Staff Photo by Tim Barber -- Michael "Mike Mike" Daniels sits at the defense table and listens as questions are asked of potential jurors in Judge Rebecca Stern's courtroom today. Mr. Daniels, a recognized leader of a local gang, is on trial for first-degree murder and conspiracy to committ murder in the death of Adrian Patton.

Opening statements ended at noon today in what Hamilton County prosecutors have dubbed the “gang murder” trial.

“Adrian Patton was the victim of a gang retaliation killing,” Assistant District Attorney Neal Pinkston told the jury as he pointed to codefendants Michael “Mike Mike” Daniels and Timothy “Timbo” Evans.

Both men are charged with murder in the first degree, conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree and unlawfully possessing a firearm in the June 13, 2006, killing, which quickly became a high-profile symbol of the perceived gang problem in Chattanooga.

Members of the Skyline Bloods gang at the time, the two now sit as enemies at their joint trial, with Mr. Evans expected to testify this week that Mr. Daniels ordered him to kill Mr. Patton. It was payback, prosecutors argue, for the belief that the victim had fired shots into the home of Mr. Daniel’s sister earlier that day.

Defense attorneys told jurors not to be scared by rhetoric detailing the danger of gangs.

“No one is charged in this courtroom with being in a gang,” said Jesse Dalton, who represents Mr. Daniels. “Being in a gang is not against the law.”

But he made sure to tell the jury that Mr. Daniels, who is believed to have been the leader of the Skyline Bloods, never told his codefendant to kill anyone.

“(Mr. Evans) has said that he never takes orders from Mike Mike,” Mr. Dalton said.

Attorney John McDougal, who represents Mr. Evans, simply told jurors to hear all the evidence before coming to a conclusion.

Judge Rebecca Stern ordered extra security for the trial because of tension between the codefendants, she said Monday. There is a metal detector and X-ray machine outside Judge Stern’s courtroom on the third floor of the Hamilton County Courthouse that everyone must walk through to enter during the trial. Mr. Evans and Mr. Daniels are wearing stun belts to prevent violence against each other, and the jury will be sequestered at a downtown hotel for the duration of the trial.

Testimony starts Wednesday, and is expected to last all week.

For complete coverage, read tomorrow’s Chattanooga Times Free Press.

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