BEAUMONT \u2014 A trial is now underway linked to what prosecutors call a crime scene that looked more like a war zone.<\/p>\n
Dozens of bullets went flying near a Port Arthur liquor store and across a street, some nearly hitting an infant.<\/p>\n
Trevontae Nichols, 24, is on trial in Judge John Stevens’ Criminal District Court on three charges of Aggravated Assault With a Deadly Weapon.<\/p>\n
If convicted, he could face 2-20 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine for each charge.<\/p>\n
Prosecutor Tommy Coleman explaining what he described as the shocking details during his opening statement today to the jury.<\/p>\n
“Back on January 11, 2024, it was nothing less than a war zone,” said Coleman. “Automatic gunfire. Shell casings raining down like rain. Bullets striking vehicles, striking buildings, and civilians ducking for cover. This war zone was not in Iraq, or Ukraine, or Mogadishu. This war one was in Port Arthur, Texas.<\/p>\n
Coleman told the jury that the evidence will show that on January 11, 2024, the defendant, Trevontae Nichols, entered the Last Call Liquor & Smoke Store on Gulfway Drive during the late evening hours. Coleman says Nichols was wearing a distinctive all-red outfit. No one else in the liquor store would either come in or go out during that time period, wearing that distinctive red outfit, said Coleman. He said Nichols talked with a few people, but when the victim entered the store, Nichols’ demeanor instantly changes. <\/p>\n
“He’s staring down Phillip Bennett,” Coleman told the jury. “It is obvious there’s an issue with Phillip Bennett. The defendant finished his business and left the liquor store. Moments later, the other individuals would exit the liquor store. The last person to leave before the shots rang out was Phillip Bennett as he exited the liquor store and got into his vehicle with his girlfriend and their seven-month-old infant. As he started to drive away, an individual wearing an all-red outfit can be seen coming from around the side of the liquor store and firing a firearm in rapid succession at that vehicle as it drove away. After firing the shots, the individual in the distinctive all-red outfit ran back around the building. Phillip Bennett sees this individual with a firearm, and other suspects, and an exchange of gunfire occurs again. Phillip Bennett had his own firearm with him. Phillip Bennett opens fire at this point. He did so in self-defense. He did so out of fear. He did that to protect his girlfriend and their child. There would be no less than 80 rounds exchanged. The evidence tech will testify that she had never been to a scene with so many shell casings. Bullet holes struck the side of the building and entered the liquor store. Two or three vehicles were struck by flying bullets across this parking lot. Those bullets flew across the street and struck a Valero gas station, the side of that building. You’ll see surveillance video from the Last Call Liquor Store and the Valero gas station, showing people ducking for cover. You’ll see video from the liquor store showing Trevontae Nichols entering the liquor store wearing the all-red outfit. The victim, his girlfriend, and police will testify.”<\/p>\n
Defense attorney Marvin Lewis offered an opening statement.<\/p>\n
“A big part of this case is perception vs. reality,” Lewis told jurors. “You’ll determine if there appeared to be any issues between my client and the victim. You’ll make your own determination about the distinctive outfit and whether it was worn by my client. I’m asking each of you to keep an open mind and stay focused on the evidence.”<\/p>\n
Several police officers testified this afternoon. The trial resumes Wednesday. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BEAUMONT \u2014 A trial is now underway linked to what prosecutors call a crime scene that looked more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":398058,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-398057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=398057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398057\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/398058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=398057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=398057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=398057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}