Stephen MobleyDuring testimony Tuesday, the state presented much of its physical evidence in the murder case against Stephen “Dollar Bill” Mobley. Mobley, 31, is charged with first-degree murder in the 2012 shooting death of Gregory Watkins, 29.
For two hours Wednesday afternoon, Hamilton County Criminal Court jurors heard about gunshot patterns, forensic evidence, DNA analysis and crime scene collection.
The county’s chief medical examiner, James Metcalfe, testified that Watkins’ death likely was the result of a gunshot wound to the chest. He methodically described all nine of Watkins’ gunshot wounds, including one that went through his forearm and chest after he raised his arm to defend himself.
Assistant District Attorney General Lance Pope asked Metcalfe if it seemed as though the person who shot Watkins wanted to make sure he didn’t survive.
Forensics proved that, Metcalfe said.
“It was focused,” Metcalfe said. “It was not a random aiming.”
Mobley was charged with murder in a separate incident and convicted on a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter in 2005. He served six years in prison and was released in 2010, but the jury is prohibited from knowing about his previous conviction.
During Tuesday’s testimony, Lashonda Gonzalez testified that she was in the car with Watkins when he was shot on June 1. The two had gone to a Brainerd Road Conoco for a marijuana deal, she said. A white Pontiac arrived and a dark-skinned man with dreadlocks jumped out, shot Watkins multiple times, got back in the car and sped away, she said.
On Wednesday, Chattanooga Police Officer Caleb Brooks testified that he found marijuana inside that white Pontiac, as well as soda cans and cigarette butts. A Tennessee Bureau of Investigation forensic expert testified that those pieces of evidence contained Mobley’s DNA.
But a search of Mobley’s mother’s home after his arrest didn’t reveal the Rastafarian-style wig one witness claimed he was wearing during the shooting. Though another expert testified Wednesday that bullets found in and around Watkins’ body matched a few particular guns, no murder weapon was ever found.
Constance Taylor, a lifelong friend of Mobley’s who testified at a 2013 hearing that she saw him shoot Watkins, is expected to testify when the trial resumes Thursday morning.
Contact staff writer Claire Wiseman atcwiseman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow her on Twitter @clairelwiseman.