on the ground behind, she said. Though she was able to identify Troupe on the footage, the recording did not show him with a gun, she said, and no witness reported seeing him with a weapon, or seeing him shoot at Samedi, she said.
Troupe is from Rock Hill, South Carolina, and was among a group that came with Samedi to Columbus for the celebration, where police were called to the shooting at 9:47 p.m., she said.
Police found 13 shell casings at the scene, 12 of them identified as 9 millimeter, Baker said, but investigators recovered no weapons.
When Recorder’s Court Judge Julius Hunter asked the detective how many people arrived at the party with Samedi, Baker said four were with him.
Kendrick asked Hunter to dismiss the charges, arguing Troupe’s mere presence at the shooting, and his running away afterward, was not incriminating.
“What do people do when shots are fired? They run,” Kendrick said.
Probable cause?
If that alone is enough evidence to establish what the court calls “probable cause” to hold Troupe for murder, then anyone who was there is a suspect, he said.
“Is there probable cause for every passenger?” he asked of those accompanying Samedi to the gathering. “There are no witnesses whatsoever.”
“Probable cause” is defined as the evidence that authorizes law enforcement officers to conduct a search, seize property or arrest a suspect. It is cited in the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, which says authorities may conduct no searches or seizures “but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation.”
In Columbus Recorder’s Court, the judge must find “probable cause” to justify the suspect’s further prosecution.
Judge Hunter said he felt Baker’s testimony was sufficient, and ordered Troupe held for prosecution in Muscogee Superior Court.
He reached the same conclusion on Cooley, though her attorney also derided the evidence as scant, saying it showed his client only was present at the party and fled when the shooting started.
Kendrick gave a similar assessment after Wednesday’s hearing for Troupe, 24.
“You can’t have a hearing about probable cause and hold back the evidence that determines probable cause,” he told reporters outside the courtroom. “I know it sounds kind of circular, but it’s all I’ve got. This is probably the worst evidence I’ve heard in a preliminary hearing in all my practice, to be quite honest.”