The man who allegedly murdered a hairdresser via a drive-by shooting had his case bound over to the Grand Jury after General Sessions Court Judge Lila Statom presided over a lengthy preliminary hearing on Thusday. Prosecutor Andrew Coyle and defense attorney Ben McGowan took turns grilling three witnesses on what happened on the night of Jan. 7.
Robert Patterson had just finished watching a basketball game and was fixing to go to bed when Sanel Durakovic, 25, allegedly shot and killed his neighbor, Patrick Godwin, in Godwin’s vehicle.
“My wife and I heard two sounds like gunshots,” said the neighbor, “and one was loud and one was muffled. There was probably one or two seconds in between. The first one was really loud.”
When he went outside to see what caused the noise, he and another neighbor planned on checking behind another house, as they believed that’s where the sound came from. From his front porch, Mr. Patterson then observed a black sedan with distinctive lights speeding off. The same vehicle came back around a minute later, since the neighborhood’s exit was in that other direction.
“I noticed a vehicle, a black sedan, and its lights were off,” said the witness. “When the vehicle came back down the street, the taillights were very elongated LED lights.”
He said that the taillights were so distinctive that a few weeks later, when he saw an Audi with the same kind of lights, he immediately took note of the brand of car. He then sent prosecutor Coyle an Internet image of the car.
During cross-examination, attorney McGowan asked the witness if he had gotten a good look at the car’s driver. “No sir, I did not see the driver,” replied the witness. Aside from the car, Mr. Patterson also described the state he found his neighbor in.
“He was lying on his right side, arms directly beside him and holding his phone,” said Mr. Patterson on the victim’s positioning when he went over to the body. “His eyes were open but unblinking, and he was not responding in any way.”
Mr. Patterson said his neighbor was deceased when he encountered him, and that police responded within two minutes of being called. He said he saw a wound on his head, but he did not want to touch or interfere with the body before police arrived.
Investigator Mike Thompson said he saw a bullet wound on Godwin’s head and shoulder, and that he was near a silver BMW convertible. Godwin’s phone was intact, and his wallet was also still there. Investigators found a couple of .40 caliber shell casings near the scene.
The detective then displayed a series of videos, the first being outside of the Tease Salon where Godwin, and Durakovic’s girlfriend, Sabina Blue, worked. Godwin had allegedly made unwanted advances toward Ms. Blue while they worked together, something her boss testified to. She said, “I told her he was flirty.”
The owner of the salon said Ms. Blue had wished to talk to her about an issue she had with Godwin the day before he was shot. She also described the relationship between the two as “a normal co-worker relationship” from her viewpoint.
The boss also said Durakovic was very possessive, and that because Ms. Blue did not drive, the defendant drove her to and from work.
“She’s a young girl, and dependent on her man,” said the woman, “He was a little hovering, and there were lots of texts and a constant onslaught of communication.”
She also described a situation where Ms. Blue had gotten into an argument with Durakovic over her outfit. He believed the tight pants she wore were not modest enough, and she had to change out of them.
The investigator’s video showed Durakovic, in his Audi, pull up to the salon and wait for Ms. Blue to finish her shift. However, a few minutes later, the same car could be seen going to a gas station, with the license tag removed. The video also showed Godwin leaving the salon after he had finished with his last client of the day.
After Durakovic had been arrested, the investigator described what he found in the defendant’s apartment. He said the shoes Durakovic were seen wearing in the video footage were in the sink, there was a 0.09 caliber gun in the apartment, and the floor mats had been taken out of the Audi.
The floor mats were actually outside, but investigator Thompson said he “didn’t know if they had been washed recently.” He also did not know if they had been washed at all.
Attorney McGowan asked for and was granted the prospect of pre-trial house arrest for his client. Should Durakovic afford the $200,000 bond, he would be placed on house arrest with drug screens and GPS monitoring.
Durakovic would be unable to contact Ms. Blue, and would not be allowed to go anywhere near Tease Salon.
Judge Statom noted that Ms. Blue ignored a subpoena after she was supposed to testify as a witness.