Jurors return guilty verdict after raising safety concern
By Kat Russell, Reporter
The Paducah Sun
DATE
http://www.paducahsun.com/jurors-return-guilty-verdict-after-raising-safety-concern/article_299c4be0-ec64-5cea-be1a-846e32a27d6d.html
After 4.5 hours of deliberation Tuesday, jurors considering the case against Tracell Nunn, one of three men accused in last year’s fatal Brickhouse shooting, passed the judge an unusual note.
The jurors, McCracken Circuit Judge Tim Kaltenbach said, expressed concern for their safety and that of their families “as a result of being on this jury.”
In the note, the jurors said, “They noticed some concerning looks” from Nunn’s friends and family attending the trial.
The jurors’ concerns were consistent with those heard from some of the eyewitnesses who testified during the day-and-a-half trial, each expressing fear or reluctance to testify.
Considering the jurors’ concerns, Kaltenbach ordered extra security for the courtroom, the jury room and the courthouse parking lot.
The jurors also expressed fear of future retaliation, which Kaltenbach urged them to report if such an incident happened. They were then sent back to continue their deliberations, which took another two hours.
In the end, Nunn, 27, was found guilty of murder, criminal attempt to commit murder and second-degree persistent felony offender. The verdict was met by audible sobs from family members in the courtroom gallery.
The charges stem from a gunfight that occurred shortly before 1 a.m. on April 16, 2016, outside the Brickhouse, during which bystander Gary Johnson, 46, was caught in the crossfire and shot in the head.
Two other men also were charged.
Christopher Smith, 34, is charged with murder, attempted murder and convicted felon in possession of a handgun. His trial is expected to take place after Nunn’s.
Denzell Powell, 23, was charged with murder and multiple counts of wanton endangerment and criminal mischief. He pleaded guilty to an amended charge of second-degree manslaughter and the other counts in April.
Police believe Nunn and Smith ran up on Powell’s vehicle at the Brickhouse and opened fire in an attempt to kill Powell. Powell then returned fire, killing Johnson.
During the course of the trial, the jury heard from several Paducah police officers and three women who appeared extremely reluctant to testify. Each of the women witnessed the shooting and had told police what they saw, all giving descriptions of the shooters or identifying Smith and Nunn as possible culprits.
On the stand, however, the women tried to recant their statements, instead insisting they couldn’t remember what happened. One woman attempted to discredit herself by telling the jury she was a mental health patient and listing the medications she took. McGee attributed the women’s behavior to fear and intimidation.
During his closing argument, defense attorney Nathan Moorhouse insisted the prosecution had not proved its case, emphasizing the eyewitnesses’ shifting stories and hammering the fact that Powell’s gun killed Johnson.
“Tracell Nunn is innocent,” he said. “It is an undisputed fact that Denzell Powell is the one who shot and killed the victim, Gary Johnson. Tracell Nunn did not kill Gary Johnson.
“Powell came up with his story because he was going to go down for murder. (And) when he was caught, he made up the story that he was fired at first, and he came up with the names (Smith and Nunn) that night.”
In cases like this, McGee said the focus tends to settle on “the defendants, the evidence or who saw what.” McGee then held up a photograph of Gary Johnson as if to imply Johnson was what this case was really about.
“This was a human being,” he said.
McGee also hinted that the reluctant witnesses were intimidated or threatened, to keep them from testifying against Nunn. The prosecutor also implied a witness list had been leaked, leaving witnesses open to such intimidation.
But underneath the witnesses’ reluctance, he said, their story is the same: Powell arrived at the Brickhouse in a red car, and several men ran toward the vehicle firing guns.
After a second round of deliberations, the jury returned a sentencing recommendation that Nunn serve a total of 20 years in prison.
The jurors, McCracken Circuit Judge Tim Kaltenbach said, expressed concern for their safety and that of their families “as a result of being on this jury.”
In the note, the jurors said, “They noticed some concerning looks” from Nunn’s friends and family attending the trial.
The jurors’ concerns were consistent with those heard from some of the eyewitnesses who testified during the day-and-a-half trial, each expressing fear or reluctance to testify.
Considering the jurors’ concerns, Kaltenbach ordered extra security for the courtroom, the jury room and the courthouse parking lot.
The jurors also expressed fear of future retaliation, which Kaltenbach urged them to report if such an incident happened. They were then sent back to continue their deliberations, which took another two hours.
In the end, Nunn, 27, was found guilty of murder, criminal attempt to commit murder and second-degree persistent felony offender. The verdict was met by audible sobs from family members in the courtroom gallery.
The charges stem from a gunfight that occurred shortly before 1 a.m. on April 16, 2016, outside the Brickhouse, during which bystander Gary Johnson, 46, was caught in the crossfire and shot in the head.
Two other men also were charged.
Christopher Smith, 34, is charged with murder, attempted murder and convicted felon in possession of a handgun. His trial is expected to take place after Nunn’s.
Denzell Powell, 23, was charged with murder and multiple counts of wanton endangerment and criminal mischief. He pleaded guilty to an amended charge of second-degree manslaughter and the other counts in April.
Police believe Nunn and Smith ran up on Powell’s vehicle at the Brickhouse and opened fire in an attempt to kill Powell. Powell then returned fire, killing Johnson.
During the course of the trial, the jury heard from several Paducah police officers and three women who appeared extremely reluctant to testify. Each of the women witnessed the shooting and had told police what they saw, all giving descriptions of the shooters or identifying Smith and Nunn as possible culprits.
On the stand, however, the women tried to recant their statements, instead insisting they couldn’t remember what happened. One woman attempted to discredit herself by telling the jury she was a mental health patient and listing the medications she took. McGee attributed the women’s behavior to fear and intimidation.
During his closing argument, defense attorney Nathan Moorhouse insisted the prosecution had not proved its case, emphasizing the eyewitnesses’ shifting stories and hammering the fact that Powell’s gun killed Johnson.
“Tracell Nunn is innocent,” he said. “It is an undisputed fact that Denzell Powell is the one who shot and killed the victim, Gary Johnson. Tracell Nunn did not kill Gary Johnson.
“Powell came up with his story because he was going to go down for murder. (And) when he was caught, he made up the story that he was fired at first, and he came up with the names (Smith and Nunn) that night.”
In cases like this, McGee said the focus tends to settle on “the defendants, the evidence or who saw what.” McGee then held up a photograph of Gary Johnson as if to imply Johnson was what this case was really about.
“This was a human being,” he said.
McGee also hinted that the reluctant witnesses were intimidated or threatened, to keep them from testifying against Nunn. The prosecutor also implied a witness list had been leaked, leaving witnesses open to such intimidation.
But underneath the witnesses’ reluctance, he said, their story is the same: Powell arrived at the Brickhouse in a red car, and several men ran toward the vehicle firing guns.
After a second round of deliberations, the jury returned a sentencing recommendation that Nunn serve a total of 20 years in prison.
