Trial in Brickhouse shooting begins
By Kat Russell, Reporter
The Paducah Sun
DATE
http://www.paducahsun.com/news/local/suspects-in-brickhouse-shooting-get-separate-trials/article_f9dee8c2-5b14-11e7-93d4-10604b9f0f42.html
A jury of nine women and five men heard testimony Monday from several people during the first day of trial in the case against Tracell Nunn, one of three men accused in last year’s fatal Brickhouse shooting.
Nunn, 27, is charged with murder, attempted murder, convicted felon in possession of a handgun, and persistent felony offender.
The charges stem from a gunfight that occurred shortly before 1 a.m. on April 16, 2016, outside the Brickhouse, in which bystander Gary Johnson, 46, was caught in the crossfire and shot in the head.
Two other men also were charged in connection with the shooting.
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.
As part of his plea agreement, Powell was required to testify against his co-defendants, and Monday he took the stand to testify against Nunn.
On the day of the shootout, Powell said, he and two friends went to the Brickhouse, a local nightclub at Ninth and Boyd streets near Lower Town. At the club, Powell said he parked his red Hyundai Sonata near a dumpster toward the edge of the parking lot, and he and his friends sat in the car and listened to music.
Powell, who was armed with a .45-caliber handgun, said he wasn’t expecting any trouble that night, but carried the weapon for protection.
“The only warning I had was when I saw Tracell and Chris,” he said. “They kept staring at me and it seemed like they were up to something.”
At that point, Powell said one of his friends recommended they leave and he started to back his vehicle into an alley “to get away.”
That’s when Smith and Nunn started running toward his vehicle and opened fire, Powell said, adding that he returned fire, accidentally hitting Johnson.
“I regret it,” he said. “I hate it. It eats at me every day. He didn’t deserve to die.”
Jurors also heard testimony from several Paducah police officers, one of which was Det. Ryan Conn, who was the first officer to arrive at the scene.
“I arrived from the area of 10th Street and pulled into the gravel parking lot,” he said. “The scene was hectic at the time — it was a busy night at the Brickhouse — and there were a lot of patrons both inside and outside the club.”
As he pulled into the lot, Conn said people began to “scatter” on foot and in vehicles. Through the crowd, Conn he said he noticed a “small group of five or six people” standing around a “subject who was laying on the ground.”
The subject, who was later identified as Johnson, was unresponsive, he said.
“At that point I asked everyone to stand back and I began assessing him and his injuries to see if he was still breathing, still alive, what the status was,” Conn said.
During Conn’s testimony, the commonwealth played the detective’s body camera video, which shows Johnson lying on his back in the parking lot. As the detective assesses Johnson’s status, the camera catches a glimpse of a gunshot wound on the right side of his head, near his temple.
“In completing my assessment of (Johnson), I noticed there was a gunshot to his head and I noticed there was no exit wound,” Conn said. “At this point I noticed that he was still breathing, though it was labored and there was a faint pulse, so I ran back to my car to get my trauma kit.”
When EMS arrived, Johnson was taken to Baptist Health Paducah, where he died. Medical Examiner Jeffrey Springer testified that the cause of death was a gunshot to the head. A .45-caliber bullet was also recovered during autopsy, he said.
During their investigation, Conn said Powell was quickly identified a person of interest. He was found about “an hour or so” later, Conn said, at a gas station on Hinkleville Road. A .45-caliber handgun was found on Powell, the detective said.
Conn said when Powell left the nightclub, he drove to a friend’s house on North 24th Street, stashing his car behind the house, before getting into another vehicle.
While interviewing Powell, police said he identified Smith and Nunn, stating the two men had initiated the shootout.
Other officers testified as to evidence collected at the scene, including multiple 9mm casings, one .40-caliber casing and a handful of .45-caliber casings.
Powell’s vehicle was also located and examined, according to Paducah Det. Beau Green, who testified he saw about seven bullet holes in it, a majority of which had struck the driver’s side.
Nunn’s trial will resume at 9 a.m. today with the prosecution continuing to present its case.
Nunn, 27, is charged with murder, attempted murder, convicted felon in possession of a handgun, and persistent felony offender.
The charges stem from a gunfight that occurred shortly before 1 a.m. on April 16, 2016, outside the Brickhouse, in which bystander Gary Johnson, 46, was caught in the crossfire and shot in the head.
Two other men also were charged in connection with the shooting.
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.
As part of his plea agreement, Powell was required to testify against his co-defendants, and Monday he took the stand to testify against Nunn.
On the day of the shootout, Powell said, he and two friends went to the Brickhouse, a local nightclub at Ninth and Boyd streets near Lower Town. At the club, Powell said he parked his red Hyundai Sonata near a dumpster toward the edge of the parking lot, and he and his friends sat in the car and listened to music.
Powell, who was armed with a .45-caliber handgun, said he wasn’t expecting any trouble that night, but carried the weapon for protection.
“The only warning I had was when I saw Tracell and Chris,” he said. “They kept staring at me and it seemed like they were up to something.”
At that point, Powell said one of his friends recommended they leave and he started to back his vehicle into an alley “to get away.”
That’s when Smith and Nunn started running toward his vehicle and opened fire, Powell said, adding that he returned fire, accidentally hitting Johnson.
“I regret it,” he said. “I hate it. It eats at me every day. He didn’t deserve to die.”
Jurors also heard testimony from several Paducah police officers, one of which was Det. Ryan Conn, who was the first officer to arrive at the scene.
“I arrived from the area of 10th Street and pulled into the gravel parking lot,” he said. “The scene was hectic at the time — it was a busy night at the Brickhouse — and there were a lot of patrons both inside and outside the club.”
As he pulled into the lot, Conn said people began to “scatter” on foot and in vehicles. Through the crowd, Conn he said he noticed a “small group of five or six people” standing around a “subject who was laying on the ground.”
The subject, who was later identified as Johnson, was unresponsive, he said.
“At that point I asked everyone to stand back and I began assessing him and his injuries to see if he was still breathing, still alive, what the status was,” Conn said.
During Conn’s testimony, the commonwealth played the detective’s body camera video, which shows Johnson lying on his back in the parking lot. As the detective assesses Johnson’s status, the camera catches a glimpse of a gunshot wound on the right side of his head, near his temple.
“In completing my assessment of (Johnson), I noticed there was a gunshot to his head and I noticed there was no exit wound,” Conn said. “At this point I noticed that he was still breathing, though it was labored and there was a faint pulse, so I ran back to my car to get my trauma kit.”
When EMS arrived, Johnson was taken to Baptist Health Paducah, where he died. Medical Examiner Jeffrey Springer testified that the cause of death was a gunshot to the head. A .45-caliber bullet was also recovered during autopsy, he said.
During their investigation, Conn said Powell was quickly identified a person of interest. He was found about “an hour or so” later, Conn said, at a gas station on Hinkleville Road. A .45-caliber handgun was found on Powell, the detective said.
Conn said when Powell left the nightclub, he drove to a friend’s house on North 24th Street, stashing his car behind the house, before getting into another vehicle.
While interviewing Powell, police said he identified Smith and Nunn, stating the two men had initiated the shootout.
Other officers testified as to evidence collected at the scene, including multiple 9mm casings, one .40-caliber casing and a handful of .45-caliber casings.
Powell’s vehicle was also located and examined, according to Paducah Det. Beau Green, who testified he saw about seven bullet holes in it, a majority of which had struck the driver’s side.
Nunn’s trial will resume at 9 a.m. today with the prosecution continuing to present its case.
