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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Testimony continued in the Tremaine Wilbourn murder case on Thursday with several new witnesses taking the stand.
The first was a woman who lived down the street from where the shooting took place in August 2015. She said she heard several shots and walked outside to find Memphis Police Officer Sean Bolton on the ground almost completely face down.
She said she didn’t see anyone else, but when she finally saw Officer Bolton she was only paying attention to him.
The second person to take the stand – Mr. Jones – said that night he saw a red car parked the wrong way on the street. Officer Bolton noticed the car as well and pulled up behind it and shined his spotlight on it.
Mr. Jones said that’s when the driver jumped out of the car and starting running. He heard a scuffle and then the shots being fired.
He confirmed he also heard Wilbourn shout for others to “pull your phones out. I haven’t done anything. They are trying to kill us.” He then heard one gun shot followed by rapid gunfire. Jones claimed he saw Wilbourn fire five to six shots while Officer Bolton was on the ground.
The next witness was Krystal Freeman who was also there the night the officer was killed. She heard Wilbourn shouting the same thing and then say Officer Bolton lying face down with hands over his face.
Chris Lanier, the man who used Officer Bolton’s radio to call for help, was then called to the stand following a short recess.
Lanier told prosecutors his little brother was the driver of the car Wilbourn was in. He said he heard the shots and then his nephew – who testified on Tuesday- came inside the home and said “someone shot the police.” He admitted he didn’t believe him and went outside to see for himself what was going on.
As everyone was trying to call 911 for help, Lanier grabbed the officer’s radio and called for help.
During that time he told Bolton not to try to speak because he was hurt. He said he told him he was trying to get him help.
He specifically noted that Officer Bolton’s gun was still in the holster.
The next witness to testify was Officer Kevin Bobo, who was the first officer on the scene. He said upon seeing the police vehicle, he jumped out of his car and asked where the officer was. Those nearby pointed to the driveway and that’s when Bobo saw Bolton lying face down with his hands under his face.
He said Bolton didn’t respond to his name being called so he started to roll him over. That’s when he noticed a gaping wound to Bolton’s chin. That wound made it difficult for the officer to perform mouth to mouth on Officer Bolton. He testified that he actually had to hold the officer’s lower chin up in order to get him air.
Again, this witness testified that the officer’s gun had not been drawn.
One of the next officers to arrive on the scene that night was Officer Jacoba Boyd, a friend of Bolton’s who encouraged him to join the Memphis Police Department. He said that night he heard the call from Bolton and detected a sense of urgency that made him fearful for his friend’s safety.
He said he immediately began driving towards Bolton’s ward and made the scene once he had an exact location.
When asked to describe the injury to Officer Bolton’s face he said the man’s “face was blown apart.” Again, jurors heard how hard it was to help the victim due to his facial injury and the fact that the officer’s gun was still in the holster.
The 911 call that was played in the courtroom helped investigators connect both the carjacking and the shooting of Officer Bolton. A cellphone expert also pointed out that investigators were able to get fingerprints off of Wilbourn’s phone to tie him to the murder.
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Part Four