Shooter's identity at issue in case / LJWorld.com

Archive for Thursday, July 13, 2006

Shooter’s identity at issue in case

Defense says there’s room for confusion; victim killed near club had knife, wife says

July 13, 2006

Police said Wednesday that DNA evidence implicates a man who's charged in the deadly shooting earlier this year outside a downtown night club.

But defense attorneys say that amid the yelling and alcohol-fueled posturing that led to the shooting Feb. 5 outside the Granada, 1020 Mass., there's room for confusion about who really fired the shots.

"The identity of the alleged shooter is going to be a very contested issue in this case," Defense attorney Mark Manna said during a preliminary hearing for suspect Rashawn T. Anderson.

Anderson is charged with shooting and killing Robert E. Williams, 46, after a concert headlined by Williams' nephew, Denver-based rap artist Doe. The shooting heightened concerns about safety at downtown clubs and led to an ongoing debate about what the city should do to improve security.

Wednesday was the first day of a two-day hearing to determine whether there's enough evidence for Anderson to stand trial.

A key piece of evidence in the case is a video filmed outside the Granada minutes before the shooting by a contractor from the hip-hop label. In the video, Williams can be seen wearing a long black coat and bowler-style hat as he argues loudly with a group of men, and Anderson can be seen standing on the fringes of the group involved in the argument.

Granada shooting

Related content about the Granada shooting

Williams' widow, LaTonia Coleman, testified that the argument began when a man Williams didn't know interjected himself in a money-related argument Williams was having with a female acquaintance. It soon escalated into yelling and cursing between the two strangers.

"Robert had a thing about people being in his business. He just didn't tolerate it," Coleman said.

She said that at one point in the argument, her husband pulled out a knife and held it behind his back, concealed under the flaps of his long leather coat. When the argument escalated, Anderson can be seen in the video talking to another man, leaving the area to walk south and coming back a few moments later.

But the argument was broken up around that time. Coleman said she and her husband left the sidewalk and went to the rear of the Granada to try to meet a limousine that was driving to Kansas City for an after party.

When the limousine wasn't there, they drove around the block, and she let her husband out of the car to ask about the limo. Moments later, she said, she heard the shots, turned and saw her husband run from the Granada and collapse in the street.

Williams' nephew, Bryce Johnson, testified Wednesday that he saw the shooting from a distance and watched as the shooter ran and got into a light-colored sedan. He pointed out Anderson in court as the shooter.

"I know who I saw," he said.

Eyewitnesses gave police a partial license-plate number for the sedan. Police tracked the license plate to Topeka and found the owner, who had been at the club that night but said she'd loaned her car to someone else.

Many of the people who had been on the sidewalk before the shooting didn't come forward to police. So detectives obtained the video from the record label and worked with Topeka police to identify the people shown in it, Lawrence Police Detective Lance Flachsbarth testified.

They also found witnesses using a "party pic" photo from the Granada that they found in the Oldsmobile's glove compartment.

Lawrence Police Detective Zach Thomas testified that crime-scene investigators recovered four bullets: one on the ground on Massachusetts Street, one in the alley behind the Granada, one from Williams' body and one on the floor of the Lawrence Memorial Hospital emergency room, where Williams went for treatment.

On the day of Anderson's arrest Feb. 22, police went to a field on U.S. Highway 40 west of Lawrence and found a .38 caliber revolver lying on the ground. They swabbed the gun for DNA and sent the gun and bullets to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation for testing.

A KBI lab report said two of the bullets - the one found on the floor at the ER and the one found on Massachusetts Street - appeared to have come from the gun found in the field. Two swabs from the gun matched Anderson's DNA profile, the KBI found.

The hearing will continue today.

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LJWorld.com doesn’t necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post. Read our full policy. Also, read about banned accounts and harassing comments.

rednekbuddha (Kelly Powell) says…

Wait a minute....he had a knife out and behind his back.....That kind of changes things a little bit.
July 13, 2006 at 5:36 a.m.
Solomon (anonymous) says…

What are you saying, Rednek, that he deserved to be shot? For having a knife behind his back several minutes before the shooting?
July 13, 2006 at 6:22 a.m.
Sandman (anonymous) says…

Rednek is right. We need the Citizen's Review Board for this!!
July 13, 2006 at 6:43 a.m.
punkrockmom (Nikki May) says…

Was he shot in the back? The shooter couldn't have seen the knife if it was behind his back and facing. What changes things for me is that there are 4 bullets, yet 2 of those match this one gun. What about the other 2? No, I don't think anyone should be shot, and this person should be punished, but was there a second shooter? Who? Where's that gun?
July 13, 2006 at 6:50 a.m.
smitty (anonymous) says…

What happened to the second guy that was shot? He went into the back of the granda. A couple of days later there was a photo and story of the lpd finding more evidence in the alley where this second man was. To date that has not been brought up again.

