A former assistant principal and a police technician were questioned Feb. 18 morning in the trial of Daaon Spears, a 19-year-old accused of opening fire at a Popeyes fast food restaurant in 2023, leading to the death of one teenager and injuries to four others.
Charging documents state that Spears and his co-defendant, Bryan Johnson, 19, entered a Popeyes at Edmondson Shopping Center on the 4400 block of Edmondson Avenue on Jan. 4, 2023, where they both proceeded to open fire on five students, including victim Deanta Dorsey, 16, who succumbed to his wounds.
The Popeyes was located near Edmondson High School. Johnson and Spears were both minors at the time. The case was previously tried in 2024, but was declared a mistrial due to a hung jury.
During the proceedings, a former assistant principal of Edmondson High School confirmed that according to records, both Johnson and Spears were students at the time, with Spears being marked absent on Jan. 4. The jury was also shown police body-worn camera footage, through which the witness confirmed the location of the shopping center as being near the high school.
A police technician was later questioned about evidence recovered during a search of Spears’ residence. Two gray Under Armour backpacks, over 50 cartridges and a magazine were shown to the jury as evidence allegedly found at the scene.
“You swabbed that magazine, right?” Defense attorney Brandon Taylor asked the witness.
“I did not,” the witness responded.
When questioned about why clothing was not swabbed, the witness explained that the texture of the item rendered the process of recovering fingerprints from the tiem difficult, and investigators would have to use a different technique entirely.
The trial will continue this week.
