A 24-year-old Lansing woman testified Monday that she saw Cornelius “Al” Brown shoot at Shemika Rogers’ sport utility vehicle more than a year ago.
Rogers was shot several times on Dec. 15, 1999, while sitting in her Land Rover in the parking lot of Homestead Apartments, 426 W. Lake Lansing Road, where she lived.
She died five days later.
“I seen a red beam coming from where he was at and the next thing I know he was shooting,” Amber Speed told the court. “I seen him standing there holding the gun and shots were fired.”
A previous witness testified Jan. 8 that Brown, 29, owned a gun with a red laser sighting device.
Brown and Sam Jones III, 25, were in 54-B District Court on Monday for a preliminary hearing to determine if they will stand trial for murder. If convicted, the two men could be sentenced to life in prison.
Camille Dabney, 26, was bound over Monday to Circuit Court for obstruction of justice, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Prosecutors had been seeking the greater charge of an accessory after the crime, but failed to show probable cause.
The hearing for Brown and Jones resumes at 9 a.m. Feb. 5., when final arguments are expected to be given.
Testimony Monday centered around Speed and friend Darrien Mendenhall, who said they saw Jones sitting in a silver Ford Taurus at the scene just before Rogers was shot.
The car was seen speeding away from the apartment complex after gunshots were heard, several witnesses testified Jan. 8.
Mendenhall and Speed said they, along with another man, had been following Rogers’ vehicle to confront her boyfriend about an October 1999 incident.
The two testified Rogers’ boyfriend and a group of men entered their former Lansing home and held guns to their heads. One of the men also allegedly fired a shot at Jones as he was running from the scene.
“I wanted to kick his butt,” Mendenhall said.
Mendenhall testified he called Jones to tell him the group was following Rogers and her boyfriend. Brown’s former girlfriend, Heather Fracier, testified Jan. 8 that Brown and Jones left with guns after receiving a radio call over a cell phone.
“Sam grabbed a gun and it was silver and Al grabbed a gun and it was long,” Fracier said.
Mendenhall said he saw Brown at the apartment complex the night of the shooting with a gun resembling a rifle. After the shooting, Brown and Jones brought the weapon to Mendenhall’s and Speed’s home in Ovid, about 30 miles northeast of Lansing, Mendenhall said.
He and Speed testified Brown discussed getting rid of the gun.
“He told all of us he wasn’t leaving any loose ends and if anybody said anything they’d be just like her,” Smith said.
The two witnesses said they lied to police in December 1999 interviews, when they claimed they did not know anything about the shooting. They only recently told police about their involvement.
Attorneys for Brown and Jones said the change in stories does not bode well for the prosecution’s case.
“Where there were gross inconsistencies they have no information except ‘I don’t remember,’” George Lyons, Brown’s attorney, said.
Jones’ attorney Kenneth Marks said the testimonies from Mendenhall and Speed are very different even though they witnessed the same event.
“They’re all over the place” Marks said. “The bottom line is they are trying to protect themselves.”
Ingham County Assistant Prosecutor Mike Ferency declined to comment whether the testimonies could damage his case at trial. Ferency rested his case for the hearing Monday.
“That’s up to a trier of fact,” he said. “Those issues are truly jury issues.”
Also on Monday, District Court Judge David L. Jordon granted bond for Dabney at $50,000. Cash bond had previously been set at $250,000.
Jeremy W. Steele can be reached at steelej7@msu.edu.
