The state rested its case Tuesday afternoon in the guilt-or-innocence phase of a trial for a Texarkana man accused of murder in the 2016 death of a man he'd shot at and missed in 2013.
LaJason Jaquize Coakley, 24, is accused of shooting Montel Waller, 25, once in the neck during a confrontation Aug. 20, 2016, at the Paradise Club in Texarkana, Ark. Prosecuting Attorney Stephanie Black told the jury of eight men and four women during opening statements Tuesday morning that the case was less about who shot Waller than why.
Coakley's defense lawyer, Jeff Harrelson of Texarkana, agreed.
"If the testimony shakes out the way we hope it will, you will have the opportunity to decide if he was justified in defending himself," Harrelson said. "Did he shoot out of anger or spite, or was it fear or panic?"
During testimony Tuesday, the jury repeatedly watched black-and-white video surveillance footage recorded from several angles in the club. Javon Jones, Montel Waller's brother, was the state's final witness Tuesday.
Jones testified that Coakley has behaved aggressively toward him since 2013, but that he has no specific explanation for the conflict. Jones said he was confronted by Coakley outside Triple J convenience store in Texarkana, Ark., in June 2013 and that Coakley shot at him.
Jones said a short time later, Coakley confronted him again near his grandmother's house on Ash Street as he and friends and family members scattered and took cover for safety. Waller was among the victims listed in the 2013 shooting, which resulted in a 10-year prison sentence for Coakley for terroristic act.
Jones said that several weeks before Waller was shot, Coakley punched him in the face while he sat in a parked car at a local gas station. Jones said that on the night of the shooting, Waller entered the club sometime around 11 p.m. and headed for an area with a pool table, as was Waller's usual Friday night routine.
Jones and other witnesses testified that in the large club, which includes a bar, a dance floor, a boxing ring and room for a pool table, Coakley chose to dance in the area where Waller and Jones were socializing with friends. Jones said he punched Coakley in the side, and the two separated.
He testified that Coakley was waving his arm and shouting, "Run up, run up," meaning he wanted to fight. Jones said Waller leaned his pool cue against the wall and started walking toward Coakley. Jones said Coakley fired a shot at Waller just as Waller was preparing to punch.
Wendy Green, a woman who'd been playing pool with Waller and another friend, testified that she saw Waller swing at Coakley seconds before Coakley produced a gun and fired.
Under cross examination, Harrelson asked Jones if both he and his brother had hit Coakley before the shot was fired, and Jones agreed they had. Harrelson also asked Jones to reconcile a police report that states Jones claimed not to have seen the shooting.
Among the many other witnesses who took the stand Tuesday was Loneca Ross, who testified she was working at Paradise as a security guard the night Waller was shot. Ross said she and other staff members were on alert because Coakley was leaving and entering the club repeatedly. Ross said patrons are supposed to be searched every time they enter the club, but that she doesn't believe Coakley was searched the last time he entered.
The video played for the jury shows the effect the gunshot had on the Friday night crowd. People immediately scattered, dropped to the floor, took cover behind furniture, hid under the boxing ring and headed hurriedly for the exit while crouching. Coakley can be seen walking through the club, out the front door and driving away in his car.
Arkansas Chief Deputy Medical Examiner Stephen Erickson testified under questioning by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kristian Robertson that Waller died Sept. 12 of an embolism or blood clot which caused brain death as a result of the gunshot wound to his neck. Erickson said he recovered the bullet from Waller's body at autopsy.
Circuit Judge Brent Haltom instructed the jury to return to court this morning to hear testimony from defense witnesses. Once both sides have closed their cases, the jury will hear closing arguments meant to help them decide if Coakley is guilty of murder.
If Coakley is convicted, the trial will enter a punishment phase. Murder is punishable by 10 to 40 years or life.