911 calls played in murder trial
By Kenneth Fine
Published in News on April 29, 2012 1:50 AM
The first caller was relatively calm.
"Can y'all come to Brookside?" she said.
"Where?" a 911 operator replied. "On South Slocumb Street?"
"Yeah," she said.
"What's wrong?" the operator asked.
"Um, the man at the store's bleeding," she continued.
But when Assistant District Attorney Mike Ricks, with the help of defense attorney Mary Darrow, played the second 911 call made after an Aug. 18, 2008, shooting that ultimately cost Ribhi Kandeel his life, the victim's brother responded to the emotion in the caller's voice.
"I need an ambulance at Brookside," she said.
"You need an ambulance?" the operator replied.
"Yeah," she said.
"What's the problem?" the operator asked.
"They said, 'He's in there laying down,'" she continued.
"He didn't get shot did he?" the operator then said.
"Yes he did," the caller replied. "They say he's shot."
An emotional Ismail Kandeel walked out of the courtroom Friday afternoon before the third -- and most frantic -- recording was played.
"We need the law to come quick," the caller said.
"What do you mean?" the operator replied.
"We're at Brookside Mart," he said. "We need an ambulance. We need it right now."
"What do you mean?" the operator asked. "What's going on?"
"The man who owns the store has been hurt," the caller continued. "He's bleeding bad. He can't talk. Somebody must have hurt him or something. I don't know, but he's bleeding hard. Please just send somebody."
Testimony continued Friday in the first-degree murder trial that will determine whether Joshua Earl Devon Davis, Quentin Lamont Kenon and Rashard Vondarius Oliver spend the rest of their lives in prison for what prosecutors allege is their role in Kandeel's death.
But by day's end, Special Superior Court Judge Jack Jenkins suggested to the jury that the state could rest its case as early as Monday.
It is unclear whether or not the defense will call any witnesses.
The following is a recap of the fourth day of testimony:
* Prosecution, Witness No. 17 -- Dave Cloutier: Cloutier, a task force officer with the Drug Enforcement Agency, testified that he traveled to a medical examiner's office in New York in April 2011 to retrieve the bullet removed from Ribhi Kandeel during the autopsy conducted on his body. He told the court he ensured the evidence was secure from the time he picked it up until it was placed in storage at the Goldsboro Police Department a few days later.
* Prosecution, Witness No. 18 -- Delbert Edwards: Edwards, a former employee at the local 911 call center, testified that during the time of the shooting, he was in charge of maintaining records of calls received there. He told the court that on Aug. 18, 2008, a call came in regarding an incident at the Brookside Convenient Mart. "Apparently, this particular incident was a shooting," he said. He sat on the stand as Assistant District Attorney, with the help of defense attorney Mary Darrow, played a series of 911 calls for the jury, and said he knew the calls were received by the local call center because he recognized the voices of the operators on the recording.
* Prosecution, Witness No. 19 -- Nelson Viera: Viera, a member of the Goldsboro-Wayne Drug Squad, testified that he was the officer charged with administering the photo lineup during which Marqetta Quinn identified Joshua Davis as one of the men she saw jump a fence and, moments later, flee the Brookside Convenient Mart Aug. 18, 2008. "She said, that's him right there," he said. "She was 100 percent positive." He also told the court that he retrieved a gun allegedly stolen during the robbery during a drug bust and that the man arrested during the raid, Christopher Alexander, claimed ownership of the pistol. But after defense attorneys inferred that, perhaps, Alexander was involved in the shooting, Viera said he was privy to documents that prove Alexander was incarcerated that night. Special Superior Court Judge Jack Jenkins upheld the defense's request that his statement regarding the man's incarceration be stricken from the record and told the prosecution that if they could present the document Viera was referring to, the fact that Alexander was in jail Aug. 18, 2008, could be presented to the jury.
* Prosecution, Witness No. 20 -- Karen Zwirplia: Zwirplia, an investigator with the Goldsboro Police Department, testified that he was one of the officer's asked to serve Rashard Oliver with an arrest warrant Aug. 25, 2008. She told the court that when he was arrested, the defendant had marijuana and $314 in his pocket. She also said that she was among those who executed a search warrant on the young man's home at 1218 Franklin St. and that she seized many items from the dwelling. Zwirplia identified several pieces of evidence recovered that day Friday in court. They included: a red bandanna; a black gun holster; a box of .40-caliber bullets; a red scarf; a set of electronic scales; a loaded gun clip containing .40-caliber bullets; several photographs. During cross-examination, defense attorney Mary Darrow asked if a 9 mm pistol or 9 mm bullets were recovered from the property. Zwirplia said no.