Defense: Man will testify in Lexington murder trial that he fired fatal shots, not defendant
The defense attorney for a man indicted with murder in June 2023 gave opening statements Monday with an explosive claim: another man will admit he fired the fatal shots — not the defendant.
Corry Jackson, 38, was indicted in June 2023 on charges of murder and being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun by the grand jury. Jackson was arrested after the shooting in the 400 block of Chestnut Street April 20, 2023. Lakeisha Hill, 32, and Timonte Harris, 43, both died as a result of the shooting. Jackson’s trial began Monday and is expected to last four days.
But Daniel Whitley, Jackson’s attorney, said another 34-year-old man named Courtney Wrenn will take the stand and confess to firing the shots towards Harris later this week. Wrenn told police it was his DNA on the Blackout rifle, Whitley said.
Jackson was arrested one block away from the scene of the shooting, and a witness later identified him as the shooter, according to court documents. Police stated most of the evidence that pointed to Jackson as the suspect was solely from witness testimony and surveillance footage that showed him walking in the area at the time of the shooting.
Previous testimony from detective Jeremy Adkins revealed Hill was actually killed by Harris before he himself was shot. Jackson is not charged in connection to Hill’s death, only Harris’s.
Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Andrew Gillespie spoke during opening statements that prosecutors would provide “pieces of a puzzle” — including evidence and witness testimony — that would create a picture that Jackson killed Harris.
However, Whitley reframed that statement to say prosecutors would give the jury “bits and pieces of evidence,” which they would wrap up and aim for the jury to swallow.
Police took Jackson into custody quickly after the shooting. He told officers he was around the scene of the shooting but left when shots were fired. Jackson’s clothing matched the description from witnesses. However, officers were not able to find the weapon at the time of his arrest.
Whitley claimed the community was upset with Jackson’s arrest. So much so, they were able to find and turn in the firearm to police before it was submitted for testing. Gillespie admitted two sets of male DNA was found on the gun, but did not say that it was a match to Wrenn.
“(Wrenn) will take the stand and say, ‘I shot the weapon.’ That he is the person, not (Jackson). Wrenn said the DNA on this weapon belongs to me,” Whitley asserted.
Wrenn is one of several suspects charged in connection to another murder and burglary that killed 31-year-old Stacey Marshall on Michigan Avenue in July.
Before his indictment by a grand jury, district judge Denotra Spruill Gunther reduced Jackson’s charge to manslaughter, and said she police’s initial testimony was not strong enough to support a murder charge.
This story was originally published December 16, 2024 at 1:31 PM.
