TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Testimony in a trial for three men accused of attempted murder in a pair of home invasions that left a Tallahassee police officer shot and a civilian gravely wounded, continued on Wednesday.
New evidence was presented to jurors, including experts talking DNA, firearm matching and how the suspect’s gun was found.
Jurors also heard from Lauren McClain who testified she came face to face with suspect Rahyim Sanders, who allegedly hid under her car following the shooting of TPD officer Caleb Babb.
“My dog had been severely ill, so she was still up at 3:00 AM and she had to go out to the bathroom,” McClain said. “I saw what I thought was someone lying on the ground behind my car. The first thing I said was, “Oh my God, are you okay?” And they whispered something that I didn’t catch the first time, I think, but the second time they whispered, “Don’t call the cops.”
Sanders, Tyrell Guinnie and John’Darious Wright all face felony charges. Wright is accused of two home invasions on the same night, while Guinnie and Wright are only accused in the second, in which the officer was shot.
“The fact that he was standing there for so long facing me, I would assume looking directly at me, those were the thoughts I felt threatened,” McClain said. “I can’t say whether or not he was threatening me, but it felt threatening.”
John’Darious Wright, Rahiym Sanders and Tyrell Guinnie (left to right) are accused in the September 25 shooting of a Tallahassee Police officer.(Photos/Tallahassee Police Department, Gainesville Police Department)
Prosecutors said it’s a miracle nobody died, including Babb and a civilian shot in the face while sleeping.
“I also readily recognized that my entire right leg was entirely numb, and then there was blood coming from my right leg,” said Officer Babb.
According to testimony, police found the gun they claim was used in the home invasion a few weeks later when it was discovered by an apartment manager on a nearby roof.
Property Manager Theresa Folsom testified Wednesday, detailing how she found unexpectedly during a routine apartment inspection.
“Well, first I took a picture of it and sent it to the guys in my office just to say, “Is this real?” And they came back and said, “Yes, it is. ” So that’s when we called the police,” Folsom said.
“So when I was taking pictures of the upstairs front bedroom, I noticed that the screen was missing out of the front window,” Folsom said. “So I had opened the window to take a picture of the missing screen. And when I went to close the window, that’s when I saw it on the roof.”
DNA experts explained Wright’s DNA was700 billion times more likely than not on a shoe found near the second home invasion scene.
“So the exact number is going to be larger. FDLE has a cap at 700 billion, and so the statistic that I am reporting is going to be at that cap, but the actual statistic is larger,” said Chenika White, an FDLE crime lab analyst.
The defenses differed: Wright and Guinnie poking holes in the DNA evidence, and Sanders focusing on his lack of a weapon during the crime spree.
On day one, the judge instructed the jury to not make up their minds until all evidence was read, and they were given their jury instructions.
In order to keep the case on track for a Friday finish, the prosecution and defense sent the jury home about 2 p.m. on Wednesday to work on those jury instructions, which are basically a worksheet the jurors use to decide the verdict.
Observing the jury, just eight members instead of the 12 or more in capital cases, they remain engaged Thursday. Leaning forward to see photographs on an overhead projector or hear 911 calls amplified throughout the courtroom.
Some jurors appeared to stop taking notes, which the judge told them they aren’t required to do, during an in-depth discussion under defense questioning of how genetic markers are compared.
All three defendants are expected to make their case Thursday or Friday.
Wright’s lawyer said he won’t present his own evidence, while Sanders’s lawyer said they were uncommitted, and Guinnie’s lawyer expected at least one witness.
The state has 3-5 witnesses left, including one that will give “lengthy” testimony.
Judge Sjostrom said he’ll question each defendant on Thursday about their right to testify on their own behalf, or their right to remain silent and not have that silence used against them.
The case will be handed to the jury after all evidence and closing arguments are given.
View this thread for an in-depth breakdown of day two of testimony:
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