This whole thing about the victim leaving and returning then going to the car and her circling the block to let him out is not going down easily with the grain of salt.
July 13, 2006 at 7:16 a.m.
smitty (anonymous) says…

And the metal detectors that she has so publically called for would have detected her husband's knife unless it was another weapon kept in the car until needed. Did the victim leave to get the knife when he walked away and returned?
July 13, 2006 at 7:31 a.m.
rousseau108 (anonymous) says…

Not surprisingly the LJW articles aren't overflowing with details. Perhaps the lab was only able to match two of the bullets to the gun because the other two were too misshapen or damaged to get a match. Doesn't automatically mean they didn't come from that gun or that there was a second shooter on the grassy knoll.
July 13, 2006 at 8:03 a.m.
aeroscout17 (anonymous) says…

The way I read it, he pulled the knife in the first argument (the one his wife saw). She didn't see the shooting so it wasn't during that time when she saw him pull the knife. OTOH, if he pulled it once, he might have pulled it again.
July 13, 2006 at 8:09 a.m.
consumer1 (anonymous) says…

ONe less thug...
July 13, 2006 at 8:14 a.m.
lonelyboy (anonymous) says…

If you pull it ,, be able to use it or eat it with it. Was the knife found on him ? Chances are if he pulled it and his wife saw it , then the people in the arguement saw it also . Plumberscrack is right ... this day in age they all have guns. What happens when he pulls a knife on someone, a law abiding citizen with a permit to carry a concealed weapon and is trained to use it ?
July 13, 2006 at 8:34 a.m.
Sigmund (anonymous) says…

I know this is only the preliminary hearing and the defense probably won't put on much of a case, but so far it looks like the LPD did a great job investigating this killing. This is especially true considering the reluctance of witnesses to come forward. It is interesting that the LPD was able to go to the exact field where the gun had been tossed after the shooting, there is a story there that we may have to wait for trial to hear.
July 13, 2006 at 8:46 a.m.
pundit (anonymous) says…

"Robert had a thing about people being in his business. He just didn't tolerate it," Coleman said.

Good kind of person to have at public events. Especially with a knive drawn on the ready.
July 13, 2006 at 9:24 a.m.
crazyks (anonymous) says…

The knife may have been behind his back while his wife was there. But she wasn't there the entire time, and has no way of knowing whether the knife stayed behind his back, or if he may have pulled it on Anderson.

If the man threatened Anderson with a knife, can't the shooting be considered self-defense?
July 13, 2006 at 9:59 a.m.
Sigmund (anonymous) says…

If a reasonable person in Anderson's position would have felt threatened with serious bodily harm or death then self defense would be valid. However, the defense has signaled the 'identity' of the shooter is going to be their main defense. While in theory it is legal to offer inconsistent defenses (ie I didnt do it, but if I did it was self defense), practically speaking juries don't like it.
July 13, 2006 at 10:14 a.m.
Morgss (anonymous) says…

Most certainly enjoyed reading the tags for the past 6 months or so. Makes the LJW an excellent online read.
Have followed this story, many more of the ilk in more or less a 60 mile radius of our city.

Seems it boils down to one basic common denominator. Groups of individuals breaking the law without consideration. Not only Hip Hop, but any individual making a consciences decision to ignore our laws.

Maybe you can answer these questions?

* Most if not all probation/diversion agreements prohibit associating with others on probation. Why do we not enforce?
* Most probation/diversion, and federal laws for felons prohibit carrying or using weapons. Why do we not enforce?
* How many federal gun laws were broken by the alleged killer? Why doesn't Douglas County prosecute some of our worst offenders?

Forget the Granada, and recollect the Moon Bar fiasco. If the above statements have merit, how many serious violations were committed by the occupants on the Moon on that evening? How many prosecutions?

No fan of Johnson County, but they did move aggressively against some of the problem groups we now see in Lawrence. One very effective technique was having probation officers ride with police officers every once in a while. This was especially effective in dealing with youth in the legal system.
July 13, 2006 at 11:03 a.m.
Sandman (anonymous) says…

There is not the will to do that in this community Morgss. Liberal Progressives do not like Police, and tend to sympathize with criminals.
July 13, 2006 at 11:13 a.m.
srj (anonymous) says…

That is new information about the knife. Say what you want, that does change things alittle. Maybe less time in jail, maybe.
July 13, 2006 at 3:20 p.m.
monkeywrench1969 (anonymous) says…

"When the argument escalated, Anderson can be seen in the video talking to another man, leaving the area to walk south and coming back a few moments later.

But the argument was broken up around that time. "

There was obviously a second go round becasue hte shooter left and came back.

My question is where are the details the Johnson guy saw that led up to him seeing the shooter shoot the victim. There has to be more to it than I saw the guy shooting.

The big problem with this story is Weslander wrote it and it is very choppy. I wonder if the LJW reporters sit through the whole proceedings to get all the info or if they sit for portions of the testimony to get quick quotes for filler.
July 13, 2006 at 3:37 p.m.
egypt (anonymous) says…

The First article about this never mentioned that Williams had a knife, So if Anderson had not had a gun, would that person have been stabbed to death?
If both people had weapons it doesnt seem like either where planning on just walking away from the fight.
and Williams doesnt seem as innocent since he had a concealed weapon in him to.
Why cant people go to a show to have a good time and just walk away from petty drama and arguments
July 13, 2006 at 5:23 p.m.
rednekbuddha (Kelly Powell) says…

Solomon....Wher the hell did you get I thought the guy deserved to be shot? I said it changes the story.....It could also change the crime from premeditated murder to manslaughter.
While we are on the subject lets discuss the knife behind the back....You keep a knife in that position for two reasons....1: So as not to telegraph your strike.....and 2: If you make a big deal of keeping your hand behind your back you are sending a message that yes I have a weapon but you will not know what it is until I use it.
a much better way is to have a blade that you fingers can just cover and keep your hands down at your sides in a more relaxed and natural position....And then use the knife! If you pull it you should be cutting the bastards throat anything less than that and your posturing.
July 13, 2006 at 6:57 p.m.
hockmano (anonymous) says…

To Consumer1,
You wouldn't have said the same thing if it would have been your brother, father or mother!
July 15, 2006 at 7:22 p.m.