Javier Romero, left, and Andrel D. Spates Jr., right.

Moments after a man was shot on Kentucky Street last September, a neighbor took photos of the scene that showed the man in his last moments — lying on the ground and gasping for breath.

That neighbor testified at a court hearing Tuesday that he also took photos of someone getting out of a car, taking a roll of money out of the shooting victim’s pocket and driving away.

The neighbor was one of several witnesses to testify Tuesday in the preliminary hearing for Andrel D. Spates Jr., 19, in the shooting death of Christian Willis.

Willis, 21, of Wichita was fatally shot on Sept. 8, 2021, in the 1500 block of Kentucky Street after a marijuana deal became violent, as the Journal-World has reported. Spates and 18-year-old Javier Romero are charged with first-degree murder in his death.

Both the prosecution and the defense in the case agree that Spates fired a gun at Willis. But Spates and his attorney, Adam Hall, are claiming that Willis was actually trying to rob Romero at gunpoint, and that Spates fired to try to save Romero.

“It is unfortunate to say about a deceased person, but the cause of Mr. Willis’ death is his own actions,” Hall said.” If Spates hadn’t fired, it would be Romero who is dead.”

The prosecution, meanwhile, is arguing that Spates’ actions weren’t self-defense, and that Spates committed first-degree murder because he shot Willis while committing a felony — a drug deal. Under the state’s felony murder law, when a person is “in the commission of a felony,” the prosecution does not have to prove premeditation to charge them with first-degree murder.

At Tuesday’s hearing, Judge Stacey Donovan did not rule on whether Spates could claim self-defense. She said she would rule on the matter at a future date and scheduled another hearing for March 22. She also upheld Spates’ bond amount, which is currently set at $1 million. Spates is currently in Douglas County Jail custody.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Lawrence police work the scene Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021, in the 1500 block of Kentucky Street after a fatal shooting occurred. The victim was later identified as a 21-year-old Wichita man named Christian Willis.

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One of the people to give their version of events on Tuesday was Romero’s girlfriend, Caylee Nehrbass. She said that she and Romero were at Spates’ apartment on Sept. 8 because they wanted to buy some marijuana from Spates. While they were there, she said, Spates got a phone call from Willis, who wanted to come over to buy a large amount of marijuana. She said that Spates and Romero both remarked that Willis was acting oddly.

Nehrbass said that Willis got out of a car outside the apartment building, and Romero left to take the marijuana from Spates’ apartment, which was on an upper floor, down to Willis. She said she stayed with Spates on the third-floor balcony and watched the interaction between Romero and Willis.

Nehrbass said she saw Willis put a gun against Romero’s stomach.

“It shocked me, and I was looking at Javier because I thought he was going to shoot Javier in the stomach,” she said.

She said she looked away for just a moment, and when she looked back, Romero and Willis were wrestling for control of the gun. She said she heard a gunshot and turned away, and that she then heard Spates fire his gun. Moments later, she saw Romero running back up the stairs.

Nehrbass said that when she, Romero and Spates were back in Spates’ apartment, Spates started packing a duffel bag, and that Spates got a phone call from a friend nearby who offered to give them a ride out of the area.

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That friend also testified at Tuesday’s hearing. He said that right before the shooting took place, he was coming to Spates’ apartment to buy some marijuana, and he saw Romero and Willis talking on the sidewalk. He said he went up to Romero and shook his hand and then kept walking toward the apartment building. Then he said he heard a gunshot and quickly walked back to his car, and that he heard several more shots as he was driving away.

He said he then called Spates from his car and offered him a ride, not knowing exactly what had happened.

“He was my friend. I didn’t know if he was OK,” the friend said.

He said he circled around the block and picked up Spates, Romero and Nehrbass. He also said he didn’t get out of his car when he picked them up.

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After the shooting, the first police officer to get to the scene was Skyler Richardson. He said that he rolled Willis onto his back and tried to perform CPR, but it was not effective. He said that although Willis was still breathing, he did not have a pulse.

Richardson said he looked for wounds on the front of Willis’ body but could not find any. He said there were wounds on Willis’ back, but it was too bloody to tell how many there were.

Several neighbors also testified at Tuesday’s hearing, and one of them said he took photos of the crime scene.

This neighbor said that he had just let his cat out when he heard the shots. He said he looked out from his balcony and saw Willis on the ground below, and he immediately reached for his phone to take photos. He said Willis was gasping for breath and his eyes and head were rolling around.

The neighbor said he then saw a man calmly approach Willis from a red car in the parking lot, and that the man reached down and took a “gangster roll” of money from Willis’ pocket. He said the man also picked up two guns — one that was in Willis’ hand and another that was lying on the hood of a nearby car — got back in the red car and drove away. The neighbor took photos of the man and gave them to police, he said.

Richardson said an eyewitness to the shooting had told him something similar. He said he’d heard that someone had gone over to Willis and taken money from him.