Dustin Hayes
Dustin Hayes told a Criminal Court jury on Thursday that Ronald Cosper wanted "to hit a lick" and he went to a friend's house to "get some heat" before being let out near the home of a mentally-handicapped marijuana dealer who was shot and killed.
Hayes, who is also charged with the murder of 38-year-old Steve Mosley on July 2, 2012, said after he heard three gunshots that Cosper came back through a cut through between Sheridan Avenue and N. Hawthorne Street and got into his vehicle.
Cosper, who was 18 at the time of the slaying, is on trial in the courtroom of Judge Barry Steelman.
Hayes said he was with Cosper and others earlier that day at the home of Blake Lee, whose mother was away.
He said Cosper asked him to give him a ride and he complied, though he believed Cosper was planning a robbery. He said Cosper asked him to drive to the Highway 58 area to get a gun. He said they picked up Devante Stoudemire, who is also charged with murder.
He said Stoudemire handed a revolver to Cosper after he got into the car.
Hayes said he drove them to Sheridan, where they saw several women on a porch. He said Stoudemire said one of the women was "one of my home boys' mama" and he went to talk with her. He said Cosper got out with the gun and went through the path toward the Mosley residence.
He said when they heard three gunshots that Stoudemire hollered that it was fireworks. Hayes said he was hoping that was all it was.
He said Cosper returned, got in the car, and told him to go.
The witness said Cosper said the robbery "went wrong" and the "guy attacked me." He said Cosper said, "I had to shoot him three times to get him off me."
He said Stoudemire later took shell casings from the gun and dropped them down a drain, then they went to the house of a person who supposedly had replacement bullets.
Hayes said later he went with Cosper and Blake Lee to visit a girl in Hixson. He said he later went home, and he called a girlfriend because "I didn't want to be alone."
He said the girl arrived after he was asleep. He said when she woke him up she could tell something was wrong, and she kept asking about it.
Hayes said there was then a knock on the door and he was told that police were outside. He said his uncle told him not to give a statement without a lawyer.
He said he took that stance at first, then he saw Stoudemire leaving the police station and he decided it was okay to talk.
A gun residue expert from the TBI Crime Lab said he found no gun residue from the hands of the three defendants. But he said he did find gunshot residue on Cosper's pants near his pocket.
The state rested its case at the close of the day on Thursday.
Hayes was 18 at the time of the slaying and Stoudemire was 20.