Prosecutors and defense lawyers agree. By age 17, Jonathan Redding had become a dangerous criminal. The question for 12 Fulton County jurors is whether he is a murderer.
His lawyer, Elizabeth Markowitz, told jurors Tuesday just before testimony began in Fulton Superior Court that they will hear no witness testify he or she saw Redding shoot a popular Grant Park bartender during a 2009 robbery of the now-defunct Standard Food & Spirits on Memorial Drive.
What prosecutors can prove, she said, was that Redding was wounded in a gun battle two days after murder when his crew tried to rob an apartment of a drug dealer who also ran a gambling spot. It was at this robbery that investigators were able to match blood on a weapon abandoned by a robber to Redding and match the weapon to a pistol that was fired during the Standard robbery in which 27-year-old John Henderson was killed.
"Saying a Smith & Wesson is at the scene is a long way from saying a person is at the scene,” Markowitz said. "There were no fingerprints of my client at the scene -- not on the bar, not on the TV screens. And that’s because my client was not there.”
Prosecutor Lance Cross painted a brutal picture of Redding and 30 Deep, the gang to which he said he belonged. Centered near Turner Field, 30 Deep is notorious for robberies and shootings. Cross described a crime spree by Redding beginning Dec. 21, 2008, with the robbery of another Standard staffer in the tavern parking lot, and including the Henderson murder on Jan. 7, 2009 and the attempted robbery of Eddie Pugh's apartment two days later.
Redding, a slender 19-year-old wearing a charcoal suit and blue shirt, cupped his chin as he listened t Cross describe "the dark side of Atlanta," where a street gang turned crime into its primary enterprise, including various smash-and-grab burglaries, robberies and shootings. Redding's cousin, George "Keon" Redding, was convicted of two 30 Deep-related murders Feb. 1.
"You are going to hear 30 Deep is a group of armed thugs. They are a dangerous combination of arrogance, stupidity and reckless violence," Cross told the jury in opening statements. "They are so bold and so brazen that when they see something they want, they smash a window. If somebody gets in the way, they shoot them."
He said the gang didn't expect to find Henderson in the bar when they smashed a window to gain entry and steal the flat-screen televisions that are easy to sell for a high dollar on the street. But when they confronted Henderson, who had been sweeping up, Redding pulled a stolen 9mm pistol. He then shot Henderson in the leg out of pure meanness, Cross said.
The gang was unable to pry the televisions off the wall mounts and in their anger, they dragged a bleeding Henderson into the tavern office where they discovered co-worker Ashley Elder. They had already found her Glock 9mm pistol in her purse by the bar. They shot Henderson again and when they left, they turned and opened up on the tavern door, a bullet from Elder's pistol striking Henderson in the head and killing him, Cross said.
Prosecutors charged Redding under the law that allows jurors to convict him of murder if he participated in the robbery.
Cross told jurors another witness would tie Redding, who is known on the street as "G-Dog," to the Smith & Wesson because he also fired it at the other Standard employee during the Dec. 21 robbery in the parking lot. "Fortunately, he missed," Cross said.
That employee, Robin McMillian, who now lives in Germany and whose testimony will be given by deposition, identified Redding in a line-up, Cross said. But Markowitz warned jurors to be skeptical of the line-up. She also noted that Redding didn't match the description McMillan gave of the gunman during that robbery.
“It would be unfair of you to convict him on emotion and pure speculation,” Markowitz told jurors.
Three weeks ago, the trial was delayed because Pugh was shot before jury selection. Police have not said they have been able to tie that shooting to witness intimidation.
Cross indicated some witnesses who had told authorities that Redding admitted being part of the robbery may change their testimony at trial. But he told jurors that detectives would testify about what the witnesses told them previously.
“This is a gang case and nobody wants to testify," Cross said.“So they now may come forward and lie."
About the Author
