A 20-year-old man who previously identified the shooter in a 2015 College Hill Courts homicide refused to testify against the defendant at his trial Thursday.
Marcell Christopher told Criminal Court Judge Barry Steelman he would not get on the witness stand during the second full day of the Cortez Sims murder proceedings.
“I don’t know his name,” Christoper said as an officer led him into the courtroom. “I ain’t testifying.”
Christopher told authorities on three occasions that Sims, then 17, was the shooter who came into Bianca Horton’s apartment at 733 Main St. on Jan. 7, 2015, and opened fire, killing one, injuring two, and paralyzing a toddler.
Christopher was sent back into holding, since he faces unrelated federal gun charges, while Steelman ushered jurors into a separate room so they would not be present for the discussion, thereby affecting their opinions on the case. Moments later a courthouse officer had to jostle the 20-year-old back into the room.