MARIETTA, Ga. -- A parade of prosecution witnesses testified this morning that the Brunswick man accused of shooting to death a baby in its stroller was involved in another botched robbery and shooting 11 days earlier.
De'Marquise Elkins, 18, is being tried for both crimes in Cobb County Superior Court because of the heavy news coverage in Glynn County.
Among the witnesses were the Rev. Wilfredo Calix Flores and Clever Jimenez Gomez who each pointed out Elkins as the man who pulled a gun on March 11 demanding money and a cell phone. They separately testified that Elkins shot Calix Flores in the arm when no wallet or phone was produced.
"That looks like the person who attacked us," Jimenez Gomez said through an interpreter.
Calix Flores, also speaking through an interpreter, choked up when describing the incident. He stood and pointed where the bullet entered and exited his left arm and grazed his side, and he recounted how he was so shocked afterward that he staggered into the church and knelt down to pray until police and an ambulance arrived.
Prosecutors displayed a photo of blood drops on the doorway where he prayed while Jimenez Gomez used his own belt as a tourniquet.
The jury also heard from one of the two teens allegedly with Elkins during Calix Flores' shooting, Dont'e Jackson, 17. Jackson, who is charged in the incident but said he has no deal with prosecutors, testified that he and a friend were walking down the alley where Calix Flores and Jimenez Gomez were modifying a fence gate and were ahead of Elkins when they heard a ruckus behind them.
"The next thing I know, De'Marquise is saying, 'Give it up,'" Jackson said. "... When the man wouldn't give him any money, he shot the man."
All three witnesses identified a photo of the .22 caliber revolver police believe Elkins used to shoot 13-month-old Antonio Santiago on March 21 during a botched robbery of the baby's mother, Sherry West. She sustained a gunshot wound in her leg and is expected to testify this afternoon.
Defense attorney Ashley Wood tried to weaken each witness' credibility.
During cross examination of Jimenez Gomez, she asked if he was threatened by police with deportation as an illegal immigrant, but he said they never mentioned it.
"You're going to say anything the police want you to say so you can stay in the country," she charged.
She said investigators had pressured him.
"No. No one pressured me," he said. "... I don't know if that's what they wanted to hear or not. I just told them the way it was."
Wood challenged Jackson because he had originally told investigators he wasn't involved in Calix Flores' shooting. Jackson acknowledged repeatedly on the stand that he had lied to detectives on two occasions before his own arrest.
"I was lying the first two times because my life was in danger," he said as his attorney stood nearby. "... He threatened me. I just saw him shoot somebody."
Jackson explained that after the shooting, Elkins threatened him if word of the incident was mentioned. However, being arrested and given the chance to live with his grandfather instead of returning to the neighborhood where he grew up with Elkins gave him the assurance of his safety, Jackson said.
Prosecutors expect to complete their case this afternoon in what is planned to be a long day in court. Defense attorneys say they are ready to begin presenting their first witnesses during a session that will last into the evening.
Both sides and the judge agree that they don't want to ruin jurors' plans for the holiday weekend and are trying to wrap up the case beforehand with long court sessions.