A member of the so-called “Jack Boys” gang fingered his cohorts Friday in the death of a man and rape of a woman during their alleged November 2010 crime spree in east Atlanta.
Raphael Cross was arrested and named with Tamario Wise, Robert Veal and Fernandez Whatley in a Fulton County indictment listing 90 charges ranging from murder, rape and sodomy, and armed robbery to aggravated assault and illegal gang activity.
But Friday, Cross sat in the witness stand, saying he was with Wise and Veal when Charles Boyer was fatally shot outside a Virginia Highlands apartment the night of Nov. 22, and that he saw them raping a woman in Grant Park the early morning of Nov. 23.
“Did you see them shoot [Boyer]?” Fulton County Assistant District Attorney Lance Cross [no relation] asked Raphael Cross.
“Yes,” Raphael Cross responded.
Witness Cross said he accompanied Wise and Veal on the night in question but never pulled a trigger, and that he initially remained outside the Grant Park apartment where the sexual assault happened. (Whatley was not with the gang that night, according to testimony and the indictments.)
In some regard, Raphael Cross’ stories aligned with those witnesses gave from both incidents.
“He was fighting for his life,” witness Cross said of Boyer.
“With who?” the prosecutor asked.
“Tamario Wise,” Raphael Cross said, then added, when prompted for anyone else, “Robert Veal.”
On Thursday, two witnesses testified that Boyer struggled and fought back before being killed. But neither could pinpoint the faces of the men he fought.
The rape victim said two men forced sex with her while a third was at the least outside her room.
Friday, the prosecutor pressed for more details of the robbery attempt and shooting of Boyer.
Raphael Cross said he only watched.
“Who did you see shoot him?” the prosecutor asked.
“Tamario Wise,” he responded.
“Did you see Veal shoot him?” the attorney asked.
“No, sir,” Raphael Cross said.
Hours after Boyer was shot, three men approached a man walking alone along Virginia Avenue and forced him to let them into his apartment, witnesses told the jury.
Raphael Cross said the crew had changed cars, and Veal and Wise took the man inside while he waited outside. Eventually, he said, he too went inside.
“I go to the next room. … That’s when I [saw] them raping the lady,” Raphael Cross said.
“Who?” Lance Cross asked.
“Tamario Wise and Robert Veal,” the witness said.
Additional testimony Friday had police detectives outline their investigations, explaining how a sometimes disparate set of clues and evidence — ranging from DNA and police lineups to video surveillance footage and an iPhone tracking application— helped them track down the suspects.
Testimony is scheduled to continue on Monday.
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