MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Prosecutors have enough evidence to hold Ezekiel Kelly on first-degree murder charges, a court decided Tuesday, in a shooting spree that killed three and wounded four across Memphis on Sept. 7.
► More coverage of the Ezekiel Kelly shooting case
Several witnesses testified Tuesday in the shooting of Dewayne Tunstall, who prosecutors believe was the first of several victims that day.
The defense argued that the three witnesses gave differing statements and would all have a reason to point the finger at Kelly for the shooting. But the prosecution’s argument rested on a phrase heard by one witness, which they said indicated premeditation.
Witness Marico Webb testified Tuesday that he and victim were at Marcus Cash’s home for a barbecue when he heard Kelly — known by the nickname Zeek — say he was “fixing to buck,” meaning kill someone.
Kelly has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He is facing 26 different charges ranging from murder to reckless endangerment. After entering his plea, Kelly’s attorney asked the judge to waive the formal reading of the indictment to save time.
The witness said he heard shots as he was leaving the house, and thought he’d been shot. He saw people running away and said when they left Kelly was behind them in G37 Infiniti.
Kelly followed them to another house, the witness said. He told Kelly to get away, then asked him what happened to Tunstall, who was known by the nickname Sosa.
He said Kelly told him, “He gone” and then said, “It is what it is.”
The next witness, Markavion Walker, said he and Tunstall walked to the back of the house to look at a food truck. He said he showed Tunstall his gun. He said when they went back in he was setting up his phone and heard shots.
He didn’t see the shot fired but saw Tunstall laying on the ground and Kelly running away. He pointed out Kelly as the shooter and said he was about 3 or 4 feet away when Tunstall was shot.
With multiple crime scenes and multiple victims, the discovery process for the case likely will take months, Shelby County DA Steve Mulroy said.
According to records, Kelly was released from jail on March 16 after serving 11 months on a three-year sentence for an aggravated assault.
Witness Marquez Mureell said he was on one side of the car getting juice while several others including Tunstall were on the other side of the car. When he looked up, he saw “fire” from the gun.
He said when the shooting happened he got down.
He said after he got in the car, he told Kelly he couldn’t ride with them because he “killed Sosa.”
Kelly then followed them to another house and asked where he was supposed to go, the witness said. Kelly drove off after the witness told him to get away from them.
The witness said he has known Kelly for seven or eight years and he was friends with both Kelly and Tunstall.
Only Marcus Cash who lives at the house where the shooting happened was able to testify that he witnessed Kelly shoot Tunstall.
Kelly’s defense worked to discredit the witnesses saying their stories did not match and suggesting people were taking drugs and showing off their guns the night Tunstall was killed.