A court hearing to sort out details of the Coolidge Park shootings that left five people injured raised more questions than answers and led a Hamilton County judge to seriously question why police think a "conspiracy" led to the crimes.
"Where is the (case precedent) that says everyone shooting at the same time constitutes a conspiracy? Where is the proof the defendants were all working together?" General Sessions Judge Clarence Shattuck asked Assistant District Attorney Rodney Strong during a Wednesday hearing.
Mr. Strong could not answer those questions.
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At the hearing, defense attorneys also could not discuss conspiracy law in detail in order to prove that their clients Anthony Frieson and Taurean Patillo, who are charged in the March 27 shootings, had no orchestrated plans that night.
Also in question is a third defendant who is a juvenile and is being prosecuted in a separate court for juvenile offenders. Prosecutors believe he fired one of two guns used in the incident, but Judge Shattuck could not get any information about how the three defendants were linked or how supposed gang activity influenced the shootings.
"When you have cases this important up here, then there ought to be some research," Judge Shattuck sternly told both prosecutors and defense attorneys.
The March 27 shootings in serene Coolidge Park sparked fear in the North Shore community. Hundreds had gathered that Saturday night after an apparent mass text message told people to come out to the park. As police coaxed the crowd to leave, gunfire erupted, and five teens were hit with stray bullets. None of the injuries were life threatening.
Victim Aleasha Foster, 14, testified Wednesday that a bullet still is lodged in her thigh.
Police since have said the shootings were gang related, but those who attended the gathering insist the shootings had noting to do with gang activity.
Judge Shattuck, who grew increasingly frustrated during the Wednesday hearing, dropped four of the five attempted first-degree murder charges filed against Mr. Frieson, 18, after hearing how Mr. Frieson told police that he fired only one shot into the crowd.
The judge also dropped four of the five charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder lodged against Mr. Patillo, 18, who is accused of supplying Mr. Frieson's gun and helping to hide it under the passenger seat of the car where police found it.
In coming weeks, a Hamilton County grand jury now will hear only evidence surrounding the remaining charges, including one charge of aggravated assault and one count of reckless endangerment against Mr. Frieson and one count of unlawfully carrying a weapon against Mr. Patillo.
They both remain in jail on $100,000 bonds.
Judge Shattuck's decision to drastically reduce the number of charges hinged partly on testimony from all five victims, who said they either had no idea who shot them or that the shooter had long hair. Mr. Frieson has extremely close-cropped hair.
"I seen the fire coming out the gun and the dreads," testified victim Kevin Tucker, 18, referring to dreadlocks.
The juvenile defendant has long dreadlocks, court testimony revealed. Details of the case against him are not public record because of his age, but ballistics evidence eventually could lead investigators to the juvenile as the primary assailant, defense attorneys speculated.
"There's just a whole lot of doubt in the case," said defense attorney Jonathan Turner, who represents Mr. Frieson.