3 gunshot victims. 2 robberies. 1 dead. Lexington detective describes violent night
The case against a man facing multiple charges in shootings that killed one person and injured two others in Lexington was sent Thursday to a Fayette County grand jury after a detective testified about details of the investigation.
Jo’Qwan Anthony Edwards Jackson, 19, is charged with murder in the Dec. 10 death of 23-year-old Damontrial D. Fulgham, according to police and court records. Jackson is also charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree assault, evidence tampering and receiving stolen property in connection with the Osage Court shooting that killed Fulgham, according to court records.
Also on Thursday, Lexington police announced that a third person was charged in the case. John George Boulder IV, 20, was charged with murder, first-degree assault, first-degree robbery and tampering with evidence, according to police. A juvenile is also facing charges in the case, but their name has not been released because of their age.
Boulder was already being held in the Fayette County jail on unrelated charges, according to police.
Police were called to Osage Court at about 1:15 a.m. on Dec. 10 after reports of shots being fired. Officers found two people with gunshot wounds.
Fulgham died at the scene, and the other victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment, where he has yet to regain consciousness, Lexington police detective Timothy Moore testified Thursday at a hearing for Jackson.
About an hour and a half before the Osage Court shooting, a man was shot in the leg during a robbery in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Red Mile Court, Moore said. Jackson has been charged with first-degree robbery and first-degree assault in that case.
In both incidents, it is believed that the suspects contacted the victims under the guise of a drug buy and then attempted to rob the dealer, Moore said.
The victim in the Red Mile Court shooting was shown a photograph lineup in an effort to identify suspects, but he was unable to do so, Moore said. The victim told police that everything happened quickly, that he was approached by people with guns, ran and was shot.
Investigators believe that there were as many as five or six suspects at the Osage Court robbery, Moore said Thursday.
Evidence and witness statements led investigators to Jackson, Moore said. After he was identified as a suspect, his house was searched and a backpack that belonged to Fulgham was found, he said.
Electronic evidence, including messages, was also recovered, Moore said.
During the course of the investigation, a burned vehicle believed to have been stolen from one of the victims was found, Moore said.
The evidence tampering charge against Jackson stems from the burning of the car, bleaching of clothes and attempts to destroy electronic evidence, Moore said.
Investigators reported that they’ve found evidence that tied the shootings at Osage Court and Red Mile Road to each other and to Jackson, but on Thursday Moore was unable to give many specifics due to the ongoing nature of the case.
Jackson’s defense attorney, Greg Coulson, pressed for more information on the evidence, including the names of witnesses and the types of physical evidence found at the scenes. Moore said that more arrests are expected in the case, and that providing more information would harm the case.
Coulson argued that there was not enough evidence presented at Thursday’s hearing for probable cause to be found in the case, but Fayette County District Judge John Tackett found there was probable cause and sent the case to the grand jury.
Coulson said after the hearing that he felt the evidence was “thin” considering the lack of specifics provided. He extended his condolences to the families and victims in the case.
If a grand jury finds there is enough evidence to do so, Jackson’s case will be sent to Fayette County Circuit Court where it will move toward trial.
This story was originally published January 9, 2020 at 1:40 PM.
