A man accused of shooting and killing two people during a early morning party in 2016 is going to trial next week with a piece of evidence his lawyers believe is key to his defense.
Chattanooga police say Stephen Mobley, 34, opened fire after Jasmine Hines, 22, and another woman vomited inside a home on Pinewood Drive during a night of partying on Sept. 5, 2016. Though one woman survived the attack, Hines and Rashaud Taylor, 23, died from their gunshot wounds. Mobley matched the description of the shooter and was seen arguing with Hines shortly before the gunfire, police say.
He faces two counts of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder, possession of a firearm and aggravated assault charges. His trial begins Tuesday in Hamilton County Criminal Court before Judge Barry Steelman.
If convicted, Mobley faces a life sentence. But since the incident, Mobley has fought the charges while in custody, with his public defenders arguing Hines may have died because she witnessed her father's March 2016 homicide six months before her own.
Jasmine Hines spoke with Chattanooga police about her father, Michael Hines, 41, who was shot to death while at his mother's place in Brainerd, said Assistant Public Defender Steve Brown, who argued Thursday that jurors needed to see a redacted, roughly four-minute clip of that 2016 interview.
Michael Hines' slaying has not been solved, and prosecutors said Thursday the killer or killers were "unknown" to the state.
"It's completely relevant," Brown told Judge Steelman. "She was shot execution style. Six months before that, her father is shot execution style. When she talks to [the Chattanooga police detective] she tells him, 'Ya'll are going to get me killed. I shouldn't be talking to you.' And six months later, she is shot and killed."
Brown said on the night she died, Hines appeared in a Facebook live video that broadcast her location to everyone. According to a criminal affidavit, the party started at the home on Pinewood Drive before several people went to the nearby Chattanooga Billiard Club and then returned to the house to continue hanging out. The shooting happened around 6 a.m., and Mobley was one of the last people there.
Prosecutors, however, pushed back on Brown's argument, saying it wasn't relevant and would only hurt their case. For one, the state wouldn't be able to cross-examine a now-dead Hines about her comments, attorney Cameron Williams argued. Plus, playing a witness's statements without calling them to the stand is hearsay.
"It would put the state at a distinct disadvantage," Williams said. "They can still put on the defense even without her statement. They can call [the Chattanooga police detective]. They can cross-examine investigator [Christopher] Blackwell about [her father's slaying]. But to play this statement, which is hearsay, would put the state at a disadvantage having show that an unknown individual was not involved."
Interestingly, Brown agreed Hines' statement was hearsay. But he cited a recent opinion from the Tennessee Supreme Court, saying that hearsay rules "must yield" to a person's right to present a defense. Ultimately, Judge Steelman agreed with Brown, though he told prosecutors he'd review any case law they could produce between now and Tuesday that suggested otherwise.
"The court will allow the defense to delve into those things, because that is part of the defense," Steelman said. "I find that as prejudicial as the state alleges it would be, for the state to have to defend the recorded statement of Jasmine Hines, it would also be prejudicial to the defense to not be able to explore this alternative theory."
Steelman also ruled that another relevant live video can come into evidence: One that Mobley made after he realized he was a suspect in the September 2016 shooting. According to the criminal affidavit, Mobley ran away from the house and asked a family member to drive him to a local hotel.
Jury selection begins Tuesday morning.
Contact staff writer Zack Peterson at zpeterson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow him on Twitter @zackpeterson918.