Multiple Eyewitnesses Testify on First Day of Wellington Avenue Murder Trial

By Amina Thiam [former] - October 31, 2022
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

“They gunned Tyree Lee down in the street,” stated the prosecutor during opening statements for a murder trial on Oct. 28. 

The victim, 39-year-old Lee, was shot multiple times on the 3900 block of Penhurst Avenue on the afternoon of March 27, 2019. 

According to eyewitness testimony outlined in the prosecutor’s opening statements, after Lee had gone to a nearby corner store with his girlfriend, he was chased down the 4600 block of Wellington Avenue by two suspects, one of whom was armed and fatally shot him around 2:50 p.m. 

The defendant, Lorenzo Thomas, has been charged with first-degree murder, firearm use in a felony violent crime, two counts of illegal possession of a regulated firearm, and having a handgun on his person in connection to the murder. 

Five witnesses, including two eyewitnesses, were called to testify by the state on the first day of Thomas’ jury trial.

One of the eyewitnesses, a resident of a nearby apartment complex, detailed hearing multiple gunshots and seeing the victim through his living room window, frantically trying to escape before one of the suspects “stood over top” of him and fired the deadly shot execution-style. 

Thomas is being represented by defense attorney Paul Batchelor, who emphasized to the jury that some of the state’s witnesses were unreliable during his opening statements. He began by telling the jury his client maintains his innocence. 

He stated that one witness, the victim’s girlfriend, was using drugs on the day of the incident. Regarding the civilian witnesses, he said, “Memories have faded. This case happened two-and-a-half years ago.” 

Another one of the witnesses was an acquaintance of both Lee and Thomas and was subpoenaed by investigating detectives to identify the suspects based on what he saw in the nearby alley that day. Although he stated that his memory was hazy, he confirmed that he heard the victim’s girlfriend screaming after the first shots rang out from down the street. 

The last witness to take the stand was the victim’s girlfriend, who described Thomas confronting Lee and another friend one day prior, in their formerly shared house, over money the couple owed him. 

She told the jury that on the day of the murder, she had seen Thomas at the corner store shortly before her boyfriend ventured off down the street. She said she initially did not identify him to the police because she was scared for her life. 

She explained that in her follow-up interviews with detectives, she positively identified Thomas as the killer based on a photo array of mugshots. 

There was very little cross-examination by the defense counsel. However, Batchelor asked the last witness about her heroin use and other acquaintances she and the victim saw on the day of the shooting. 

Presiding Judge Lazette Ringgold-Kirksey closed the day by instructing the jury to return for day two of the trial, which resumes on Monday, Oct. 31, at 9 a.m.