Jeremy Reynolds
Investigator Jerry McElroy in court on Wednesday identified photos and evidence, including guns, ammo, and pills, from the home of the victim of the Lupton City shootout on May 5, 2013.
Jeremy Reynolds is standing trial in the courtroom of Judge Barry Steelman on a first-degree murder charge in the slaying of 19-year-old Wendell Washington.
Investigator McElroy, a crime scene investigator, said that after arriving at 3687 Northrop St., he did a “walk through” of the crime scene and made notes.
He stated that he noticed it was “wet,” “dark,” and “kinda cool.” He said that he was looking for “blood” and “projectiles,” and that he made a rough sketch of where the evidence was located.
Prosecutor Lance Pope had Investigator McElroy look at a number of photographs taken at Northrop Street on the night of the shooting. One of the photographs showed a Ford Taurus parked under the carport with what appeared to be the entrance and exit holes of a bullet.
Investigator McElroy said from the front porch of the house on Northrop, he identified a number of pictures and pieces of evidence, including spent shell casings, live rounds, and suspected blood.
He also identified buccal swabs that were taken, including from Reynolds.
“DNA can be left behind by touch,” he said, explaining why there was a need for a standard to compare.
After the walk through to document and search for evidence, Investigator McElroy stated that he was allowed to go into the house.
Prosecutor Pope brought forward a number of pictures Investigator McElroy took inside the house, including a picture of what he noted to be suspected blood on the interior landing inside the front door.
Investigator McElroy identified a number of guns inside the house which had been collected for evidence. Two pistols were found under a jacket on the dog kennel. In the bedroom, a Glock 23 40 caliber was found under a comforter on the bed. It had a magazine and live rounds. Also on the bed were $590 in cash and a baggie with green pills.
The witness identified another pistol, found under the mattress, as well as a 12-gauge shotgun and wide light arm 9mm carbine in the corner. There were also spent casings and live rounds inside the house.
Investigator McElroy also stated that on May 14, he received items from the medical examiner, including a bag containing a bullet found during the autopsy. He also said that in September he picked up and documented a projectile at Erlanger that was removed from Reynolds.
Defense attorney John McDougal asked if there would normally be a pool of blood where someone has fallen after being shot.
Investigator McElroy said it depends on where the victim was shot. He later explained that at some shootings there is no blood at all. He said this is “real common in cooler weather cause you have on more layers of clothing.”
Attorney McDougal asked if finding the guns, ammo, pills, and money were the sign of a drug house. The witness responded that he was not a narcotic investigator and that such findings would not lead him to believe it was a drug house. He also could not identify the caliber of the projectiles.
Attorney McDougal also noted that there could have been guns in the house that he did not find.
Officer David Campbell said he was working the midnight shift on May 5, 2013. He said he got in his patrol car and turned on his radio.
“There was a lot of chatter,” he said. “A lot of chaos.”
He said the source of the chaos was Northrop Street. Upon arriving at the scene, and finding the medical unit had already loaded a shooting victim, he said he “locked down the scene."
Officer Kyles Moses and Sgt. Heather Williams identified a live round with Jeremy Reynolds's belongings after the suspect was admitted to Erlanger Hospital.
Sgt. Williams also said that she found a projectile on top of a bag of Washington's clothing after retrieving it from Erlanger. Sgt. Williams said that she did a gunshot residue test on Washington's hands, but could not do so on Reynolds because he was already in surgery.
Sgt. Williams also identified a receipt she found in the Chevy Camaro parked across the street from 3687 Northrop St., the location of the shooting. The receipt was for rounds purchased at Carter Shooting Supply in Harrison, Tn.
Prosecutors showed a video that Sgt. Daniel Francis got a warrant to retrieve from Erlanger. The video shows a vehicle pull up to the hospital. The video also shows two men carry Reynolds into the hospital and put him on a stretcher.
Sgt. Francis identified one of the men as Deante Duncan. He also said that he believed the vehicle in the video looked similar to a Mitsubishi Endeavor. A man who contacted the police said he had observed a white Mitsubishi leave the area after shots were fired.
Defense attorney McDougal pointed out that Sgt. Francis had never actually seen the car, only the video.