Prosecution witnesses shot - suspected retaliation

By Sr. Correspondent, Antoine Craigwell

(New York, NY, Friday, Jul 24, 2009) - Witnesses who testified at the trial of Dwight DeLee, the 20-year-old who shot and killed a transgender woman last November, were reported shot on Wednesday, Jul 22, 2009.

 

Convicted killer Dwight DeLee
The Syracuse, NY Post Standard newspapers reported yesterday that Johnny Gaston, Sr., and Lavaughn Polk were shot in what police and the prosecutor's office believe was retaliation for the conviction of DeLee last Friday.

Gaston, Sr. is the father of two of the prosecution's witnesses in the trial of DeLee who was tried for the murder of Moses "Teish" Cannon, known as LeTeish Green.

Green, 22, was shot point blank with a .22 caliber rifle by DeLee on the night of Nov 14, 2008 outside a house on Seymour Avenue in Syracuse, and died later at University Hospital. On Monday, Jul 13, 2009, the jury trial began of her killer.

This shooting occurred exactly one week after Onondaga County Judge, William Walsh, had cause to warn the defense, outside of the hearing of the jury, against witness intimidation because the prosecution had reported threats against state's witnesses. On Friday, Jul 17, after requesting a re-reading of the testimony given by Green's brother, Mark, who was the driver of the car and who also suffered a gun shot injury to his arm, the jury, in less than 30 minutes, returned a guilty verdict on the lesser count of second-degree manslaughter as a hate crime.

"We're looking at the possibility that this may be some kind of retaliation," Sgt. Tom Connellan said. "We're looking at that very closely."

The police said that while they cannot identify where the shootings occurred, Gaston, Sr., 47, was shot in his neck and was unable to speak with police and Polk, 22, with an injury to his left forearm was reported to be uncooperative. Two Gaston siblings, Johnny Gaston, Jr., and Jasmine Gaston were witnesses for the prosecution in DeLee's trial.

While the police are keeping him apprised of developments about whether the shooting on Wednesday was retaliatory, Chief Assistant District Attorney Matthew Doran said, "It's one of the aspects of the investigation. We're trying to determine if the fact Johnny and Jasmine Gaston testified at the trial last week was a factor."

Doran said that so far there were no reports of problems from the trial, but that while the Gastons were reluctant to provide the same information in the witness stand which they had previously provided to the police, and that these two witnesses were not the ones the judge referred to in his admonition on Wednesday.

But during the trial, the judge had asked Doran if he wanted to charge Jasmine Gaston with perjury, but the prosecutor responded that he wanted to have statements made by the witness to the police repeated to the jury.

Following on the jury's verdict, DeLee was convicted and faces sentencing on Aug 20 to a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison, but with his prior record and the determination that this was also a hate crime, he would serve a minimum of 10 years in prison.