Photo contributed by Hamilton County Sheriff's Office / Iesha Ariona JonesAttorneys made their opening remarks Tuesday in the murder trial of a 29-year-old woman accused in a 2018 fatal shooting in Chattanooga.
Iesha Jones faces multiple charges including first-degree premeditated murder and first-degree aggravated murder in the death of Norman Sullivan.
Jones and her ex-husband, Domanic Gillespie, 30, both of Chattanooga, were arrested in connection with Sullivan's death after Chattanooga police officers responded to a call of a person being shot on the 210o block of Vance Avenue on the afternoon of Sept. 3, 2018.
Responding officers found Chattanooga resident Sullivan, 52, face down with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to an arrest report.
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A witness told police of seeing Gillespie and Sullivan walk into a bedroom of the apartment and close the door, as Jones remained in the hallway. Sometime later, the witness reported seeing Sullivan and Gillespie "crash through the door with Sullivan bleeding from his head," the report said.
The witness then reported seeing Jones shoot "the victim multiple times as [he] attempted to get out" of the apartment.
Appearing Tuesday before Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Don W. Poole, Jones' defense attorney Hannah Stokes entered a plea of not guilty on all charges on behalf of her client.
"I would ask you to listen very carefully to the evidence, pay careful attention, because there may be conflicting stories," Stokes told jurors in her opening statement. "As you process everything, ask yourself, is that witness telling the truth? You get to determine if they're telling the truth."
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Division III Prosecutor AnCharlene Davis, representing the state along with Executive Assistant District Attorney Cameron Williams, told the jury the victim's brother, Wayne Sullivan, was in the apartment and watched Jones and Gillespie shoot Norman Sullivan repeatedly.
He "could only watch as the defendant picked up that same gun, the same gun that was used to fire at Norman Sullivan, over and over, and Wayne watched as the defendant pointed the gun at him," Davis said.
"When she can't shoot that gun anymore, she takes that gun and runs out the apartment, gets into their white Toyota Scion and leaves the scene, leaving Norman laying in that doorway."
Following opening statements, Chattanooga police officer Joseph Silva was called to testify.
"I observed a Black male, face down on the doorway. He appeared to be unconscious," Silva said of what he saw upon arriving at the scene on Sept. 3, 2018. "When I saw the victim lying there, I called EMS, who pronounced him dead."
The victim's brother was then called by the state to testify, identifying Norman Sullivan as "my baby brother."
"I saw her," Wayne Sullivan said, identifying Jones, adding that she was with Gillespie on the day of the incident.
"They were real jittery," Wayne Sullivan said of the pair. "I stopped her from going into the room, I heard them talking, my brother's voice started getting loud, and then a scuffle broke out."
The witness then said he saw his brother and Gillespie wrestling as Gillespie was shooting down at his brother.
"She [Jones] said 'Gimme the gun, I'll do this,'" Sullivan said. "They were very determined to get the job done."
Contact La Shawn Pagán at lpagan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476. Follow her on Twitter @LaShawnPagan.