A Lie About Money Led to Fatal Shooting, Defendant Testifies

By Andrew Michaels - March 29, 2022
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

A 33-year-old man on trial for homicide testified during his jury trial on March 29 that it was a lie that set off a chain of events that led to the victim’s death on an early wintry morning in February 2021.

Darrius Lemar Jordan is currently facing murder charges for his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of Guy Thomas on Feb. 12, 2021.

On Tuesday, Jordan testified that Thomas was buying drugs from someone nicknamed “Black,” who was sitting inside a black Chevy Equinox with Jordan and another person outside Uptown Bar on the corner of Edmondson Avenue and N. Monroe Street. Thomas was allegedly buying drugs from Black but was short some money, Jordan said, so he gave Thomas the money to cover his purchase after confirming with the victim that he had no additional money.

Shortly after the exchange, video surveillance footage showed Thomas purchasing a beer inside Uptown Bar, where Jordan confronted him.

“I just wanted a good explanation as to why he lied to me” about having no money, Jordan told the prosecution during a line of questioning. “I felt I just got scammed out of my money.”

Inside the bar, the footage showed Jordan arguing with Thomas before hitting and pushing the victim to the ground, where he then kicked Thomas repeatedly. Video footage of the confrontation continued to play for the jury as the prosecutor questioned Jordan’s movements when the victim got to his feet.

“Every time [Thomas] moves, you move with him,” the prosecution said, arguing that Jordan was preventing the victim from leaving the bar. The defendant replied that he was moving with the victim because he was talking to him but was not trying to prevent him from leaving.

The prosecutor continued to question why Jordan was so upset about the money since he allegedly “gifted” the money to Thomas, to which Jordan affirmed that it was because the victim lied.

Jordan later testified that a bar employee asked him and Thomas to leave because the bar was closing. As the prosecution played video surveillance footage of the two standing outside the bar, Jordan said he was asked by Black to explain what happened and that Thomas began repeatedly apologizing.

After Thomas kept interjecting in Jordan and Black’s conversation, the defendant acknowledged the footage that showed him hitting the victim, throwing him down on a snowbank, and kicking him several times. Black is then seen getting out of the SUV, coming up behind Jordan, and shooting Thomas.

The prosecution said Thomas was shot in the nose and thigh but was killed from a gunshot to the back of the head that cracked open his skull.

During cross-examination, the prosecutor also questioned a part of the video footage that he said showed Black putting his arm on Jordan just before the shooting. However, the defendant said he did not know Black was outside of the vehicle or that he was going to shoot Thomas.

Jordan explained that he panicked as Black told him to get back into the vehicle and continued to panic as they drove away.