Video interview between police, suspect played at Lexington double murder trial
A video interview with a man accused of shooting and killing two people at a Lexington apartment is one of several key pieces of evidence shown to jurors in an ongoing Lexington murder trial.
Antonio Gaskin, of Detroit, faces two murder charges and two charges of failure to report the deaths of Sharmaine Carter, 25, and Marquis Harris, 24, who were each found with gunshot wounds to the head and chest in an Alexandria Drive apartment building.
A video interview between police and Gaskin, 45, was shown in court Wednesday in which Gaskin told police he didn’t live or stay in Lexington. The video was shown after prosecutors had previously noted that Gaskin’s fingerprints were found on several items at the scene of the shooting.
Gaskin’s defense team previously argued that it was no surprise Gaskin’s fingerprints were identified at the scene if he was staying at the apartment.
J. Parker Mincy, a defense attorney, told the jury that what the prosecution would present to them would only leave room for them to “guess Gaskin guilty,” and was “shoddy at best.”
Detective: Guns found at scene couldn’t have been used in shooting
Mincy also previously took issue with the fact that guns recovered from the scene of the shooting weren’t tested to see if they were involved in Carter and Harris’ deaths. Mincy said the lack of ballistics testing was “just a preview” of things that weren’t done correctly to get justice in the case.
But Jeffery Fugate, a retired Lexington police detective, said Harris and Carter had gunshot wounds from small caliber firearms, and the guns found at the apartment were a pellet gun and a shotgun.
Fugate said Carter and Harris had “absolutely not been shot with a shotgun,” and therefore decided not to send it off for testing.
“With the injuries they sustained, they would have had much more blunt force trauma to the wounds, and there would have been much more of a perforation of the skin at the entry points,” Fugate said. “The gunshot wounds they sustained were consistent with a handgun, pistol, or something of that nature.”
Both Carter and Harris were found to have a gunshot wound to their head and chest. Fugate said a pistol was never recovered.
Gaskin’s defense team also argued in opening statements about an identification made by a witness named George Heard, a retired Louisiana State Police officer. Heard was formerly a Lyft driver who worked outside of the rideshare app to make longer distance trips for extra cash.
Heard testified on Tuesday he would take Harris to Detroit from Lexington and vice-versa at least twice a month.
On Oct. 15, the night before the bodies were found, Heard said he took Harris to the Lexington apartment from Detroit. He said the ride cost $175, but Harris was short $50. However, when they pulled up to the apartment, a man left the apartment, came towards the car, hugged Harris, and gave him the remaining balance to pay Heard.
In the days after the murder, Heard was interviewed by police, and he identified Gaskin as the man who came out of the apartment. However, Mincy said there was only one photo shown to Heard. In addition, over a year later in November 2021, Heard was shown a photo array where he did not identify Gaskin’s photo among five others.
Prosecutors said this was because of the length of time between the two interviews.
“When you talked to detectives in 2019, you picked out a man in the picture,” Webster said to Heard. “Would your memory have been better then, than it would have been in the interview a year later in 2021?”
“Oh yes,” Heard replied.
Prosecutors object to discussion about ‘death threat’ texts
Mincy attempted to raise questions about “death threats” made to Carter and Harris over text messages, which came from an unidentified number. But prosecutors objected to the introduction of the texts as evidence.
More evidence was presented by the defense in cross examination which could lend them to pursue an alternative perpetrator theory.
Mincy questioned Fugate about the message exchange between Carter, Harris, and an unidentified number. The texts potentially show “death threats” made to Carter and Harris.
The prosecution objected to the discussion of these text messages.
Gaskin’s defense team again asked Travis to dismiss the case, which Travis declined to do.
Prosecutors finished presenting their case Wednesday. Jurors are expected to hear final arguments after Gaskin’s defense team finishes presenting its case Thursday.
